Anyone decided against radiant then regretted it?

[reader2580]

I have experience with radiant heat in a garage type structure at a Scout camp. There is a large wood boiler that provides two buildings with warm coolant. The one building is a bunk building with an air handler that stays warm no problem.

The second building is the garage type structure that is 30x40. The building only has radiant heat in the concrete floor. The boiler is typically started on Thursday morning to provide heat for the weekend. The building takes a long time to heat up. There are Scouts constantly in and out getting their camping equipment so the building rarely is above 50 degrees as the radiant floor can't keep up. I suspect they have done different with the heat if they knew how it would work before installing it. Most garages are not going to have people in and out all day long.

 

[mygarageone]

I have experience with radiant heat in a garage type structure at a Scout camp. There is a large wood boiler that provides two buildings with warm coolant. The one building is a bunk building with an air handler that stays warm no problem.

The second building is the garage type structure that is 30x40. The building only has radiant heat in the concrete floor. The boiler is typically started on Thursday morning to provide heat for the weekend. The building takes a long time to heat up. There are Scouts constantly in and out getting their camping equipment so the building rarely is above 50 degrees as the radiant floor can't keep up. I suspect they have done different with the heat if they knew how it would work before installing it. Most garages are not going to have people in and out all day long.

Somebody blew it , I suspect there was no engineered plans or spec's .
Public use building such as this needs , much more than radiant heat. It should have had an engineered system , with tempered air , fresh air , exhaust , etc.

 

[reader2580]

Somebody blew it , I suspect there was no engineered plans or spec's .
Public use building such as this needs , much more than radiant heat. It should have had an engineered system , with tempered air , fresh air , exhaust , etc.

Often these structures are built on the cheap as the Boy Scouts rarely have a lot of money for building stuff. Some of the buildings are built by volunteers who do construction for a living, but they do have a professional plan drawn up.

It is probably a blessing that the temps don't get real high in the building because the Scouts are typically wearing heavy winter coats when they go into the the building to check out their gear for the weekend.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

and quick recovery after the garage door is open.

My gloves / gloves get wet , set them on the floor and there dry ( not shrivel up ) the next day.

when you turn it on heat recovery in no time , like maybe 24 hrs . Everyone thinks scorched air recovers faster ,no it doesn't .

I keep the temp about 54 or 55 degrees.

This is my first year with radiant and I've only open and closed the doors maybe a half dozen times to drive a car in or out. Doors face north, prevailing winds are typically from the west and SW. Seems like the temp recovered in a reasonable period of time.

When I've driven a car in with snow/ice on it in the afternoon, the next morning ALL the snow and ice have melted and evaporated. Only the dirt and sand remain.

When we had single digits to 10*F for a few days, I turned the temp up from 54*F to 64*F about noon one day. I came in the next morning about 9am and the temp in the shop was 65*F. Left it there for two days, then turned temp back to 54*F when the outside temps were in the low 20s, and it took 2 days for the temp go back to 54*F. Keep in mind none of the garage doors were opened during those two days.

 

[4cyclic]

Delayed effect for weekend use : that's what I figure, program the stat so it's kicking in on Friday pm from 50 to 60 and by the time I use it on Sat am it's at 60 then turn it back down to 50 Sunday noon.

 

[Crazy68Dart]

I was really on the fence when I built the garage last summer. I ended up putting the PEX in as I was insulating the slab, etc. so it seemed a little crazy not to at least put the PEX in. In was a little money, and some work, but it is in there, in case I want to use it.

The thing that I don't care for related to radiant is the complexity of the system and all of the related components. You really cannot beat the simplicity of a forced air system or overhead radiant tube.

I will likely setup the system, and see how it does. We'll see how it works out. Not looking forward to the $$$ part of it, but it is a really nice way to heat.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Somebody blew it , I suspect there was no engineered plans or spec's

Don't need to spend money on silly things like that...the problem/issue is really much more simple then paying an "Engineer".

The boiler is typically started on Thursday morning to provide heat for the weekend. The building takes a long time to heat up.

Exactly what a Radiant system was NOT Designed or meant to do. One of the claims to fame of a radiant system is quick recovery and the abilty to HOLD heat due to the large thermal mass involved. Most "heavy" shops and dealerships use radiant because opening up large over head doors all the time all day long pose no real problem to a radiant system. Unlike a unit heater where if you open the doors, **** the heat is quick to escape.

With radiant you cant ever "Shut it off" and have it work worth a damn. Basically come Halloween you set the T-Stat to whatever temp you want, and leave it there till winter is over.

 

[BobRae]

Nope...I would personally suggest AGAINST The foam insulation under the slab. Vapor Barrier - Absolutely.

The Theory I subscribe to (based on years of being here on earth and most recently a real world example CONFIRMING my theory) is that UNLESS you plan on radiant, under slab insulation is just peeling cash out of your wallet.

I argue that a slab without insulation (Such as mine and many others I know of) in an INSULATED Shop, actually warm the shop using the earth's natural heat. This year was the first year with heat in my shop, prior to that, the shop would naturally stay in the 38-42 degree range (Here in Maine, where its cold)... My Modine heater is set to 40 and it rarely runs.
a family member on the other hand built a similar sized shop, similar construction and wall/ceiling insulation BUT...INSULATED his slab and without heat, it was noticeably colder in there. While mine wont freeze without heat, his did go below freezing before he got heat installed.

I believe my theory is sound when it comes to shops and buildings which are kept at a relatively lower temp and you only raise it up when needed. IF you wanted to maintain 70 degrees in your shop 24/7-365, then I'd say without a doubt go with Radiant and Sub-Slab insulation.

To the OP..I did not go radiant, no regrets at all. Love my modine.

Interesting. We had our house energy assessed by our local hydro (gas/electric) supplier when we were renovating with Windows, insulation, etc. We got heat loss numbers (as a percentage of total heat loss) for all areas of the house. I had thought the windows would be the greatest source of heat loss, but I was wrong - it is the basement floor (concrete). In our climate (north of ND), building code requires a vapour barrier and insulation under a poured concrete floor.

 

[rburke65]

REKIII....our feet were designed to be cooler?!? So that's what all these holes in my shoes are for!