Best radiator options?

[sardo_67]

Doing heat calculations for my living room and looking to add more BTUs.

So aside from adding another 12-15ft of the basic ugly baseboard heating are there more efficeant radiator options out there?

I’ve been looking at these Runtal units in either 2 or 3 panel set ups.

UF-3-144 - Runtal UF-3-144 - 12 ft UF-3 Baseboard Radiator

Runtal UF-3-144 - 12 ft UF-3 Baseboard Radiator - <b>Note: The only custom colors we are able to provide at this time are Glacier Grey, Cream White, Runtal Steel, Gray White</b><br>

www.supplyhouse.com

 

[maple1]

Cast iron rads?

 

[Bad LP]

Those Runtal baseboards get very expensive quickly. Panel radiators work well with lower boiler water temps but they can interfere with room layout and furnishings. I'm hoping to someday swap out my BB units and change over to panels. No way would I run with the Runtal purely due to the costs.
As noted above CI is always a good option.

 

[JohnDolz]

Doing heat calculations for my living room and looking to add more BTUs.

So aside from adding another 12-15ft of the basic ugly baseboard heating are there more efficeant radiator options out there?

I’ve been looking at these Runtal units in either 2 or 3 panel set ups.

UF-3-144 - Runtal UF-3-144 - 12 ft UF-3 Baseboard Radiator

Runtal UF-3-144 - 12 ft UF-3 Baseboard Radiator - <b>Note: The only custom colors we are able to provide at this time are Glacier Grey, Cream White, Runtal Steel, Gray White</b><br>

www.supplyhouse.com

I installed some very big glass (not really windows) and needed to add some BTU's to the room. Since I heat with very low water temp but wanted to keep cost reasonable I went with:

(broken link removed)

 

[sardo_67]

Those Runtal baseboards get very expensive quickly. Panel radiators work well with lower boiler water temps but they can interfere with room layout and furnishings. I'm hoping to someday swap out my BB units and change over to panels. No way would I run with the Runtal purely due to the costs.
As noted above CI is always a good option.

How do they mess with room layout?

Oh I meant to say OTHER than massive cast iron units. I know those throw heat, I used a 4ft like 300lb unit in my 11x11 breezeway.

 

[Bad LP]

How do they mess with room layout?

Oh I meant to say OTHER than massive cast iron units. I know those throw heat, I used a 4ft like 300lb unit in my 11x11 breezeway.

Unlike BB they don't like furniture placed in front of them I've been told.

 

[maple1]

Unlike BB they don't like furniture placed in front of them I've been told.

I think I would agree with that.

 

[sardo_67]

so in the end all the baseboard type are about the same, Runtals look nice but expensive and massive cast iron are still the best performance wise?

I am not against using large cast iron units however are there any newer ones? i used a Hudson and Reed in my bathroom and it looks nice, they make large ones however a 24x70 is over $1000 and only 8500-9k BTU which is less than i have in the room now.

 

[JohnDolz]

so in the end all the baseboard type are about the same, Runtals look nice but expensive and massive cast iron are still the best performance wise?

I am not against using large cast iron units however are there any newer ones? i used a Hudson and Reed in my bathroom and it looks nice, they make large ones however a 24x70 is over $1000 and only 8500-9k BTU which is less than i have in the room now.

I would disagree that all baseboard are the same. If you look at the item I linked earlier you will see that it runs 2 copper pipes allowing for much greater BTU per lineal foot. Regarding the looks if you don't like the way it looks there are several aftermarket baseboard cover manufacturers that make some attractive designs - in the eye of the beholder of course and it will still be a baseboard......

 

[sardo_67]

I would disagree that all baseboard are the same. If you look at the item I linked earlier you will see that it runs 2 copper pipes allowing for much greater BTU per lineal foot. Regarding the looks if you don't like the way it looks there are several aftermarket baseboard cover manufacturers that make some attractive designs - in the eye of the beholder of course and it will still be a baseboard......

i looked a those and they are only a few more BTUs over what i have now, mine is about 900 per foot and the highest on those is just over 1k. I'm not writing them off, i'll look into them more

 

[sardo_67]

ok so if i used these for my first floor loop how are they plumbed so i get even flow thru both the upper and lower runs?

split the supply in my basement with a T, 2 lines up thru the floor and into the rad, then 2 our the other end and down into a T back into the main loop?

or monoflow tees in the basement running off the main 3/4" copper loop?


so from their website.......
"Low temperature applications Where Heating Edge HE2 really shines is in low temperature applications. Geothermal heat pumps, solar thermal and PVT collectors and condensing boilers are all great ways to save energy and reduce fossil fuel usage. All achieve their highest efficiencies when delivering low temperature water. The challenge faced when it comes to heating effectively with traditional baseboard is that supply water temperatures need to be at least 140°F in order to deliver enough BTU’s to sufficiently heat a space at design temperature. Not so with Heating Edge. Due to HE2’s unique two pipe design, it’s able to deliver comparable BTU/hr using 100°F supply water - all in an attractive package. "

its not just the BTU they give off but the fact that i could run my heating water from 180* down to 120* or so like my radiant floor heat when i'm running off my wood boiler heat storage tanks?

 

[JohnDolz]

i looked a those and they are only a few more BTUs over what i have now, mine is about 900 per foot and the highest on those is just over 1k. I'm not writing them off, i'll look into them more

If you're getting 900 BTU per foot then I would agree. I was going with the assumption that most standard basedboard is in the 500's for 180 degree water. When I switched I was estimating a 75 - 100% increase in BTU's.

 

[sardo_67]

If you're getting 900 BTU per foot then I would agree. I was going with the assumption that most standard basedboard is in the 500's for 180 degree water. When I switched I was estimating a 75 - 100% increase in BTU's.

i edited my comment above but i am going to look into these much more now, you have these in your house?

i'm in Southington not too far from you

 

[JohnDolz]

i edited my comment above but i am going to look into these much more now, you have these in your house?

i'm in Southington not too far from you

I have these in my family room, you are most welcome to come take a look (I have aftermarket Baseboard covers on the rest of my house so you can look at those as well). Mine are piped with 1 pipe from the heat source and seem to work fine. I don't recall the installation manual recommending a T in the basement and then running 2 pipes. Keep in mind I am a sales guy - I will leave it to the engineers and those that know hydronics much better than me. I just knew that I tripled the amount of "window" I had in the room so I wanted to offset it with additional BTU's - seems to be working.

Regarding running your tanks down to 120, I let my boiler control the flow temperature via Outdoor Reset, I would guess that my flow temp spends most of the year below 130 degrees. Other than recovering from setback, is rarely over 150 degrees.

 

[sardo_67]

Ya I’ll have to hit you up on that offer.

I found smith also makes these. Zero floor footprint as they’re built into the wall and offer a lot more BTUs for less cost and space than most other things.

Although maybe they are unattractive. Not sure.

(broken link removed to http://www.h-mac.com/product-catalogs/smiths-environmental-products/Smiths-PWU-Brochure.pdf)

 

[vtwoodheater]

Look at Haydon-958 baseboard. Reasonable cost footage wise, really good numbers at lower temps.
The Smith's stuff looks good, but it is $30/ft.

 

[JohnDolz]

Look at Haydon-958 baseboard. Reasonable cost footage wise, really good numbers at lower temps.
The Smith's stuff looks good, but it is $30/ft.

Funny could not find much info on the Haydon 958. I was only dong 1 room so the cost wasn't too big of an issue. Additionally I had already replaced the rest of the house with baseboard covers (cost of these were a lot more reasonable when I purchased them) below and the Smith design matched fairly well.

Premium Baseboard Heater Cover

As Seen on “Ask This Old House“, the Premium Series is our most versatile as well as most popular product line. It is available in every common panel length and accessory configuration, providing a comprehensive solution for most applications. Baseboarders® Premium provides a clean, modern...

www.baseboardheatercovers.com

 

[sardo_67]

after looking at a lot of things i am going to go with 2 toe kick heater units in my kitchen island facing the living room area that together give me around 10k BTU each while being almost invisible and costing 50% of base board heater.