LoopCAD software

[moobeast2]

Greetings from a new member! I am building a pole barn type shop for my farm. (See my second post re boiler types). I recently read on this forum about LoopCAD software for designing radiant heat systems; it costs around $800 but you can get a free 30 day trial. I used it to draw up my shop with doors, insulation etc etc and came up with the heat loss. Now our local fuel company gave us a quote using their own heat loss calculations and they were more than double what LoopCAD came up with. I've been through my numbers on LoopCAD a bunch of times and played around and can't come close to the heat loss the fuel company did.

Has anyone else used LoopCAD for heat loss calculations? Do they seem to be accurate? Thanks for any help!

 

[BadgerBoilerMN]

So...the "free" trial isn't working out?

I use Wrightsoft design software (about $3000.00 with all the modules) and design radiant floor heating systems for a living. With several hundred hours experience with the software, 35 years experience in the industry (15 of which were gained before PC's existed) I am able to come up with accurate heat loads every time.

As a side not, whenever I think about buying tools to work on my own service truck, I slap myself real hard...there that's better.

If you don't trust your heating contractor, it is time to find a new one or a least a trustworthy designer with a reliable software program.