Using A Water Heater For Radiant Heat

Water heaters are good for radiant floor heating because they maintain a low temperature.

Using a water heater for radiant heat.

A water heater heats water that is constantly being replenished since it is connected to taps. A boiler is a device used to heat a home using steam and radiant heat techniques and is a closed system which rarely replenishes its supply of water from an external source. The author s radiant distribution system consists of a primary loop with a heat exchanger for domestic hot water and secondary loops for each heating zone. The type of system you are.

Water heaters on the other hand are perfectly happy being fed 55 f supply water and chugging along at 110 f to 140 f perfect for radiant floors and more than adequate for many baseboard and panel radiator applications. Electric heat discusses typical electric heating systems. This model has the most impressive flow rate it is well made and it comes with all you are going to need. A typical 6 gallon water heater is rated at 3 000 watts which is 10 239 btu h.

Most radiant heating installations use a boiler to heat the water but a simple hot water heater can do the job and save you several hundred to a few thousand dollars. The go to site for do it yourself hydronic systems using a water heater is a company called radiantec. Electricity is commonly used to heat water for hydronic heating systems as a backup heat source such as in a heat pump system see backup heat for heat pumps or in super insulated buildings that use a tiny electric boiler and perhaps a radiant floor slab. The heating fluid is self contained within the system and stays there unless removed for maintenance completely separate from the domestic hot water.

You will need to make a few modifications to the heater and have knowledge of basic plumbing techniques. Today tankless heaters are low cost high efficient units that are cheaper to maintain operate. You really only need a maximum of 120 f for your floor. Radiantec s closed system uses a high efficiency water heater or boiler to heat water or another heating fluidsuch as anti freeze.

It is the safest choice as well. Takagi on demand water heaters have many excellent features. They have become the standard heat sources for radiant heating applications. They re extremely well engineered quiet compact 2 2 cu.

The reasons are outlined below. That temperature is safe and comfortable as well as being efficient. The first step is to do a heat load calculation. Water heated by the tankless heater flows directly through the floor tubing while a heat exchanger provides heat for the dhw supply.

You will need to be aware of the incoming groundwater temperature as cold water will drop the overall water temperature. If your heat loss calculation exceeds that number you ll need a bigger water heater. The system designer may have to increase the size of the radiators to account for the lower water temperature.