A friend of mine is currently building a new house in New Hampshire. Knowing that I had installed radiant, he asked me about insulation under the basement slab and any other actions he should take to reduce losses, etc. I was able to help him with that. He then mentioned that he would be installing baseboard heat on the main floor. Knowing that he would then need to maintain a higher boiler temperature, I suggested that he also install radiant on the main floor in order to keep his boiler temperature lower. He went back to his heating contractor (who I believe is still living in the last century) and suggested that he wanted radiant on the main floor.
After balking at the suggestion, the contractor agreed and said he would quote for radiant on the main floor but he would still need to keep the boiler temperature up because there is a small bedroom suite on a second level (that I was unaware of) and he would need baseboard up there.
Having read several posts about radiant panel emmiters on this forum, I had come away with the assumption that these emmitters also used lower temperater water. When my friend went back to his contractor he was told that radiant panels needed 180* water to function. He also presented a quote of $30,000.00 for the heating claiming that the installation of radiant panels brought up the price significantly.
So my question is: Will radiant panels function at the lower temperatures typically used for radiant floor?
Also: Does anyone have any suggestions on which ones to use and which are the most asthetically pleasing to the eye. Also, The best source to procure these units?
I did some searching and found several that look quite different from each other. Is there a difference in the way they function?
After balking at the suggestion, the contractor agreed and said he would quote for radiant on the main floor but he would still need to keep the boiler temperature up because there is a small bedroom suite on a second level (that I was unaware of) and he would need baseboard up there.
Having read several posts about radiant panel emmiters on this forum, I had come away with the assumption that these emmitters also used lower temperater water. When my friend went back to his contractor he was told that radiant panels needed 180* water to function. He also presented a quote of $30,000.00 for the heating claiming that the installation of radiant panels brought up the price significantly.
So my question is: Will radiant panels function at the lower temperatures typically used for radiant floor?
Also: Does anyone have any suggestions on which ones to use and which are the most asthetically pleasing to the eye. Also, The best source to procure these units?
I did some searching and found several that look quite different from each other. Is there a difference in the way they function?