Radiant hydronic wall units

I have been looking at some radiant hydronic wall units (is that just a fancy way to say wall mounted radiator?) to use upstairs instead of baseboard and they look like a good idea. Brands were Buderus and Runtal. Anyone out there used either one? Comments on performance of this kind of unit? I am also scrounging for used old cast iron floor radiators but I am not sure the chase will be worth it in cost savings over these wall units. One concern is how hot the water has to be to make them work. Nick R.

in general they are refered to as "radiant panels". wall mounted radiators are usually convectors, but that dont have to be.
i use the runtal all the time. they can be sized for any water temperature. the lower the water temperature, the bigger they get.
They can be pricey. in my applications, $400-600 ea.
The standard baseboard by slant fin, or whatever is only $4-5 / ft

Panel radiators are the nicest thing short of actual radiant floor heating. You can set up a single thermostat for the upstairs (for example) that will send water to a manifold. That splits it up into runs for each room, and the radiator in that room gets a thermostatic radiator valve. So, the thermostat turns on the pump, and then each radiator turns itself off as that room warms up. Room-by-room temperature control!

Joe

We're using the Buderus version in our new home. They were cheaper than Runtal for a similar heat output. The look is completely different between the two. Ours are designed at 140 degrees. We went this route primarily to avoid the excessive damage that energetic children seem to inflict on baseboard heaters. Having researched the benefits I would not use baseboard again, for reasons such as the individual room control.

i really like the sound of that!!

do you have a link to have a look at these suckers?

http://www.buderus.net/

Why can you not control baseboards the same way?

You can. But if you're going to go to the trouble, it makes sense to use panel radiators. Putting thermostatic radiator valves on baseboard is sort of like putting racing slicks on a rusted-out Yugo.

Joe