Radiant heat - is it a must? (Corning, Wilson: wood floors, house)

[Teresa1127]

The architect for the house we're planning to build is a big fan of radiant heat. Aside from the comfort factor, he says it also helps cut down on heat expense as it's heat travels throughout the house and keeps the furnace from needing to kick on. He also thinks for resale in the future having radiant heat is a real plus - otherwise buyers may think we "went cheap".

What are your opinions??

TIA

[Kbinspections]

Originally Posted by Teresa1127

The architect for the house we're planning to build is a big fan of radiant heat. Aside from the comfort factor, he says it also helps cut down on heat expense as it's heat travels throughout the house and keeps the furnace from needing to kick on. He also thinks for resale in the future having radiant heat is a real plus - otherwise buyers may think we "went cheap".

What are your opinions??

TIA

Radiant heat is a nice feature if done right. It's more of a specialty install. It must be done right to be effective. Most people do it in kitchen and baths.

"Resale"??? That is just a dumb statement by your architect. You do not build your house for "resale". Most people do not even know about radiant heat. I have inspected many expensive homes, none of them were 100% radiant heat.

IMO, do your bathrooms and maybe kitchen.

Downside of radiant heat is that it takes a longer time to get the house to a comfortable tempature but its more even and well distributed.

Good luck!

[MTAtech]

The quick answer is it isn't a must but it is found in newer up-scale homes.

If you are building a house from scratch, radiant heat will give desirable benefits. The only drawback is the cost, which is more than baseboard. Here is some information from the government. You also must take care when having work done in the house. A workman could drill through a floor and puncture a tube.

As long as you are building a house from stratch, also consider passive solar and solar hot water as well. One advantage of radiant heat is that the water temperatures are lower than baseboard. You can use the sun to heat or pre-heat the water used in the radiant system.

You should also super-insulate your walls using six-inch studs with Owen-Corning R-21 in between the studs and one inch of Celotex Tuff-R on top of the studs. That will give you close to R-30 walls. If you also use R-38, as Owen-Corning recommends, in the attic you will have very low heating bills.

[workingclasshero]

Radiant heat is the BEST heat, and the most effecient, but it is also the most expensive to put in. If you are that liquid to install throught the whole house go for it. ..IF you do elect to do it, add a solar heater with it, it will cut the heatting costs even more. Since you are planning a great system like this, preplan all wiring for future type systems, so you wont have to disturbe the system at a later date,(ie running LAN, or Fiberoptic throughout the house, also since the house is going to be new, you can have all the wiring done in condulate making it easier to rewire(fish) any future wires)

It is not as common, so make sure that the construction company is fully aware, and certified in doing this type of work, as many are not that knowledgable on it.

have them make sure ALL joints are sealed well, so you don't end up with leaks later

remember that it is only the heat, you will still need an a/c system for cooling.


Best of luck

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by Teresa1127

He also thinks for resale in the future having radiant heat is a real plus - otherwise buyers may think we "went cheap".

As a current buyer, I'd feel the same way about radiant heat as some other buyers feel about a pool: I'd rather not have it, because personally I don't like it. I don't want a web of water lines throughout the space in or under any of my floors, period. We don't like forced air heat either, we just like baseboard. I'd never think a house without radiant heat was built on the cheap, I'd just say "Oh well, here's another thing I'd have to change" and then figure in the cost of draining the radiant system, capping it off, and installing the baseboard heating that we DO want, into our offer price to offset the expense. If the entire house was radiant, then honestly we wouldn't even look at it unless we could afford to redo the entire thing in baseboard.

Your architect should stick to drawing plans the way YOU want them, and stop trying to play realtor on the side.

[OhBeeHave]

I have OHW heat through most of my house. Our living room is an old bedroom and coadjacent garage space. Half was on a concrete slab, half was wood floors over a crawlspace. When it came time to choose heat for the room, we opted for radiant. One of our friends had used it in their great room and we both liked it. We poured concrete to level the floors, had the pros install the tubing and then laid concrete for an even finished floor. It is on it's own zone, which the former bedroom was not.

Pros: the heat is evenly distributed, the heat clicks on less often as the concrete retains the heat and disburses it after the heat turns off.

Con: 1) If someone sets the heat a few degrees too high, cooling off the room is like stopping a speeding train.
2) No immediate gratification -- if you are cold, you have to wait for the floor to heat up and release more heat into the room.

I lived (briefly) as a child in a Levitt house with radiant heat. The bathroom was first on the loop. Those floors would burn your feet in the dead of winter!

[rocafeller05]

Im a big fan of hydronic radiant heat. BUT it has to be designed and installed correctly!!
You can make every room its own zone if you want to. Some people save 20-40% by installing a radiant system. Radiant heating systems run off 90-130 degree water depending on the type of floor covering. Therefore these lower temps. let the boiler to operate at a lower temp. and actually live longer than a conventional boiler.
The heating comfort cannot be matched. And since its heated from the ground up it saves more energy and money b/c you dont lose so much heat to the ceilings. Your body also feels warmer with lower temps. when the heat is at your feet b/c thats the coolest part on your body.
But the part I like best is the ice and snow melting. Wouldnt it be nice to flip a switch before a storm and have your driveway be snow free?

[OhBeeHave]

Wouldnt it be nice to flip a switch before a storm and have your driveway be snow free?

There's a house in Proctor, VT that sits across the way from Wilson Castle. The home has a long, twisting driveway -- alleged to be over a mile long. According to a docent at the Castle, the owners of the house had just such a system installed. I guess that in the long run, the would recognize some savings over the cost of plowing and sanding such a long expanse.

[MTAtech]

If you are interested in solar radiant heat, see the add on page 42 of Solar Today, below:
SOLAR TODAY - July/August 2008

[llama8]

I'm not a huge fan of radiant heat. It takes a while to really make a room comfortable. I honestly don't know if I would buy a home that had it. I would only install it if you really want, not for resale. I think it could deter some people from buying your home, but if you enjoy, that's all that matters.

I think the person who equated it to a pool made a great comparison. Never install a pool for resale, only install it for your own pleasure. I know I would never buy a home with an inground pool too.