Is electric in floor heating really better than hydronic? I realize the upfront costs are more, but how about maintanence, running costs, etc… I’m building a house in Grand Junction, CO – HOT in the summer, cool/ cold in the winter.
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Maintance cost will be less with the electric. No pumps, no boiler.
Opearting cost depend on energy source that you are comparing it against and the cost of that energy compared to electricity in YOUR AREA.
In most cases, electric heat is among the most expensive means of heating a structure. Around here, 2.5x to 3x the cost of oil ballpark. Some of you folks out west get cheap hydroelectric power, so it may be a better deal.
I'm surprised the upfront costs for electric are higher than hydronics. That would normally be the benefit of using electric.
the guy from "Step" warmfloors did an estimate for me based on anual temp- came in at around $450/yr to heat the house. Have you heard anything negative about elec. in floor- besides running costs?
"Have you heard anything negative about elec. in floor- besides running costs?"
No, I've heard it's functionally good stuff. Hey, no moving parts!
Running costs would bankrupt me if my rfh was electric instead of hydronic.
A bigger (potential) problem is that I've never seen PEX break. I have seen cables break. And when a resistance cable breaks, often times a splice won't do it, you need to replace the whole cable.
Maintenance? Yeah, for the most part zero with resistance. Not a whole lot with hyronic, though, if the heat source for your radiant is the same as for your domestic hot water. Boiler maintenance is boiler maintenance. Maybe down the road a circulating pump or two. I've had oil-fired radiant hydronic since '95 and all I've done is clean my boiler once every year or two. Zero maintenance/repair on the actual system itself.
the stuff i found- "step" warmfloors- are like a rubber mat w/ mini cables running through it. They claim you can nail/ screw right through it, just not cut it. In an energy efficient house (i.e. rastra bloc) the rep estimated about $450/ yr to run the system. BUT $12,500 to install- is that much more than hydronic?
Where are you located? What's the sf of your house? What are elec costs in your area?
For what it's worth...on their website the radiant floor application was rated at 7.5 watts/sqft @ 24V.
Jim, you ever hear of this specific product before? It's new to me.
the house is in Grand Junction CO- HOT in the summer, cool/cold in the winter. i plan to do the exterior walls with rastra bloc (R-40ish). sq. ftage- 2675. i don't know what the elec. costs are. Are there any distinct DISadvantages to electric in-floor heat, besides product/ intall costs?
Edited 2/18/2005 8:18 pm ET by mwh
Some quick #. If they say 7.5 W/sf, that's 25.6 mbtu/h for a thousand sf. With a well constructed house I'd approximate 12 mbtu/h, so let's give yours the benefit of the doubt and say that all your heating needs can be handled by 7500 W. If it runs 12 hr a day, and elec is 7 c/kwh, then a monthly elec heating bill is $189. Don't think I dropped a decimal, and think I did all assumptions in your favor. $450 for the heating season? I'm skeptical. Anyone double-check my math?By contrast, my hydronic rfh is supplied by a ground source heat pump that has >48 mbtu/h capacity and has a monthly cost of < $100.Another thing you should do is take the capital cost that's in excess of your alternative system and calc the time value of that money. Add that to the operating cost for the fairest comparison of alternatives.Mongo, not specifically familiar with this system. Not yet seen economic analysis for elec that works beyond a small room.
Can't really guess at install costs without knowing more about your house...
The STEP intrigues me. I fired off a few emails, hopefully they'll get back to me. Definitely different than standard radiant cable.
Thanks for enlightening this humble grasshopper...
I have a house in GJ and one in Montrose. One has hydronic baseboard and the other infloor hydronic. I would never recommend putting in electric especially in this part of the country as natural gas cost are much more affordable than electric.
Natural gas is much more abundant in this part of the country which keeps cost down.
The only positive I can see is with problems. Hydronic may cause more damage if a leak occurs whereas if the electric goes bad is should just blow a breaker. Then the issue becomes finding the bad spot.