Category Archives: Radiant Hydronic Heating

The Monster in the Basement- converting old boilers to modern HE models.

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Coal Fed Monster

I have a story to tell, a scary story. A story of a monster living in a basement, a monster with a ravenous appetite. But don’t worry, there is a happy ending.

The monster wasn’t always a monster. When it first moved into the old Victorian home in 1905 it was loved as a modern marvel. It provided warmth for its family throughout the coldest winters and all it needed was to be fed with a shovel full of coal a few times a day.

But as time moved on the monster consumed more and more coal and spit out a dirty, belching breath that polluted and scarred and nobody liked it anymore, except Arthur Scargill, who was a bit odd.

Arthur Scargill

So the monster changed. It started eating Natural Gas. Around 1970, a lot of things that liked coal became full of gas (again, Arthur Scargill comes to mind). And the family were happy again. For a bit.

For gas became expensive and the monster just could not get enough of it. The family were cold in the winter and this made them cross. They started to complain about the monster and wondered if anything could be done about it.

And the answer was, “yes”. Continue reading →

RETRO-FIT UNDER FLOOR HEATING, AKA “Staple-Up”.

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retro fit under floor heating

Under floor heating "staple-up"

Yes, even with existing hard-wood, you can have radiant floor heating!  There are a great deal of misconceptions around radiant floor heating and, in particular “staple-up”.   The comfort of under-floor heating can be retro-fitted to existing floors, the process is often referred to as Staple-up as the tubing or, more often, the insulation is attached with staples.   It is a very effective way to get the comfort and efficiency of a radiant heating system into an older home.

I once had a customer complain that he had a problem with his staple-up system, “When my in-laws visit, they take off there shoes and socks to enjoy the warm floor, I hate looking at their feet!!”.

Continue reading →

Solar Hot Water Installation with Wi-Fi

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Bay Area Hot Water From The Sun

Capturing the suns energy for pre-heating a homes hot water has been with us since man started bathing.  In recent years the solar hot water industry has had a new lease of life with increasing energy costs and concern for climate change. The government has given home owners added incentives with tax credits.

The very latest advancement in solar hot water technology is the introduction of web based performance monitoring.  The Helio-Pak Pro from Heliodyne, a local solar manufacturer based in Richmond CA., has a built in wi-fi transmitter that the installer or home owner can access from there PC. , lap-top or smart phone.  This allows for performance monitoring  and trouble shooting from, well, anywhere. Continue reading →

Comfort you can feel. Comments from homeowners with radiant heating.

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Solar Thermal- hydronics mechanical room

Solar Thermal- hydronics mechanical room

A selection of clients give their comments on their radiant heating systems.

Dan and Liz, Piedmont California.

Boiler: Baxi Luna HT1.330

Heat:  Radiant slab on the ground floor with radiators on the second floor.

Zones: Four zones Taco ZVC zone control and ESP zone valves, Taco zone circulator.

Hot water:  In-direct storage tank with Helio-dyne solar heat exchanger (2 4×6 black paint solar collectors) with hydronic back-up.

Comments:  “It doesn’t feel like a heating system, the house just stays nice, its perfect.  We came back from a vacation, the house was cold, but by the time we finished our burritos, the whole house was toasty warm”- Liz

“We have 1800 square feet and we pay $200 per month in gas. Our neighbor has a smaller house and pays $300 per month”- Dan

“We love it” Liz

“Its very good”- Dan. Continue reading →

Radiators- Affordable Radiant Heat.

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I really like radiators as a way to heat a home. There is no question that a radiant floor system is the best and most comfortable way to heat a home, however there are many times where it is not practical or cost effective to install. We frequently have retro-fit projects where we are putting staple-up below a floor from a crawl space but to put it on the second floor would involve major demolition and repair cost to expose a second floor space. Sometimes, an addition might be a good candidate for a heated slab but the budget does not extend to a retro fit staple-up installation.

A good solution for affordable radiant heating Continue reading →

Smart Heating

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Hydronic Heating Boiler Room

Smart and Simple Mechanical Room

Hold your hand over a candle, blow out the flame and the heat is immediately lost.  Now, boil a pot of water.  When you turn off the heat, the water is still hot.  In fact, the heat energy in the pot of water can be picked up and transported to another room, it can be stored and used later and its heat is kind and comfortable. Continue reading →

Green Energy- a case study. Solar Hot Water with Hydronic Air handler.

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Madeline loves her home in Berkeley with views of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.   As part of a kitchen and family room remodel it was necessary to relocate and upgrade the furnace and water heater.  Madeline, who is concerned about climate change,  sought the advice of her General Contractor, Paul Cerami of Cerami Builders and the plumbing contractor, Paul Gerrard of Pipeline Plumbing and Heating, to see which of the many energy efficient systems would be right for her home and her budget.

Madeline told us, “I already utilize solar PV for my electrical needs and I absolutley love it”.  She was very interested in solar thermal for her hot water needs.  ” I want to be a responsible citizen and reduce my energy costs as much as possible”.  Tax credits were another incentive.

Continue reading →