Hot Water Radiator Heat - Does it work for Parlor Floors?
We are considering installing hot water heat and replacing and old steam system. Our parlor floor has high ceilings (12ft) and worry that the heating of hot water heat using the radiators might not be sufficient for the space. In addition, since we dont have room for radiators in the rear parlor, we might need to use some floor blower to heat the space. I worry that we may be making a bad move – anyone have any experience with a hot water radiator setup? Pros/Cons? I have this fear it will never get warm enough.
dubaivinylflooring
in General Discussion 2 years and 5 months ago
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RobertGMarvin
in General Discussion 2 years and 5 months ago
I use ceiling fans set on reverse/low for that purpose in my back parlor and ground floor kitchen. It does help to distribute the heat more evenly.
stoopsitter | 2 years and 5 months ago
I have two neighbors who have ceiling fans on their parlor floor and swear by them. In winter, set them to push warm air down into the room so the heat from your rads isn’t wasted. In summer, reverse the direction to help cool. However I don’t have first hand experience of this.
annep | 2 years and 5 months ago
I have hot water radiators in my parlor floor (with 12+ ft ceilings) and they’re great. The front is super toasty — the back a little less so (but only because of a drafty bay window).
Master Plvmber | 2 years and 5 months ago
Jeez. I read the title as “radiant”. At 54, I’m officially old and senile. Please disregard and carry on.
dubaivinylflooring | 2 years and 5 months ago
I am specifically looking at radiators rather than floor radiant due to the fact that we’re going over the existing flooring. Thank you all!!
RobertGMarvin
in General Discussion 2 years and 5 months ago
I assume that the OP means RADIATORS,, as written. The most comfortable heating I ever experienced was in an apartment in the South Slope that had big. old cast iron hot water radiators. It was far more comfortable than the steam heat I grew up with and somewhat more comfortable than the forced hot air in my own house.
cate | 2 years and 5 months ago
OP, traditional cast iron radiators with hot water work as great as — better than — steam radiators in my experience. (Less messy, noisy and risky.) Baseboard water heat, on the other hand, is more costly to run and unsightly. I did once have it in an apartment in a circa 1900 building, and it seemed to work fine, but the ceilings were probably around 9 or 10 feet high not 12 feet high. Baseboard hot water heat may be less efficient than traditional cast iron radiators because the latter have a greater surface area and radiate longer because the cast iron retains heat. I love our hot water cast iron radiators.
jimhillra | 2 years and 5 months ago
James – are you talking about radiant floor heat, or just hot water radiators instead of steam? We’ve done both, and I don’t think I’d recommend radiant floor heat in a rowhouse anymore, at least not with today’s heat pump technology. It seems to me that if you’re going through the effort of replacing the entire heating system, you’re most likely also putting in AC, which can be used as a heat pump, so I’d just make sure the insulation and windows are good, and then do away with a supplemental heating system entirely.
That said, hot water radiators are just as effective as steam, if not more than. They maintain a much steadier temperature by running lower and more often. This would seem to be a better option for high volume spaces as it would maintain the temperature better lower in the room, reducing heat stratification. Also, because they run at a lower temp, they don’t dry out the air as much. In my opinion, hot water heat is much better for a rowhouse than steam.
Lurker | 2 years and 5 months ago
We have wood floors with radiant heat and from a hot water/hydronic boiler for nearly a decade now and it’s super cheap to run, we walk around in t shirts all winter, and think there’s no reason other than expense not to do it if you can. we have no issues with ambient temperatures and as Master Plumber suggests the contact of your feet on the floor is warm and we found above 80 actually makes you sweaty anyway. The one issue, is a real one, is that wood floors naturally shrink and expand during the year, and unless you have a way of maintaining humidity in your home the natural humidity drop during winter coupled with the essentially constant heating of the wood flooring causes the boards to shrink and gap which sucks. they do faithfully re-expand during spring summer fall. We have run humidifiers non stop in winter some times which can help a lot but that’s kind of a pain in the neck to do every day especially as you have multiple humidifiers to cover. Still I imagine a better plumber/designer might have been able to mitigate it.
Master Plvmber | 2 years and 5 months ago
If you are able to warm the floors it will make a big difference…not so much in the temperature of the room but in how comfortable you feel in the space. The body naturally loses less heat in the presence of warm objects and surfaces. It’s basically the whole premise of radiant floor heating.
Unfortunately, wood floors can only tolerate a surface temperature of 80°F-85°F so you won’t get much heat out of them but, again, you will be more comfortable than if you didn’t heat them. If you can use a masonry/tile floor you can crank those babies to any temperature you like until it becomes too warm for your bare feet. Normally around 100°F. But then the air temperature starts to come up. My opinion is that this is something you have one real chance to get right. Don’t crowd source it. Get a trusted mechanical engineer/systems designer to work with your contractor or architect to design a simple but comprehensive system made specifically for that difficult room. Good luck.
This is me: www.72Fmechanical.com