Easy Plumbing Knowledge

Hello team! How is everyone doing in this tough times. We hope everyone is doing well and adjusting to the different measures that are in place to keep everyone safe. In today's blog post we will compare and contrast two systems of radiant heating. We will talk about radiators and baseboard heating systems. One thing that they both have in common is that both depend on hot water as the most popular heat source. Radiators work by moving energy from the radiator through the air, without heating up the air until it strikes an object. At that moment it is when the object is finally warmed. In the past, large cast-iron radiators were used. They machines were huge, weighing more than 100 pounds. In contrast, baseboard heating systems convey heat from hot water to the air using convection, that is, the motion that happens when warmer air rises, while cooler air drops down. Thus, these systems create a curtain of warm, rising air. The advantage of baseboard systems is that they ...

Hello Easy Plumbing Knowledge team, in the previous posts we have learned more about how hot water baseboard systems work and the positive and negative aspects of having such a system. Today, however, we will focus on comparing radiant heating systems with other radiant heating systems. As we covered on previous posts, hot water baseboard systems work by having water that is pumped from a central boiler into pipes that go through the baseboards at the bottom of the wall and that then help radiate heat to each room. In contrast to hot water baseboard systems, electric baseboards heaters use an electric resistance heating unit as the heat source instead of a hot water baseboard. The downside to this method is that is much more expensive and inefficient. What about radiators? This heating system that radiates heat is more efficient than electric baseboards but occupy much more space than hot water baseboard systems. The next system we want to compare is the radiant floor heat...

In the previous blog we covered more about hot water baseboard systems. We covered some of the benefits of such systems, including their lower installation costs, their energy efficiency, and their constant flow of warmth and silent operation. We learned about how they operate using water through pipes that is pumped from a boiler. In this post, we will cover some of the negatives of getting a hot water baseboard system: First, hot water baseboard systems are not the best of systems to warm up a room. They take a longer time to heat up rooms, especially larger rooms. Radiant heating systems are much more superior at this but are more expensive. Second, hot water baseboard systems don't produce large quantities of heat. Thus, again, there will be some problems getting rooms, especially larger rooms, warmed up. Third, the fact that the heater is located at the baseboards in each room, this will get in the way with having unlimited freedom with your decor of each room. Yes...

Hello everyone! In today's post we will be covering a heating technology known as hot water baseboard heaters. In this technology, hot water that comes from a central boiler in your house is pumped into pipes that then go along the bottom of the wall on either one or more sides of each room of your house. So basically, hot water baseboard heaters use water instead of electricity. So, now, let's get to some of the positives of such technology: 1) One of the first things that come to mind as  a positive of hot water baseboard heaters is that installing such a system may considerably lower than other technologies. Of course, this depends on how many rooms, the locations of the rooms that you want to maintain warm, and also if there is already a space for the boiler. 2) Another huge advantage of hot water baseboard heater systems is that they can save you energy. Now, it is important to know that if you have an electric boiler, then hot water baseboard heaters may not b...

Hello Team, How are you guys doing today? We hope that you all are doing fine during this difficult times. Indeed, we all have been going through much stress and anxiety and uncertainty. In the last few posts, we have been covering details about how radiant heating systems work with different flooring types, form vinyl to concrete to laminate floors. Today, we will cover three more topics regarding radiant heating systems. The first one will be installation costs. Of course, as in many other things in life, a specific answer is impossible to give. The factors to consider are the type of system that you choose for your home and the size of your home. As a general rule, installing your radiant floor heating will range between $10 to $30 per square foot. Again, this depends a lot on the type of system that you want to install and the difficulty of the installation. In addition to this labor part, you will also need to pay an electrician to connect the system to your hour...

We have covered the many benefits of installing a radiant heating system friends. These benefits include: - Potential lower utility bills - More even heat distribution - Better air quality Now, one subject we have not touched on so far is how to repair a radiant heating floor system. More specifically, today we will cover how to repair an electrical floor heating system. For this, we have to consider that because there are no moving parts, electrical floor heating systems (one type of radiant heating systems) is such a type that does not give much problems. The best news when asking this repair question is that the entire floor has to be removed! Proving to be a nightmare for everyone! Just kidding!  You don't have to remove the entire floor. This is thanks to a device called Time Domain Reflectometer. This mechanisms helps to identify a short or break in your electrical floor heating system. The TDR calculates the distance from where a short has occurred and then sen...

Radiant heating systems have a lot of positive points in their favor. They are more efficient than other systems and they distribute heat more efficiently. Of course, there are many variables to consider, such as the type of floor covering, the thickness, the size of the house, the type of radiant heating system that it is (air vs electric vs hydronic). Thus, as a result you can potentially get lower utility bills. In addition, there is no ductwork. As a result there is more floor space. Another great point is better indoor air quality since forced air heating systems distribute pet dander, dust, mold spores in addition to what they are meant to distribute (heat). Now, however, there are a few disadvantages of radiant heating systems to consider. The first one of them is that the installation of radiant heating systems can be substantial. The good thing about this is that radiant heating systems can pay for themselves through the lower utility bills. Now, the cost of the instal...

There are many ways to maintain your home warm. There is furnaces and boilers, radiant heating, and wood systems. There is another system that can help you heat a room. These are small space heaters. Small space heaters are tremendously useful when central heating is too expensive to use or it is not necessary. You can use space heaters if you only want to heat one room instead of all the house or if you want to add more heat to a room after the home heating system is at a level. For instance, if one person of your family wants to have more heat, a small space heater does the job by providing just that for that one special room. In this way, you don't have to overheat your entire home. This is very useful when you have an elderly person living with you. You don't have to add unnecessary heat to the room while we were watching and talking about the past. It is important to have safety in mind when dealing with space heaters. There are thousands of cases related to space...

 In the previous post we learned more about the popularity of different heating systems. We found out that system that use gas are the most popular, followed by electrical systems. In today's post we cover different heating tips so that your system can be more efficient. The first tip has to work with your thermostat programming settings. You can program to the lowest level where you feel comfortable in the winter. The second tip is to program your thermostat to lower the setting when you go to sleep and when you are away from your home. The next tip consists of minimize use of exhaust fans after cooking or after showering. The fourth tip consists of cleaning or replacing filters on furnaces and cleaning warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators periodically. A fifth tip is to schedule a regular maintenance service. Maintenance does cost money but it is definitely worth it.

Hello everyone! In the last series of posts we have learned more about the different types of radiant floor heating systems and the different type of installations. In addition, we have learned more about the advantages and disadvantages of different floor types as it pertains radiant heating floor systems. In this new blog post, we explore more about the different home heating systems that are used in our homes. The main type of heating system is natural gas heating systems. The second most popular are electrical heating systems. After, we find that other common heating equipment systems include propane, fuel oil, and wood. It is always important to analyze your heating needs so that you can do your part and help save our world. This may mean upgrades using insulation or obtaining equipment that is more modern and more efficient. Here is a chart that illustrates the different type of heating systems and their popularity.

Hello team! In this article we will talk about the differences between flooring types. As we have talked before, though, tile and stone floors are usually are one of the best type of flooring to use with underfloor heating. This is because they are work great in conducting heat and retaining heat. Here are the comparison info. Enjoy: Ceramic Tiles / Stone Tiles - Great to use with underfloor heating - They have top notch heat transfer and heat retention properties - They are very easy to keep clean Slate and flagstone - They both have high conductivity Marble - Marble floors work very well with radiant floor systems as they have above average thermal conductivity properties - They may take longer to heat up Polished Concrete - Polished concrete floors work very well with radiant heating systems as they have high conductivity Hardwood  - Solid hardwood floors have to be referenced with manufacturer to see if they are compatible with specific underfloor hea...

In the last post we talked about the different types of radiant floor heating systems and about the different installation types for radiant floor heating systems. Today, we discuss the best types of flooring to be installed over radiant heating systems. Let's get started: 1) Tile Flooring - porcelain tile flooring and ceramic tile flooring both work very well with radiant heating systems as they are both excellent conductors of heat. In addition, these two types of flooring do not expand or contract as much as other flooring types. Thus, they do not result in cracking. 2) Laminate flooring is another type of flooring that works very well with radiant floor heating systems. Laminate flooring is designed to look like solid hardwood flooring. The difference is in price as laminate flooring can be much cheaper than solid hardwood flooring. One huge advantage is that laminate flooring does not expand and contract as much as other floor types. 3) Natural stone flooring - grani...

In the last post, we covered the different types of radiant floor heating and focus on three types. We covered the inefficient air-heated radiant floors, the flexible electric radiant floors, and efficient hydronic radiant floors. Now, in this post we will cover different types of floor installations. Wet Installations These types of installations embed the cables or tubing in a solid floor. How is this achieved? Well, through embedding the tubing or cables in concrete foundation slabs. These foundation slabs can be thick or think . In addition to concrete foundation slabs, the cables can also be embedded in gypsum slabs. Now, one important fact is that thick concrete slabs work very well with radiant heating floor installations. The reason for this is that thick concrete slabs work great at storing heat. Dry Floor Installations In this type of installation, cables and or tubing run in an air space beneath the floor. This method of dry floor installations are less expensiv...

Today we will explore radiant heating system as they are divided into three main types: air heated radiant floors, electric radiant floors, and hydronic radiant floors. Radiant Floor Heat In the first type of radiant floors , air is the medium to transfer heat. However, there are major disadvantages to this system. The main reason has to do with the fact that air cannot hold large amounts of heat. Thus, as a result, radiant floors are at not going to contribute to saving money. They are, in a few words, inefficient. Thus for this reason, air heated radiant floors are not really recommended. Electric Radiant Floors In this radiant floor system, electric cables are uses electricity and cables to carry the heat throughout your house. It is best to have a type of flooring that is able to be "charged" and keep the house heated for several hours. Hydronic Radiant Floros This system of radiant floors function by using a pump that pumps heated water from a boiler. The wa...

Today we will cover the last of the five radiant heating technologies available. This technology would be the SunTouch Warm Wire. The system consists of a power cable that can be installed under any floor type. The SunTouch Warm Wire is flexible and can be programmed using a touch screen. It can be installed for bathrooms, kitchen and entry ways. It also has a sensor system that can detect the temperature and air conditions before initiating the system. The radiant system will warm all types of flooring covers, including ceramic & porcelain tile, stone, wood, laminates, vinyl or carpet. In addition, it comes with a 25 year warranty. Indeed, it is a great system that is economical and efficient.

Hello team! In the previous three blog posts we have discussed three easy to install and popular heating systems. Two of them were from SunTouch - the SunTouch Mat and the Suntouch WarmWire - and the Nuheat Map. They will all produce a very evenly distributed heat system. Today we will discuss the HeatTech Tile Radiant Heating System. This system can be used for both residential and commercial settings, is easy to install and is very reliable. The HeatTech system can be installed below tile, stone, granite, and even marble flooring. This system allows for installation in larger rooms. In addition, the wire of the electric system comes with adhesive backing. This helps to not have to staple the wire. Some of the benefits are: - Easy installation since the system has the adhesive backing - Zero EMFs - It comes with a digital programmable thermostat - It is energy efficient - It has a long time warranty of 25 years. Indeed, installating the HeatTech Radiant Floor mat syst...

In the last two posts we covered two great radiant floor heating systems that are easy to install. We covered the Nuheat Matt and the SunTouch TapeMat. Both, as mentioned, as very simple to install and will help you maintain your home warm evenly and easily. Now, in this third post of the series we will cover another great radiant heating system. This third system comes from SunTouch also and it is the SunTouch Warm Wire. This system is rather a high tech system. It is designed to be highly customizable as it comes in several parts. The kits can also come with thermostat control. To install this system you have to run the warmwire cable. It can be installed over plywood, backerboard or concrete slabs. You will then need to apply thin-set mortar on top. You can use the SunTouch WarmWire system in bathrooms, kitchens, entryways and many other areas. When installing the WarmWire, it is important to make sure that the floor is primed. The system comes with metal straps, which ar...

In the last post we talked a little about the first of five top radiant floor heating systems: Nuheat floor mats. We learned how they are easy to install and contribute to reducing heating costs. Today we will cover a second system. This system is the SunTouch tape mat. You can install this radiant floor mat before you place the final flooring over the top. The SunTouch system comes with everything you need: - the radiant floor heating map - a programmable touchscreen thermostat - sensor wire - installation alarm (a continuity monitor) - and double stick tape To install the map you just have to: - unroll and attach your att - secure the floor sensor - apply thin-set mortar - and install your flooring It is recommended that you plan your layout well. Measure and draw a layout simple plan before installation. The recommended installation temperature is 50 degrees farenheit or 10 degrees celcius.

Hello everyone! Today we will cover one of five great radiant floor heating options. In previous posts we have covered some of the benefits of radiant heating, including even distribution and savings on your bill. Today, we will talk about one of the best radiant heating systems in the market. That first system is the Nuheat Floor Heat Mat. This system is simple to install as it does not require any specialized tools. In fact this system is very similar in its installation to the installation of of tiles. However, one thing to remember is that you will need to buy a Nuheat Thermostat as this is needed for the control and operation of the heater mat. Nuheat's system allows you to feel the heat as it is closes to where you are at -- the floor. As other radiant heating solutions, it also does not contribute to dust or allergens being blown across your home. The Nuheat mats are available for tile floors, stone floors, and laminate wood floors. Furthermore, you will enjoy sa...

Hello guys! As we have discussed before, radiant heating is a great way to warm up any space. They are efficient and distribute heat evenly. . In addition, the system is comfortable, it does not make noise, and will help you save money on your bill. Now, how does the installation work? Well, most of the time this is a job for a professional. But there are times where you can do some installations yourself. For these, one system you can use is the Beco Tech system.  The installation works using a specialize foam panel. The panels are laid directly on the floor. Then you press fit the tubing into them. Finally, you add a layer of specially mixed concrete.  This contributes to a less think layer than older methods. The concrete to be used can be five parts cement to one part water. It is important to make sure that you check the level of the floor to make sure that there are no significant high or low spots. The foam panels have edges (male and female) that assemb...