Integrated Solar Radiant Systems William Shady PE President Topics Radiant heating Indoor air quality Radiant Cooling Project Photos Questions and answers
The goal for our clients Healthy Comfort
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits A properly designed and installed radiant panel heating system offers many advantages over other heating methods. 1. Radiant panel heating improves comfort by increasing a room's average surface temperature. A large portion of our body's heat loss is by radiation to cooler surfaces surrounding us. The cooler these surfaces are, the faster they pull heat from us and the more uncomfortable we feel.
Heat loss in humans
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 2. Radiant panel heating allows comfort at lower air temperatures. Most people engaged in light activity will be very comfortable in radiantly heated rooms with air temperatures in the mid 60 F range. If the activity level is greater, light shop work for example, comfort is often maintained with air temperatures in the low 60 F range.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 3. Radiant panel heating provides an almost ideal match to human thermal comfort requirements. The ideal temperature variation consists of slightly warmer at foot level, around 70 F at chest level and cooler at the ceiling.
Human comfort levels
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 4. Radiant panel heating reduces or, in some cases, eliminates room temperature stratification. It improves comfort and reduces heat transfer through the ceiling and upper portions of the wall. It also reduces stack effect air leakage from the building.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 5. Many radiant panel heating systems are totally out of sight. Whether constructed with hydronic tubing, electric cables or flat heaters, heated floors, walls and ceilings conceal their function as heat emitters. There are usually less constraints imposed on furniture placement.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 6. Radiant heating systems are easily zoned. Many radiant panel heating systems, both hydronic and electric, are designed for room-by-room zoning. This offers energy savings by reducing temperature in unoccupied rooms. It also allows different occupants to adjust rooms to their own desired comfort level. And it helps to prevent localized overheating due to solar or other types of internal heat gain.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 7. Radiant heating systems create gentle room air circulation. In most cases the air motion is so slow that it is not detectable by occupants. Central forced-air systems, by contrast, often create very noticeable whole-building air circulation. The latter tends to distribute dust, odors and airborne viruses throughout the entire building. Some central forced-air systems also pressurize rooms as they operate, increasing air leakage and wasting energy.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 8. Hydronic and electric distribution systems supplying radiant panels are easily and unobtrusively routed through buildings. The small tubing, electrical cables or flat heaters supplying radiant heating panels are easily concealed within the building's structural cavities. By contrast, air ducts of equivalent heat carrying ability often require careful planning and structural alterations if they are to be totally concealed.
Area requirements
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 9. Radiant heat systems with high thermal mass, such as heated concrete slabs, can respond quickly to increased loads, and absorb passive solar gain. Many heat delivery systems, such as forced air and hydronic baseboard, have low thermal mass. This limits the rate of heat output to the heating capacity of their heat source. By contrast, a heated floor slab with its large reservoir of heat can release a burst of heat when needed.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 10. Radiant heating systems with low thermal mass, such as electric ceiling panels, release heat almost instantly when turned on. Quick heat gives an almost instantaneous improvement in the thermal comfort of a cool room. Although the objects and air in the room will require some time to warm, radiant heat loss from the body is reduced within a couple of minutes of turning on the low mass panel.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 11. Heated floors dry quickly. Dry floors improve safety and provide much better working conditions than wet floors. It is a tremendous benefit in auto service garages, fire stations and other vehicle service facilities.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 12. Many types of radiant panels are very resistant to physical damage. Panels encased in concrete floors are very resistant to damage from heavy interior traffic. Likewise, heated ceilings are not likely to be damaged by normal building usage.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 13. Radiant heating panels can operate with virtually no noise. Properly designed and installed systems eliminate expansion noise, sheet metal vibration, or velocity noises caused by fast moving air. Attention to detail during installation is crucial to achieving a quiet distribution system.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 14. Low-temperature hydronic radiant panels are adaptable to almost any type of heat source and fuel. Low-temperature heat from solar collectors, geothermal heat pumps or waste heat recovery systems can often be utilized for radiant heating. Such heat is only marginally suitable for other types of delivery systems.
Radiant is a Heat Distribution System Gas Propane Oil Geothermal heat source Electricity Wood burning Solar
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 15. Electric radiant heating panels are easily operated by renewable sources. Low-voltage electric heating panels may be directly connected to solar panels or wind generators, and line voltage electric panels on the grid may also get their power from solar panels or wind generators.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 16. Radiant panel heating reduces energy consumption. Since comfort is maintained at lower air temperatures, the heating load associated with air exchange is reduced. The greater the heating load due to air exchange, whether by natural leakage or forced ventilation, the greater the energy savings. Easy room-by-room zoning control allows unoccupied spaces to be reduced in temperature, reducing total heating load.
Why Radiant Heating? Benefits 16. Radiant panel heating reduces energy consumption. Eliminating the layer of warm air normally present against a ceiling's lower surface reduces conductive heat loss. Low water temperatures improve boiler efficiency and reduce heat loss from distribution piping in some hydronic radiant panel systems. The electrical energy consumption of small circulators used in hydronic radiant panel systems is usually lower than blowers in forcedair systems of similar heating capacity. Electric radiant panel systems are 100% efficient because all electrical losses go to heating.
Manifold detail
Radiant Cooling
Dew point control
Ceiling Radiant Panel
Chilled Beam Panels
Indoor Air Quality
Uponor
Iuliano Residence 2007 Innovation Award from the Radiant Panel Association, Hartford Connecticut. 6700 SF single story home in Soquel Structural slab insulated underneath complete slab and edges ½ Barrier Pex tied 12 on center 9000 feet of tubing in 13 zones Solar hot water system heats domestic water, radiant floors and swimming pool shell
Early Morning Start
Concrete Pour over Tubing
Swimming pool radiant
Gunnite tubing into shell
Finished pool
Mechanical System components Modulating boiler as primary heat source 80 evacuated tube solar collectors 200 gallons of solar hot water for space heat 120 gallons of preheated domestic hot water 120 gallons of domestic hot water by boiler Pool and spa heater 20 gallons heat exchanger
Innovations Solar hot water to goes to pool in summer when no radiant floor heating is needed One single pump circulates hot water to the radiant floors using a variable speed motor to save energy. Solar hot water is stored and used for radiant floors and domestic hot water.
Mechanical Room
Solar collectors
Solar Collectors
Swimming pool radiant
Climate Right Systems
Climate Right Systems
Additional resources Radiant Panel Association www.radiantpanelassociation.org Pacific Solar Radiant Inc. www.pacificsolaradiant.com