RADIANT HEAT
Created Sep 12 2007 by Walus, Mirek
WHAT IS RADIANT HEAT?
There are 3 basic ways heat transfer:
Conduction, convection, and radiant.
WHY RADIANT HEAT?
-
HEALTH. Traditional heaters force hot
airs through the house, these actions causes dust mites, pollens and pollutants
to circulate. Radiant heat however does not use air to carry heat, eliminating
the circulation of dust. Radiant heat can drastically reduce pollutants and dust
mites by up to 80%. Radiant heat also emits far-infrared rays which benefits the
body by relieving pain, stress and fatigue and increase circulations.
HOW DOES RADIANT FLOOR HEATING
WORK?
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Radiant energy warms the surfaces of all
objects which are in direct line of sight, including all floors, walls,
furniture and people which can be "seen" by the floor.
-
Radiant systems provide the inverse of
conventional space heating patterns: they provide warm floors and cool ceilings,
resulting in greater comfort and energy savings. Because it does not rely on
ducting, furnaces, fans or blowers, the system is virtually noiseless because
there is no air movement.
SUMMARIZING: COZIER HOMES.
Given top ranking
for efficient heating systems for homes and other buildings is hydronic radiant
floor heating - warm water (not boiling hot like in the traditional radiators)
running through serpentine piping just below a floor's surface.
Not only is it
the most loved heating system in terms of efficiency, it is also the most
comfortable to live with - say goodbye to dry skin with hydronic radiant floor
heating. It is what American Architectural Icon Frank Lloyd Wright envisioned
and implemented in his designs.
Unfortunately,
in-floor hydronic heating is probably best suited for new homes and commercial
buildings, or heavily remodeled ones. Adding this system to an existing building
is a monumental (read: expensive) task.
What owners of
lived-in, worked-in buildings need is a new kind of radiant heating technology
that can be easily, inexpensively added to existing buildings.
Picture something
like this: a material that could be rolled out connected to a source of energy
covered by ceramic or stone tiles and then allowed to heat a room, evenly,
comfortably and efficiently.
Had only GE try floor heating instead of walls or ceilings 50
years ago...
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