We’ll be happy to assist you any way we can with your outdoor radiant heat furnace project!
A couple of very common questions we get from our customers are:
“Can you use a wood stove with radiant heat?” and “Is radiant floor heating more efficient?”
The answer to those questions is a resounding yes!
Wood stove radiant heat off your furnace is the best type of heat and keeps your floors toasty warm! Radiant floor heat is about 20% more efficient and you can keep the water temperature much lower; saving you even more wood or coal!
The water that runs through your floor for radiant floor heat is never any warmer than 120°. Hotter temperatures will crack the floor if you have concrete and may warp your wood if it is any hotter.
One nice thing about radiant floor heat, is that it keeps the lower 10 feet of your room the warmest. This eliminates heat going up to the ceiling and out the roof where it is ultimately lost. This is one of the reasons for the great savings with radiant floor heat. this is fabulous for rooms that have tall ceilings, such as in great rooms.
It is also very nice not having air blowing around. This means that air is not blowing around either and it ends up feeling warmer.
Hydronic heat, means heat distributed via water.
Radiant heat is heat transferred through space from a surface without being carried by air or other fluids. It feels like warmth from the sun. For instance, you are out for a walk on a cool day, then you are drenched with sudden warmth from the sun! That’s what radiant heat feels like.
IT WARMS YOU ALL OVER!
How Hydronic Radiant Floors Work
Here is how hydronic radiant floors work. Water is circulated through special tubing, called PEX Tubing, that runs under the floor. The warm piping radiates heat through your floor, making it toasty warm.
Radiant floor heat is more efficient because it heats you directly. The room’s humidity is also more ideal. It gradually releases radiant energy to the cool objects in the room. The warmth is greater at floor level and decreases as it reaches the ceiling. This is both more comfortable (Your head feels cooler and your feet are warmer) This type of heating is not new! It goes back to the Roman Times, and is still a very popular way to heat in Europe.
Think about installing radiant floor heat in your new or existing home. The benefits of this superior heating system include, even warmth, higher efficiency, quieter, cleaner, cozier, adds value to your home, and healthier heating!
If you have an existing home, you can use Rehau’s Rauplate to put in between the floor joists. Rauplate is an aluminum plates that have areas on both sides to press in 1/2″ pex tubing to disperse the heat evenly between the joists. Do not fall for the cheap single line plates, as they will not spread the heat evenly and you will have cold spots.
A new construction we usually recommend that you put Pex pipe in your flooring. This can either be done in the concrete or on the sub-floor / underneath the sub-floor, with the finished material on top – be it ceramic for porcelain tile, carpet or Hardwood.
REHAU PEX Tubing
The most common pipes used today are leak resistant, non-toxic, high-temperature, flexible piping called cross-linked polyethylene also known as PEX tubing. You want to make sure you are using CLASS A PEX.
Rehau is the best brand you can get. This pex will not burst when frozen and will expand, saving you thousands if something happened and your lines would freeze. Rehau is the industry leader worldwide in their PEX tubing, radiant heating systems, as well as quality and innovation in plumbing products.
SLAB Radiant Floor Heat can be a DIY project.
You start with a bed of gravel and then put insulation down. This is a must so that you are heating the ground. Is usually required under most building codes, as well.
The Barrier insulation is one of the best insulation styles you can use. It is better then the hard foam panels – pink or blue – because it is extremely flexible and will not crack or break up when you walk on it. Remember, you have to walk on it to put the wire down and tie the Pex pipe to it and then the workers will be pouring concrete and walking all over it.
The Barrier insulation is a flexible type that comes in a roll and it has its adhesive strips to attach it to the piece next to it. This is designed so that it forms both a vapor barrier and a radon barrier in one simple step while providing insulation between the ground and your new concrete pad. If you use the big sheets of Styrofoam, you would then have to go back and put plastic over it the form the barrier needed. With the barrier, you can use foam staples to affix the pex in place so it doesn’t move when you pour.
Most people put 6″ x 6″ wire down, that comes in a roll. You will then use wire ties to loosely attached the Pex pipe to the wire. This stops the Pex pipe from floating to the surface and ruining your nice new floor.
Some people use rebar instead of the wire which you’ll give you an even stronger floor. Sometimes the rebar is supported so that it isn’t sitting on the bottom.
This is an upstairs floor – not a basement slab. That is why the concrete is so thin, because it is extremely heavy. A typical basement slab is 4 inches thick.
Rehau Rauplate
Radiant infloor heat can also be easily installed under floor joists by using Rehau Rauplate. Rauplate is an aluminum plates that have areas on both sides to press in 1/2″ pex tubing to disperse the heat evenly between the joists minimizing cold spots. Do not fall for the cheap single line plates, as they will not spread the heat evenly and you will have cold spots.
As you can see, to layout radiant heat to an outdoor wood stove is not as daunting of a task as you would imagine.
Hydronic radiant heating with a wood stove is definitely a viable option to heat your space!
We leave you with one last question our customers ask us: “What is the best boiler for radiant heat?”
The answer to that is simple. Hyprotherm offers the best boilers for radiant heating!
If you have any other questions about radiant heating with wood boiler, you can reach us by calling our team @ (800) 780-4302.
Radiant Heat Accessories
| Model | Description | Material |
|---|---|---|
| IFHR-1/2 | In Floor Heat Rauplate For 1/2″ PEX | Aluminum |
Notes: A box contains 20 plates at 4 foot per plate, total of 80ft of plate.
Manifolds
Notes: Nickel plated. Red (Supply), Blue (Return)
Includes: 1/2″ PEX Fitting Connectors, Bracket, (2) Ball Valves With Temperature Gauges, (2) Drains With Pressure Temperature Gauge, Flow Meters, Individual Line Shut Offs and Automatic Air Purger.
Other Radiant Heat Items
We carry most items needed to install infloor heat.
From Manifolds, Rauplate, insulation, to expansion tanks and other pressure parts, we have you covered!
Our friendly team of knowledgeable staff can help you with all the items you will need for your application.
Below for reference, are a few videos created by Rehau showing and explaining the process of how in-floor heat works, and how their products are used and installed in new and existing homes.
