Radiant heating offers the optimum in climate control comfort by conditioning the environment with radiant warmth, such as experienced by walking into the warmth of the sunlight on a cool day. In a room, we can create this warming effect with radiant panels and offset the radiant cold from outside walls and windows. The issues of people comfort as related to the radiant heating process are addressed in the ASHRAE engineering manuals in great detail.

If you are a project designer, architect, engineer, or building a new home or adding or re-modeling your present home, contact us for some specifics on what our products and services can do for you or your client. As you read along, you will sense that we have been involved in many different types of project applications and have a broad range of experience in applying the radiant system to just the project that you have in mind. Let us look over your drawing so that we can share ideas.

ASHRAE literature notes that comfort is achieved by either increasing the "ambient" temperature or by raising the "mean radiant" temperature of an environment. A higher radiant temperature means that people become comfortable with a lower ambient temperature and the reverse is also true. Therefore - raising the radiant temperature of an environment achieves comfort with a lower ambient temperature. This is a substantial saving to energy consumption and fuel costs. The radiant heating process saves energy and also supplies a better quality of comfort. People comfort is achieved when people are - directly or by re-radiation - in the "shine" of the radiant source. Our program focuses on achieving this goal!

In the July 1996 issue of the ASHRAE JOURNAL, there is an interesting article by two ASHRAE engineers from the technical advisory committee on energy conservation, showing wall panel radiant heating to be 33% more efficient than heat pumps and 52% more efficient than standard baseboard heaters. Like a copy? Drop me an e-mail and give me some details of your project and I'll be glad to send it along.

Through the years there have been a variety of radiant systems developed. Frank Lloyd Wright utilized radiant heat in the floors via hot water back in the 40's. Older buildings and schools still use some form of hot water heating. However in these systems thermal lag (the time between start-up and comfort - or cool down and no heat) is far too long, and energy wastes are excessive. Owners had high fuel wastes - their clients had poor comfort - either too hot or too cold. Energy waste is excessive during the mild seasons - therefore fuel wasting occurs during MOST of the year. So - for most of the heat conditioning time (most of us live in mild temperature zones for a big portion of the year) - it was POOR COMFORT and BIG FUEL WASTES! When heating fuel costs were inexpensive, lag losses and/or transmission losses (the heat lost within a structure by transporting hot water or warm air past cold walls or through ducts) were not an issue that owners worried about. In today's energy market where energy costs are substantial and escalating rapidly, fuel costs can have a serious effect on owners' profits (see why comfort and energy efficiency are poor in the - heater placement - section of the site).

Ceiling electric panels were sometimes used.These offer poor and spotty comfort. Most of the radiant energy is very directional and the comfort is absorbed by the floor and carpet. The panel area is insufficient for a satisfactory wash of radiant shine. Installers sought to overcome this problem by adding more panels than required to satisfy the heat loss. This caused heating fuel wastes and resulted in high energy bills. So we were back to high fuel costs and poor comfort (see why comfort and energy efficiency are poor in the - heater placement - section of the site).

It ought to be clear that the radiant heat source location and placement is directly related to the effectiveness of the people comfort factor and the energy efficiency. Our 20 + years of experience with a wide variety of commercial and residential applications, can help you achieve BOTH energy efficiency and comfort.

You mentioned health and its relation to radiant heating could you elaborate briefly?

We noted that the radiant heating process was a "natural" heating process since it simulated the radiant warming process of the sun. Individuals are affected by radiant warmth either through direct "shine" exposure or by re-radiation from surrounding objects. This means people are comfortable when in an environment of a sufficient quantity of radiant energy or as ASHRAE puts it, when the mean radiant temperature is increased to offset any cold radiating surfaces, such as windows and exterior walls. The higher the radiant temperature the lower the ambient temperature. The secret to energy conservation with the radiant cove and wall panel heating is, a lower ambient temperature with a higher radiant temperature coefficient, using a well developed energy management controller, means better comfort, less fuel consumption, and significantly lower energy costs.

Another important consideration of the radiant heating process is the fact that warmth is achieved without passing air through ducts or water-type humidifiers. This is extremely important to people who are aware of the effects to their health of poor air quality. Ducts and humidifiers are prime breeding grounds for many types of bacteria. Pollution from gas burn-off, dirty ducts and contaminated water in heat exchangers are directly linked to the health problems confronting individuals turning "on" their heating system for the first time of the season. Groups of individuals have experienced "mysterious" respiratory and other more serious problems in hotels, hospitals, and schools that seem unexplainable, other than from bacteria in air ducts or heat exchangers and/or polluting gasses. BUT, it appears that poor air quality relates to discomfort and distress for many people.

Ergonomics is the study of environmental conditions that relates to people stress and health. I have recently met, through these pages, an engineer with 40 years of experience dealing with air pollution and air distribution problems, who has an internationally recognized reputation in all phases of commercial, industrial, and institutional applications, specifically problems relating to health and air quality, and has worked closely with many ergonomists. His background offers a unique perspective on this subject. He gave his gracious permission to use his address for your questions. His e-mail wmcmichael@ns.gemlink.com could offer important information for your evaluation process from an air quality viewpoint. Health officials are increasingly aware that indoor air quality and non-polluting systems are meaningful considerations in selecting a heating program, especially if elderly clients are in consideration. Quality heating is the most important part of the climate conditioning for every project. People require heat during most of the year and it's irritating to be chilly and uncomfortable during these months. Heating ought to be the finest in comfort and energy efficiency that is available.

You also mentioned the term natural - What about these points:

1) thermal characteristics of the human body as related to comfort and radiant heating , 2) the radiant comfort process and people working together in various levels of activity?

1) Thermal characteristics of the human body and how comfort and radiant heating relate, has interested many writers. Mr. Edward T. Hall a former Northwestern University professor, wrote in the early 1980's: "Architectural Implications of the Thermal Qualities of the Human Skin"

"All over the world man is facing a serious energy crisis. Yet in the United States and most of Western Europe energy continues to be wasted in face of belated recognition of this crisis. It is now imperative that man begin to think... Until now, the design of heating and air conditioning systems has been the responsibility of the engineer. The fact that the engineer's solutions were less than satisfactory when measured against human comfort scales was considered the price that one had to pay for progress. The complaints about aging, dried-out skin and cracked mucous membranes and various kinds of malaise associated with hot and cold air systems were brushed aside...the engineers simply did not - if they took these complaints seriously - know how to deal with them. ... Western man, has become object oriented at the expense of genuine concern for human beings... how can we make the switch from heating buildings to heating people, and what does this imply. ... This subject has concerned me for some years, not only because most buildings are heated (and cooled) badly but because present methods are wasteful of our dwindling resources. ... Heating a person is not the same thing as heating a house. ... ...thermal satisfaction can be found in little known, recently discovered qualities of the human skin... It is therefore possible to calculate the emissive index of... materials so that all materials have not only relative emissive values but an absolute value as well... It will be noted that human skin (regardless of color) is at the top of the list. ... Thinking in terms of heating people in enclosed spaces, it would be possible to conceive of low-heat mass systems that would be activated as soon as someone enters a room... without the expense of heating the air.. or maintaining the heat when the room was not occupied... conventional hot water radiant systems take too long to respond... and they are sometimes experienced as quite uncomfortable (cold and clammy)... The reason hot air systems are unsatisfactory when looked at in terms of human physiology is that a) the emissivity index of air is virtually nil ... , b) ...the radiant characteristics of the skin are unused. At this point it is essential to urge engineers to design systems with a low thermal mass (so that they can be brought to temperature very quickly) which will exploit the heat gathering capabilities of the human skin."

- and
from a more recent article, "Let's Heat People Instead of Houses", Dr. Hall writes;

"What if it were possible to cut heating costs to a fraction of the current rate...without spending billions of dollars for solar retrofits and insulation and if the final results would be a healthier, more satisfying heat...? In this case, the problem under discussion is the transaction between human beings and a variety of heat sources. There is an abundance of data on the thermal requirements of heating buildings and none on heating people. We heat buildings in order to heat people (and that job is often done rather badly). ... There is a way to heat people that ... dates back more than 100 million years to the time when mankind's ancestors were ectotherms and lay in the sun to get warm...Few people are used to thinking in terms of radiant heat, nor are they familiar with its basic principles. The major difference between radiant and ambient heat is that the ambient system heats everything to the same temperature, and radiant heat (infrared), operating on entirely different principles, heats differentially according to the capacity of a material to absorb infrared. This means that if it is necessary to heat the air and everything else in t he house in order to heat people, much more energy is required than if you only have to heat the people. ... As it happens, human beings are ideally suited to a radiant system - after all, mankind evolved over hundreds of millions of years in a world heated by radiant energy. ... Would people be healthier if they were heated only with radiant heat? It appears they would because there would be no problem from dried-out mucous membranes, which crack and allow bacteria and viruses to enter the blood stream. Paintings and furniture would certainly be better preserved. I believe that it would be possible to live very comfortably on at least one third of the energy we now consume. ..."

Mr. Hall has written several books on this subject. The quoted comments speak to the essence and importance of radiant heating and its relationship to the ability of humans to be responsive to the characteristics of the radiant factor as it relates to comfort and health of people. Recent publications, have addressed these issues in great depth. People comfort becomes increasingly essential for work productivity and reducing stress loads and in the home, for improved quality of living.


2) As to the value of the radiant comfort process to people working in various activity levels in the same work areas, Mr. Henry Wright wrote extensively on this topic some years ago, but I have not read anything better or more thorough on the subject.

"Despite developments that made it possible to condition a building of any size, in virtually any part of the globe, the technology of thermal control remained a self-enclosed system which largely ignored the objectively measurable needs of the heat consumer. ... With our present knowledge of people's unique thermal needs, and with the technology at our command for serving them, it has become essential and possible, to create an environment in which everyone... can be comfortable. ... The most striking fact about the thermal environment is its discontinuity in relation to our physical activities. Winter, especially, is a series of thermal shocks to which we are constantly adjusting. ... The body is comfortable when this thermal exchange between itself and the environment is approximately in equilibrium. ...it is evident that conditioning the thermal environment is primarily a matter of regulating heat loss. ... "comfort" is the resultant of four main variables: air temperature, radiant temperature, air movement, and relative humidity. ..A thermometer registers air temperature rather than comfort. All of us have experienced times when it indicates that we should be warm, although we are actually chilly. ... The problem is complicated by the fact that we many be comfortable at a given temperature while sitting, but too warm at the same temperature if we are moving about or working. ... One of the goals of thermal engineering is the creation of a broad 'comfort zone' to permit such a wide latitude of individual activity, either in series for one person, or simultaneously for many. ... Thus the ideal comfort condition, one that is elastic enough to accommodate a broad range of activities without thermal stress, is achieved by keeping air temperature, air movement and humidity down, radiant temperature up. ... Radiant heat,...,heats surroundings and people directly ... introduces the concept of heating occupants instead of air. The panels are primarily effective in neutralizing radiant heat loss from the body, and as soon as walls are heated above air temperature they become low temperature convectors. ... The heat-reflectant surface mirrors virtually all of the radiant waves striking it. ... heat (energy) is almost completely utilized in warming people rather than walls and air."

How can insulation characteristics effect comfort and energy efficiency within the radiant heating process?

Since I am not an expert on insulation, I have quoted from some authors that have studied the insulation process. Their results will certainly have interest to those contemplating the development of a new building or a retrofitting project. The objective of insulation is to protect the indoor environment from outside temperatures, hot or cold. Is this protection over-hipped by the insulation manufacturers and is there other important considerations in this protection process that are as least as important - well let's look into this and see what is truly needed for your project.

Mr. Jay McGrew, President of Applied Science & Engineering Corporation, wrote an article on the value of insulation vs. the heat loss within a structure caused by other more important causes.

"...a recent study of home heating dynamics indicates the current faith in insulation may be based on eroneous assumptions, and that home owners pouring money into the burgeoning insulation industry won't see the savings they have been promised. The key fact is this: Insulation is a good material and six inches can do the job nearly as well as 16 inches. ... If you are building a house, three inches of wall insulation will be helpful. But if you are considering insulating the walls of an existing home, remember that the total heat loss through an uninsulated wall is only about 5 per cent. The addition of insulation will only trim this figure by 1 or 2 per cent, meaning the ... savings on a $400.00 heat bill would be less than $10.00. It is highly unlikely you would ever regain the cost of such a project. ... The insulation in the homes varied from one to 10 inches in thickness. But the more heavily insulated homes consumed as much energy as the lightly insulated ones. There was absolutely no trend to substantiate measurable energy savings by increasing ceiling insulation beyond a relatively small thickness..."

The above study was performed on a variety of homes in the Denver area using, " sophisticated monitoring equipment to find out precisely what happens to energy consumption within the home." I wish I could say that there has been a lot of recent insulation research that disputes the above findings, but I have not found anything as carefully monitored or more conclusive.

"The study found that in a house with three inches of attic insulation, about 66 percent of the heat is lost through infiltration, a process not affected by insulation. About 17 per cent of the heat is lost through windows, about 11 per cent through the ceiling, and about 6 per cent through uninsulated walls. ... The researchers used a precision hot-wire anemometer to measure the flow of air near the furnace, hot water heaters, and kitchen and bath room vents. ... As the furnace is burning, room air is drawn into it far in excess of what is needed for combustion. The air is heated and sent gushing up the chimney. As air near the furnace is sucked in, air from elsewhere in the room flows to replace it. The researchers were able to measure a river of air pouring into the furnace at the rate of several hundred cubic feet a minute. ... Because a house can't exist as a vacuum, every cubic inch of air that leaves the house must be replaced by new air coming in. So as warm house air is exhausted from one set of flues and vents, cold air from the outside is flowing in through the other. A wind can accelerate greatly this expensive exchange."

The most important points might be summarized as follows; 1) the radiant heating process heats without moving air, eliminating a vast portion of the energy wastes that is attributable to infiltration and infiltration is greatly increased by the blowers and flues connected to furnaces, water heaters, and exhaust fans, 2) the insulation process is found to be of lesser value that formerly reported, and even less important to the radiant heating process, since correct heater placement provides a radiant barrier between the cold surfaces of the walls and windows and the individuals in the environment, providing comfort in spite of the insulation. With air type heating, heat is"piled-up" on the ceiling and then drifts or stacks until the floor area is comfortable. The radiant heating process does not stratisfy warmth and it could be cooler on the ceiling than on the floor. These features add to your comfort and reduce your energy consumption.

Now, let's look into what is really important to the enhancement of radiant heating efficiency and comfort. Radiant barriers provide great reflectiveness for effective heating and cooling. Using radiant barriers will allow the owner to have the best of both worlds, better comfort for heating and cooling and better energy efficiency! Combined with a plastic wrap to reduce structural infiltration, one can experience efficient comfort in the coldest of weather. Additional fiberglass insulation will only cost more money without the enhanced benifits of infiltration protection and establishing a radiant reflective barrier, that is imperative to any heating program.

Keeping heat either in or out of a structure can be a challenge. The use of radiant barriers will allow us to achieve our goals of better comfort and better energy efficiency, and be cost-effective.

In an article by Mr. Philip Fairley, a research scientist at the Florida Solar Energy Center, references are made to the value of radiant barriers, primarily from a cooling stand point. The implications of his remarks, and my experiences over the years with reflective surfaces and their relationship to room heat loss, leads into some thoughts that may be meaningful to the planning of your next project.

"We largely ignore radiation... But research points to some exciting potential for reducing heat gain [or heat loss] through controlling radiation transfer in the walls and ceilings. Though it is difficult to understand and even harder to model accurately with computers, we can still use radiation control if we grasp some basics about how radiant energy enters [or leaves] buildings. ... ...while conduction and convection need a medium to pass through, radiation passes through a void. Radiation needs only two regions of different temperatures that 'see' each other. Radiant barriers in buildings are materials placed such that they restrict the amount of far-infrared radiation that passes across the attic and wall cavities. Two things are necessary: 1) the barrier material must have a low emissivity, and 2) there must be an air space [for cooling] to the radiant barrier. Low-emissivity materials are highly reflective to far-infrared radiation, making them the best candidates for radiant barriers. Aluminum foil is an excellent radiant barrier. Because it has a low emissivity, it reflects 95 percent of the longwave energy that strikes it. ... We know, for example, that white paint reflects far more visible radiation that black. ... A radiant barrier's resistance to heat flow is hard to understand because it differs from our usual frame of references: R-value. ... R-value measures resistance to condition, rather than convection or radiation. This is why aluminum foil, a good conductor with negligible R-value, does not seem a likely canditate to improve a building's thermal performance."

The remarks noted above suggest that heat gain and loss within a structure are influenced by more important conditions than fiberglass insulation. I have found after many installations in all types of commercial and residential applications, that reflectiveness has a stronger influence on comfort and energy efficiency than the R-values of the insulation installed in the structure.

Let me illustrate with a couple of examples: (the complete details are available for your review)

1) In a relatively uninsulated home, the owner chose to use a reflective foil type wall covering as part of the decor his home. The effect was a wonderful feeling of comfort and a remarkable record of electrical usage for the size and age of the home.
A friend added a 2,500-3,000 sq.ft. addition to his country home. The architect used foil backed dry wall for reflectiveness into the the rooms and foil backed fiberglass insulation for keeping heat out of the home. The results - the comfort in winter and in the summer was excellent and the energy consumption for air conditioning and heating is also impressive.
3) I built an addition to my home, adding a second floor office. The heat loss factor calculated for 4 KW. of heating, but by using an R-13, foil backed fiberglass insulation in the ceiling and walls, I have the most comfortable room in the house and only installed 2KW of radiant heat panels.
4) A 118 room motel in Detroit used 2" of ceramic ceiling insulation, an excellent radiant reflective quality for the radiant panels, with outstanding energy performance records.
5) A nursing home project that heats for @ 34 cents a sq.ft. at an ambient of 70 ? and is cool in the summer.
6) A 12 story, 110 unit apartment building that has an annual sq.ft. heating cost of 26 cents, using wall panel radiant heaters and foil backed fiberglass insulation.

Let's discuss the heating and energy management for your next project and we can share some ideas on insulation.

How can we achieve the optimum performance from the radiant heating process using your management system?

Radiant Systems Enterprises incorporates the effectiveness of low density metal cove and wall panels, energized by electricity. Electricity is the perfect energy source for radiant heating because it has no transmission or thermal losses. It is also simple to thermostatically control each heating station and to systematically control an entire project with an energy management control product. Predicted fuel escalation projections make electricity the fuel source for now and into the future throughout most of the U.S. Our performance records show favorable cost savings over hot water, forced air systems, fired by oil or natural gas, water or air type heat pumps, and other types of electric furnaces and baseboard units. These performance results were achieved through the use of our energy management control system product, designed to fulfill the requirements outlined by ASHRAE..

Let's look at this!

The formula for predicting annualized energy costs from the ASHRAE literature - simply stated - B.T.U. loss x Degree Days x Hours of use divided by (localized ) Temperature difference x a fuel efficiency factor x a B.T.U. energy unit factor = quantity of fuel x fuel cost annualized fuel costs. BUT...

The entire formula hinges on the effective use of the fuel source! ASHRAE gives specific points for the energy management process if fuel efficiency is to be realized. We will review the exact specifics in the details + section of our site. The more effective use of fuel - the lower the energy cost and the more owners save.

ASHRAE guidelines require that an energy management program must eliminate heating wastes caused by :

1) overheating - especially in the mild days of the heating season,
2) oversized heating equipment, and
3) thermal lag.

All control systems must also be responsive to changing outdoor temperatures in order to adequately respond to changing heat loss requirements.

Ought to be simple? - well, we think it is!

Radiant Systems Enterprises developed a control product for use by the motel industry over 15 years ago. With field testing and modifications in dozens of installations throughout the US, our energy performance results show that our product:

1) is a very effective energy saving management control program,
2) is almost completely maintenance free,
3) is extremely "user friendly", and
4) installs for a fraction of the cost of other management products.

Our control system incorporates all of the features required by ASHRAE for effective energy management

- IT'S INEXPENSIVE TO PURCHASE AND INSTALL. - - IT IS USER FRIENDLY TO OPERATE - IT SAVES LOTS OF ENERGY -
THERE IS NO SACRIFICE TO COMFORT FOR THE USER!

We are back to radiant heater source placement and responsive energy management as the key issues for cost efficiency and comfort.

How does heater placement and radiant "shine" relate directly to comfort, since properly placed units produce the optimum in direct and indirect radiation and therefore maximizing comfort and energy efficiency?

As the below picture illustrates radiation can be hidden and very localized by improper placement. These methods are not easy to install and are costly to have contractors install. They do little to save on energy. The heat will conduct either up or down into the areas in contact with the heat source, wasting energy. I know of no way to have any good modular controls for this type of heating that are responsive to changing outdoor temperatures. Excessive energy is wasted, especially in the mild heating days - or most of the heating day within the heating season. No controls - No conservation of energy! Maintenance is a real major problem. I have had too many "please help" calls in the past because of these dated heating methods. BUT, aside from all other considerations; THE MAIN REASON THAT FLOOR OR CEILING SYSTEMS ARE NOT COMFORTABLE, IS THAT NO RADIANT BARRIER IS ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE COLD SURFACES OF THE WINDOWS AND WALLS AND PEOPLE, THUS PEOPLE STILL LOOSE WARMTH FROM THEIR BODIES THROUGH RADIANT LOSSES AND YOU CAN NOT LOWER THE AMBIENT AND STILL HAVE COMFORT ELIMINATING ENERGY SAVINGS!



Proper panel placement reduces floor to ceiling temperature variations. This reduces fuel wastes.



These placement locations will perform perfectly for optimum comfort and energy efficiency. They are designed to construct a RADIANT BARRIER for direct and indirect radiation so that proper "shine" is emitted in quanities that product comfort at a much LOWER AMBIENT TEMPERATURE. Since each area is individually controlled with a wall thermostats, the owner is in position to control energy consumption. The quick response of these radiant products, permits the room thermostats to be utilized like "off-on" light switches, depending on the need. The entire structure is automatically controlled by an outdoor sensitive control processor that instantly responds to changing structural heat loss as outdoor temperature increases or decreases. Energy is extremely effectively expended -1st, by the individual room control - 2nd,by the total structural management. Wall and cove panels are practically maintenance free. Manufacturers offer good warranties to insure complete satisfaction and protection. These products aredesigned to provide comfort and energy efficiency for years of trouble free operation! and THESE LOCATIONS WILL PRODUCE SUPERB COMFORT AT A LOWER AMBIENT ROOM TEMPERATURE, SAVING ENERGY!

Simply stated - Proper placement - quality products - well defined and designed energy management and modular controls, offers the owner: 1) good air quality, 2) the very best in owner controlled and automated energy management, 3) the maximum in comfort, and 4) easily installed, low maintenance heating products.

 

Can you tie together the correct radiant source placement and heater location for comfort and efficiency, with the available radiant heating products? And, Can any one product do the job for every type of application?

 

The effectiveness of the radiant heating process is predicated on even distribution of the radiant "shine" to supply the necessary amount of radiant energy to make people comfortable. As we have seen in the quoted articles in the details section, the word comfort means many different things to different individuals, considering that people have varied needs depending on their work or play activity or the lack of it. The radiant process has extremely wide possibilities for meeting people-comfort requirements. Air heating processes, either from fin-tube, unit ventilators, or forced air systems are definitely very limited, satisfying a narrow band of activity levels, and these writers are exactly right , in both their personal observations and their studied research.

The radiant designer must respond to user needs in his placement of panels so that the product will maximize the "shine" effect. It has not been my experience that any one product will adequately serve every application. A wise choice of the available radiant heating products is essential for comfort and efficiency.

On the right, we see a diagram of the cove radiant panel. I have effectively installed these units in rooms with limited ceiling heights with outstanding results in both comfort and, when installed in conjunction with our energy management control processor, high energy efficiency. These heating units and panels have a wide breadth of "shine", providing an excellent answer to raising the radiant temperature of an area. They have these features: 1) low cost, 2) no floor area use that is needed for furniture and fixture placement, and 3) extreme durablity, having a 10 year replacement warranty.

The wall radiant panels shown below, also offer an excellent radiant sweep. I have installed these panels in a great variety of applications with extremely effective results in comfort, and when managed by our controller processor, they are energy efficient. The use of this product is almost limitless. Placed near floor level, they are perfect for residences or businesses with high ceilings. Hung from the bar joists (12'-20 above the floor) they provide comfort, almost unbelievably so, directly to the floor. These panels are outstanding for use in indoor swimming pools. They are capable of sending warmth directly to the pool water and pool deck. Moisture and evaporation from the pool water is reduced to where it can be controlled without exhausting tempered air, thus saving on energy in pools or in gymnasiums. ASHRAE engineering materials and Mr. Wright in his excellent article, have details of utilizing radiant panels in indoor pools and gymnasiums. My experience has been excellent in both of these applications - the comfort is truly cozy and toasty in the pool room area, when stepping out of the water. In gymnasiums, all the people in the gym, the athletes, coaches, cheerleaders, and spectators are comfortable, with no one too warm or any one too cool. This is the only possible effective way of addressing a wide range of comfort requirements. The radiant process can achieve this goal while maintaining a high degree of energy efficiency. THE RADIANT BARRIER MAKES COMFORT AND ENERGY EFFICIENY POSSIBLE WITH A LOWER AMBIENT TEMPERATURE ! Indoor athletic fields and other large indoor activity areas can utilize high quality, high output overhead radiant type units that will operate energy efficiently. The short (72 sec.) cycle duration maintains excellent comfort. Any non-compressor type electric heating product can become more energy efficient by installing our energy processor control product. Energy wastes are minimized as the processor responds to changing outdoor temperatures and reduces fuel consumption.

Carrying this forward, it is not difficult to see why people in nursing homes, assisted living residences and hospitals are not comfortable with air type heating. The necessary air movement required for the forced air heating process and fan noise places people in an environment of constant circulating drafts and irritating noise levels. The radiant losses from their bodies in an un-active living condition, are never satisfied by the cooling process of forced air heat. Supplying a high radiant comfort environment will provide the solution: 1) quiet, draft-free living conditions that, 2) can adjust to their radiant body losses. In schools, offices, and homes where people work and play with varying radiant body losses, differing comfort needs must be available. People that are temporarily ill, women having their monthly period, people exercising, or resting, or under job related tension, can all be addressed successfully through a properly designed radiant environment.

Simply stated - proper placement - quality products - well defined and designed energy management and modular controls, offer the owner: 1) good air quality, 2) the very best in owner controlled and automated energy management, 3) the maximum in comfort, and 4) easily installed, low maintenance heating products.

Energy efficiency and the radiant heating process is well documented in ASHRAE engineering manuals and handbooks. Recent up-dates only confirm this to be true. Why? A simplified way of looking at this might be;

1) comfort exists in an environment when there is a balance between ambient temperature and radiant temperature. This can be illustrated when standing outside in 50 degrees of air temperature - when you are in the shade, low radiant temperature, you are cool - when you step into the sunshine, a higher radiant temperature, you are warm, because you have raised the "mean radiant temperature" - the ambient temperature of 50 degrees is the same, but the radiant factor has increased, making you feel warm.
2) A lower ambient temperature and a higher radiant factor of an indoor environment means better comfort and lower fuel costs.
3) Radiant comfort is achieved without blowing air, drafts, cold floors, air contaminants, or cold spots - just even, fuel efficient comfort. Keep these points in mind as we continue.

This is where we enter the picture!

What services do you provide to make my project successful?

Radiant Systems has been designing radiant heating projects since 1977, many have included air conditioning and exchange air ventilation for the owner's desires and to satisfy local building codes. Extensive commercial installations include apartments, motels, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living residences, gymnasiums, churches, schools, multi-purpose rooms, teaching stations, camp buildings, service garages, auto and woodworking shops, indoor swimming pools, dozens of "add to" or supplemental heating to uncomfortable areas, to residential homes from 1,500 to over 10,000 square feet. Detailed information in the ASHRAE literature has been my designing guide. I know of no unsuccessful, uncomfortable, or under-designed projects that have failed to meet or exceed projected energy consumption and maintenance expectations. Few if anyone else, in the radiant business has had the opportunity to successfully design, implement, and complete such a listing of projects.

The ultimate success of your project and the continuous year to year operation with efficient energy usage and low maintenance, lies in applying the following to the design process; 1) accurately calculating structural heat loss factors as related to the specific local temperature characteristics where the project is located, 2) selecting specifically, the right products for the environmental conditioning appropriate to the architectural uniqueness of the structure, 3) selective placement and installation of correctly sized equipment for reduction of energy wastes and for eliminating the poor comfort quality always associated with over sizing HVAC equipment, and 4) circuiting the electrical design to avoid excessive hardware and installation costs. Balancing these factors and years of field experience, assures an indoor environment comfortable for the user and energy efficient and cost-effective for the investor!

The key ingredient for the success of the commercial and residential installations is the energy management control product developed by a team of engineers in 1980. From the comprehensiveness of the field testing and the recorded maintenance and energy performance reports, coupled with its cost effectiveness, I am very sure this system is unbeatable! This product is unlike anything else available on the market. Energy management products costing many times that of this system have produced poor energy savings, are constant maintenance problems, and very user unfriendly. Radiant heating is definitely an energy saver, as recorded in recent ASHRAE articles quoted elsewhere in this site and has proven the most comfortable and maintenance free system available, BUT for consistently high performance quality of energy efficient comfort, the process necessitates the inclusion of this energy control system!

If you are a designer, architect or specifying engineer for a commercial project and feel that radiant heating could possibly advance your clients' goals, then I will assist you wherever necessary to correctly analyze and implement this process, using high quality, durable products with the energy management control system. My services extend from the design, into the bidding, construction and punch out phases of your project with NO added cost to you or the owner. I will do whatever is needed to see that your project is successful, including making accurate electrical drawings for your contractor to use on the job - WITHOUT COSTLY consulting fees. In residential projects, I have worked closely with owners, decorators, and builders to assure proper product selection, installation locations, system calibration and performance.

Let's share ideas for your next project:

By Mail: Box 797
Worthington, Ohio 43085
Call anytime: 888-797-1771 (in Ohio 614-885-1189)
Or by e-mail: radsysjed@sprintmail.com