Radiant Heat Cememnt Floor Water Pex Prlblmes
Our page top photograph shows polyethylene tubing being installed in a new concrete floor slab for radiant heat in a two harbors minnesota building.
Radiant heat cememnt floor water pex prlblmes. While pex use for water supply systems has been widespread in europe since the 1980s it was a latecomer here because some early versions. How to install pex tubing for a radiant heat floor. This article explains how to avoid some fatal mistakes when installing radiant heat in a concrete floor slab by describing an incompetent radiant heat floor installation along with an explanation of why things went wrong and how to avoid these errors. The down side is two heat sources.
This series article discusses the suitability of various tubing materials for radiant heated concrete floor slabs and choices of heat conducting fluids for radiant floors. As warm water circulates through the tubing or as electricity warms the heating elements the concrete flooring turns into an efficient inconspicuous radiator. This size is adequate for all small to medium size jobs both in residential and commercial projects. All water heaters waste heat energy even when the burner is off and the unit is sitting idle between heat ing cycles.
Pex is an acronym for cross linked polyethylene a plastic tubing installers use for hydronic radiant heating systems. We were told the only way to go was a wood engineered floor glued down. 1 2 oxygen barrier pex is the most popular size used for radiant floor heating in both thick and thin slabs. Quite simply concrete floor radiant heat is a system of pex tubes that carry hot water throughout a concrete floor or slab.
The other consider ation is. Typically radiant heating systems warm floors to temperatures of 75 to 80 degrees f. There s been a lot of debate over pex for the last several years because pex has a few downsides that you might not expect. Radiant heating system design or installation mistakes that must be avoided.
Pex tubing or piping is used for water supply lines as well as radiant floor heating. Here are some of the pex pipe problems you ll want to know about before making any decisions. Radiant heat can be an electrical heating element embedded into a very thin concrete overlay then tiled carpeted or have wood flooring installed over it. Granted the unit dedicated to heat ing the floor only wastes heat during the winter months.
Pex pipe remains popular for radiant floor heating. In 1973 it has a concrete slab foundation with radiant heat water runs thru copper tubing within slab. Like sand concrete is an ideal carrier of radiant heat because of its inherent thermal mass. We wanted a wood floor and spent a lot of time talking to flooring experts.
14 years later still in good shape and seems to keep house warm and comfortable.