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Posted by Steve Scott on January 23, 2007, 6:19 pm
If you're going with a low mass radiant system, it's a whole different
critter from what you or your significant other are accustomed to.
Use transfer plates under the sub floor. Limit the carpeting to throw
rugs or small area rugs. It will be very comfortable as is assuming
the design and installation are correct.
Don't use a setback with the radiant system.
Make sure you go with a modulating condensing boiler.
> I have a new house being built, and of course am running into brick
>walls with the HVAC contractor. He is more accustomed to commercial
>and industrial buildings where all the thinking and engineering has
>been done for him, so all he has to do is install.
>What I want is hydronic heat, under the floor, stapled up between floor
>joists (over an unfinished basement that also has foam insulation on
>the outside of the exterior walls). I plan on using foam board with
>foil on one side, cut to fit loosely enough to be easily installed
>and/or removed from the engineered joists.
>That will be the base load, but as we all know, changing the
>temperature of a hydronic system takes hours. So, since we have to
>pre-wire, pre-plumb, etc. for a forced air system anyway for air
>conditioning (not my idea, but making sure that the house can be sold
>someday without major mods), I want a hot water coil in the air handler
>to boost the air temperature in those occasional events when the
>domestic supervisor is cold and wants heat right NOW. She tends to run
>thermostats either all the way up or down, thinking she will reach her
>comfort zone faster that way. Really irritating in the car, I can tell
>you!
>That is the heating side of it, from my viewpoint. He says a simple
>gas furnace is the way to go, because that is pretty much what he does
>in houses. A compromise would be a modern gas furnace with 2 levels
>of heating, and 2 fan speeds that won't have to run very often based on
>the hydronic doing most of the work.
>HVAC guy also wants me to put in 4 to 5 tons of AC for a house in
>Logan, Utah. I only have 4 tons for our house in Phoenix, Arizona, and
>it gets a bit hot there. The Utah house is smaller by 150 sq. ft. but
>also has a 900 sq. ft. loft and bonus room area upstairs that is pretty
>much open to the main floor. We won't be going up there much, though.
>I warned him about oversizing, letting him know that I could live with
>a system that runs too often or too long than one that short cycles. I
>can always add to the hydronic if I have to.
>I won't put in the outside portion of the AC for at least the first
>year, thinking that I have designed the house well enough to need very
>little cooling assistance, and if it does, I prefer either a whole
>house fan, or evaporative cooling.
>Does this sound like sound, and sane, thinking on my part?
--
Pain looks good on other people;
that's what they're for.
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