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I know this subject is covered extensively here, but just to pull together everything, materials, heating equipment….. here’s the picture: we’ve got a two stall with black plstic, 2″ foam and concrete with:
what kind of tubing, pex or copper?
one or two circuits?
what kind of heating unit? (Wisconsin winters)
Replies
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Sounds like my place (2-car plus small workshop area, loft above, Alaskan winters, natural gas available). I went with two 300-foot rolls of PEX, in two circuits in parallel (i.e. one pump, no valves for both loops). (Plus a third circuit for the radiant sidewalk). Used a 42,000 btu/hour direct-vent water heater ($450) as the heat source on one side of the heat exchanger, the garage and sidewalk on the other side of the HX. Same setup as my house which only needs 18,000 btu/hour at -40F (lots of sprayed urethane and really tight). By going direct-vent, I have fewer worries about CO posioning, draft issues in a tight house, and, in the garage, the gasoline fumes/pilot light hazard.
Two approaches on laying the PEX: 1) If you have separate rooms, lay one 300-foot in each so can control them separately. 2) lay the two rolls alongside each other so if one leaks you can still heat the whole floor with the other.
You are going to love this garage. With the heat coming up from the floor, there will be very uniform air temperatures, the car will thaw very quickly, the melt water will evaporate very quickly, and the large surface area will allow a quick recover after opening the gargae door to -20F outside air.
Hint: slope the concrete down 1/2" to the center of each car parking location. That will give you a few gallons of melt-water storage capacity under the car, out from under foot. If you slope the floor towards the garage door, the melt water will either freeze the door to the slab (unlikely with a radiant slab) or build up an ice dam just past the slab. If the building inspector and enviromental authorities (Dept of Natural Resources in Wisconsin, I think) allow it, a center drain in each cars' bay to sewer or septic is the nicest. But their concern is that gasoline could drain to the septic tank or sewer plant in the event of a leaking tank. -David
*I have a shed type shop with a steel roof, concrete floor and use ceiling mounted radiant heating panels. FW had an article on heating December last year and showed the Solid State Heating electric panels. 800 544 5182 They look like accoustic ceiling panels 1 inch thick and 2'x6'It takes less energy to heat me than the whole shop. I suspended the individual panels over the work areas, the panels heat solid objects not air. 2'x 6' 220 volts works just fine. 110 volt panels work just as well.Cheap, efficient and easy to install and resinstall if one breaks.A.J.
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I know this subject is covered extensively here, but just to pull together everything, materials, heating equipment..... here's the picture: we've got a two stall with black plstic, 2" foam and concrete with:
what kind of tubing, pex or copper?
one or two circuits?
what kind of heating unit? (Wisconsin winters)