Heated tile floor

I have dabbled in hydronic based heated floors this is a wooden subfloor with the pex tubing running 6 inch ish spacing on the tubing Attachment 58756

Attachment 58757 I hate trying to post pictures from the phone this is the distribution center for the solar heated glycol

That's pretty cool. Did you run a router along the subfloor to allow the pex to be as flush as possble?

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Originally Posted by Irving

It sounds like you use yours the same way I was thinking, just the knock the cold off, as opposed to supplementing your furnace?

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Yep, it could be used as more a primary heat,but I don't think it is efficient. I use it to warm the floors. Which is nice.

I don't even run mine hot, they run at a default of 90 I think and you get 80 on the tile. Loss through tile etc.

We sell that stuff at Home Depot, and it's my understanding that it's mainly just to heat the floor enough so that it's not cold to walk on, not intended as a "heat source" for heating the house.

Now, the hot water systems in the floor with PEX tubing is another matter. I DREAM of having a shop/garage built that way! Those are awesome! Imagine walking in your shop into a cloud of warmth, and everything in there is the same temperature. Tools, vehicles, floor.....you wouldn't even have to have it that warm, say 55-60, and have a supplemental heater to bring it up to working temp when you're in there. Just keep it warm enough to keep the chill off. Or warm enough to heat your whole house that way. Maybe someday.....

and a driveway free of snow... :)

In floor heating is more efficient than most other types. Since the heat evenly rises from a large mass you dont need a circulation fan and if the heated air is exchanged the thermal mass heats it quickly.

However electric is way over priced here due to xcels monopoly. If you look at your bill % 65 of the cost us from xcel tansmitting the power and maintaining the lines. % 35 is from generation of power. Read the solar on my house thread and see how badly xcel tries to sandbag that program.

We did my dads shop in 2002 with pex. A manifold. A salvaged pump and a salvaged spa heater.

Irving,
if your wife hates cold floors, rethink your flooring choice. The flooring material you're considering is pretty damn chilly on the feet.

Cheapest solution:
http://www.bunnyslippers.com/images/...ny-slipper.jpg

Davsel ftw