Does-Radiant-Floor-Cooling-Make-Sense-GreenBuild #

GreenBuildingAdvisor Created: May 23, 2020 11:45 AM URL: https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/does-radiant-floor-cooling-make-sense Does%20Radiant%20Floor%20Cooling%20Make%20Sense%20-%20GreenBuild%20525f42befcb747bd9779c12b6357e0f7/eyJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjEwODB9fSwiYnVja2V0IjoiZ3JlZW5idWlsZGluZ2Fkdmlzb3IuczMudGF1bnRvbmNsb3VkLmNvbSIsImtleSI6ImFwcFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAxOFwvMDhcLzA3MjMwNDU1XC9TcG90bGlnaHQgY3JvcHBlZF8wLW1haW4tNzAweDU1Ny5qcGcifQ Radiant heating and cooling: Justin Gibbs shared this photo of Warmboard panels that will be used in his radiant heating and cooling system. “There are a number of reasons why I am still looking at radiant floor heating, most of which are not technical justifications but more because we really really want it … Having made a decision on radiant floor heating, does it make sense to go with radiant floor cooling?” In areas with high summer humidity, water vapor can condense on cold water lines. Similarly, water can accumulate on flooring cooled by a radiant floor cooling system. Some amount of latent cooling with air coils may need to be included if the design water temperatures are otherwise too low.” Radiant cooling panels in the ceiling or walls are more effective per square foot than radiant floor systems, he adds, due to the tendency of cold air to pool near the floor rather than mix with room air. Gibbs adds that floors must be insulated when the house has a radiant heating (and cooling) system, and in his case forgetting to put that into the budget proved to be a “sizable omission.”

Is the insulation really necessary? #

If you want a radiant floor to also serve as a radiant ceiling for the space below, insulation gets in the way.” Gibbs says he had similar concerns before he spoke with the system designer. “It is climate, system, and enclosure dependent…[and so here are] some examples: “For cold, dry climates and good-to-great buildings with sensible cooling flux under 13 Btu/hr/ft2, fabricate the floor cooling system with masonry type surface (tile, stained concrete, terrazzo etc.