Like most Techbuilt homes, ours was originally built on a concrete slab. Since our renovation required that we break up the slab in order to install new services, we used this opportunity to convert over to a Hydronic Radiant Heating system.
Central Cooling & Heating has been doing the installation and it has been fascinating to watch the process. I'd like to thank the team for patiently explaining the system to us while they have been installing it.
Radiant heating systems like ours supply heat directly to the floor of a house and has a number of advantages. The warmth comes up through the flooring which feels more comfortable to many people. It is more efficient than baseboard heating and usually more efficient than forced-air heating because it eliminates duct losses.
Hydronic (liquid-based) systems use little electricity. Ours will use an oil-fired boiler but there are many other options for heating the liquid. Hydronic radiant floor systems pump heated water from a boiler through tubing laid in a pattern under the floor which you can see in the photo below.
Once the heating tubes are installed, a new concrete floor is poured and then we will install an engineered hardwood floor of wide plank oak which does a good job managing the resulting expansion and contraction of radiant heat.
We will have multiple zones to control the heat in various rooms in both the new addition and the original home.
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