|
The physics surrounding heat transfer are not complex. The primary law is that heat moves from warm to cold. Any object or thing that is warmer than another nearby will give up its heat to the cooler object. This is the reason we feel cooler when walking down the frozen food aisle at the grocery store. It isn’t that the food cooler is giving off cold air; rather, our body is radiating its heat to that cooler object.
There are 3 ways heat is transferred: conduction, convection, and radiant heat transfer.
Conduction is how heat moves through solid objects, or from one solid object to another when they are in contact. When we reach for an item in the frozen food aisle it feels cold to the touch because we give up heat from our hand to that object. Similarly, when we stand on a cool basement slab or a tile floor, we give heat up from our feet. Thus, it feels cold to us.
Convection is the manner in which heat moves from a solid surface to a fluid or gas (such as water or air). Motorcycle and lawn mower engines cool themselves this way. The engines have fins around the hot areas which disperse their heat into the air. Hot-water baseboard heating systems do the same thing. Hot water is circulated through a copper pipe, which itself gets hot, and the heat is given up to the air. The pipes have aluminum fins along their length which speed this process up significantly by increasing the contact surface area. By physics, warm air (not pure heat) rises, and draws cooler air toward the bottom of it as a result. Baseboard heaters have an opening at the top and the bottom for just this reason.
Radiant heat transfer is infrared light moving through space from one object to another, and
no contact between the objects is needed. The best example of this is the sun, which emits enormous quantities of infrared light. This
light travels uninterrupted through the 93 million miles of space to the earth, where the radiant energy from the light rays is absorbed by the earth’s atmosphere and the earth itself. We only feel the heat from the radiant energy when we absorb it ourselves. Infrared light shares at least one very important characteristic with visible light. It travels in straight lines, regardless of direction, at the same speed, 186,282
miles per second.
TOP
What system should I use?
Congratulations on your choice of radiant heat
for your home or office. Radiant heat is simply the best. It offers
unsurpassed comfort, great flexibility with respect to architectural
design and furnishings, and it is environmentally responsible.
Advanced Hydronics, Inc. custom designs every system to suit the conditions in which it will be used. Our flexibility, creativity, and years of experience guarantee that the system we design for you will be the best possible solution. You will experience:
i. Complete comfort regardless of outside temperatures
ii. Silent, efficient operation
iii. A draft and dust-free, hypoallergenic environment
iv. Increased re-sale value in your home or commercial building.
Radiant and convective systems are used in the following applications:
We at Advanced Hydronics, Inc. believe that
in-floor radiant heating is the ultimately best system available today.
It is generally used in new construction and additions because it
literally goes in the floor. Specialized tubing is set into either
specifically designed sub-floor decking, or 1 ˝” lightweight gypsum
concrete.
Radiant walls and ceilings are an excellent solution for situations where walls and or ceilings are being built, moved, or changed, and access to the framework is available. Radiant walls and ceilings are much like radiant floor heating in that they create a radiator out of the partial or complete panel, providing rich, even, comfortable temperatures throughout the room.
Radiators are used in both new construction and remodeling projects. They can be the only type of heat emitter or be used in conjunction with any of the other system types. Radiators are ideally suited to virtually any set of conditions. They can be individually controlled allowing for total flexibility with respect to zoning and comfort.
Hot water baseboard can also be used in a variety of circumstances including new construction and remodeling projects. Like radiators, baseboard units can be individually controlled, and they offer an economical solution to your heating needs.
Advanced Hydronics, Inc. considers radiant floor heating to be the best heating system possible. By creating a radiator out of the entire floor surface, the surfaces of all objects in the room, including people, are gently warmed. The air in the room is also warmed. The results in terms of comfort are unsurpassed. Because the floor and other inanimate surfaces are
 warmed, the rate of heat loss on the part of the occupants is largely eliminated. The occupant feels neither too warm nor too cold. This is comfort. Air temperatures at the floor are slightly warmer than at the ceiling, yielding two significant results. One is that with air temperatures slightly lower at head level than at the feet, most people generally feel more alert. The second is that less heat is lost through the ceiling and roof, which means energy savings and lower operating costs. Operating costs are also mitigated because boilers are able to heat with lower water temperatures. Additionally, rooms are comfortable at lower air temperatures, air temperatures are less stratified, and air is not pressurized, meaning there is less warm-air leakage.
Radiant floor heating does not limit placement of furniture and décor. It is also silent, clean, and hypo-allergenic. Dust, germs, and odors are not circulated throughout the building. The system is thermally luxurious and aesthetically elegant.
Radiant floor heating can be done several ways: in-floor concrete or lightweight gypsum slab, in specialized sub-floor decking, under the floor using tubing and aluminum heat transfer plates, and under the floor using suspended tubing. The choice depends upon which is the best solution for the existing or new building, cost considerations, and accessibility.
TOP
Because radiant heat travels in any direction, radiant wall and ceiling heating is very useful and practical. The same principles utilized in floor systems apply to walls and ceilings in that hot water is circulated through tubing behind the finished surface and the entire area then becomes a radiator. This method is particularly appropriate when access to the floor is restricted or not available, such as slab-on-grade construction, and certain retrofit and remodeling situations. Radiant wall and/or ceiling systems are an excellent solution when a room will have carpet and pad or some other thermally resistive finished floor. Some rooms, such as kitchens and bathrooms, have much of the floor occupied by base cabinets, islands, fixtures, appliances, and other objects that reduce the useable portion of the floor compared to the room as a whole. These rooms usually have largely unobstructed ceilings which provide ample heat to the room. The heat is absorbed by objects below, such as the floor, countertops, bath, shower surfaces, and occupants.
TOP
 Flat panel radiators distribute both convected and radiant heat.
As with radiant floors walls and ceilings, heat is radiated away from the panel and warms anything it can “see”. Walls, furniture, people, and anything else in the area, absorb the radiant energy given off by the radiator. At the same time, air passes through the panel, absorbs heat, and is lifted into the room. Cooler air is drawn in at the bottom, heated as it moves upward, and a convective circle of imperceptibly moving air is created. The result is an incredibly
comfortable heat.
Radiant panels have other benefits as well. They can be controlled individually, allowing for zoning and even-temperature distribution. This is particularly meaningful in south-facing rooms with large expanses of glass, which may be warmer during the day and cooler at night than other rooms in the building. Panel radiators are quick, responsive, and quiet.
 They are an excellent solution for situations where in-floor radiant or wall/ceiling radiant is not practical, such as certain types of construction, and certain retrofit and remodeling applications. Panel radiators can add to the overall appearance of a space, and are also available in architectural configurations, acting as space dividers, benches, and accents.
 Radiant panels offer flexibility with respect to furniture placement and other décor, and are available in a variety of colors and sizes.
Radiant panels are the standard in many parts of Europe and Britain. Advanced Hydronics, Inc. uses only state of the art European-made panels.
Like radiant floor heating systems, radiant panel systems are silent, clean, and hypo-allergenic. Dust, germs, and odors are not circulated throughout the building. These systems too, are thermally luxurious and work in a wide variety of applications.
TOP
Hot water baseboard utilizes conduction and convection principles to deliver heat to a room. Hot water is piped to the baseboard unit, which is a copper pipe with a series of square aluminum fins around it, and a decorative sheet metal cover that has vents at the top and the bottom. The heat in the water conducts through the copper pipe, into the aluminum, which is an excellent conductor, and is then absorbed by the air around it. Since heated air rises, it flows out of the vent at the top and cooler air is drawn in through the bottom. This effect creates an imperceptible cycle of moving air, rising up an away from the unit, outwards, then downwards, and then back into the unit. It is quiet, dust and draft free, and hypo-allergenic. The result is a very comfortable, evenly heated room.
Hot water baseboard heating systems provide an excellent solution for situations where access to the underside of the floor is restricted, and/or rooms with a thermally restrictive floor covering such as carpet and pad. This system is well suited for new construction, remodeling, and retrofit applications.
TOP
What could be more luxurious than stepping out of the shower or bath and wrapping yourself in a heated towel? Some flat panel radiators double as towel warmers, and towel warmers are also available as separate fixtures. A wide variety of styles and colors is available to fit your specific needs.
Towel warmers circulate the same hot water that is going to all of the other radiant heat elements of the system. Installation is therefore not complicated, and they provide a wonderful, luxurious experience.
TOP
 Advanced Hydronics, Inc. is recognized as the regional leader in radiant heat technology and systems. We design every system specifically for the particular application. This means we use a variety of different boilers depending on the application. All of the boilers we use are the best available on the market today, and come from both Europe and the United States.
Another important benefit of boiler-based heat is in making domestic hot water. Most of our systems are designed to do just this. We exchange the heat from the boiler and use it to create domestic hot water. This system eliminates the need for a gas-fired or electric water heater. Advantages of indirect hot water heating include faster tank recovery effectively increasing the availability of the supply. Indirect tanks also come in larger volumes so any hot water load can be met. And finally, most manufacturers provide limited lifetime warranties on their tanks so longevity is exceptional.
TOP
 Hydronic
snow and ice melting systems offer the highest level of convenience and
safety, along with several other benefits. Our systems are designed to
sense outdoor temperature and the presence of moisture. When conditions
warrant, the system begins operation and stays ahead of the accumulation
of snow and ice. This system is fully automatic and continues operation as
long as necessary. Plowed banks are eliminated, along with their inherent
undesirable consequences such as subsequent drifting and damage to
landscape. Potential damage from frost action, deterioration due to
salting, and physical damage from plowing are gone. These benefits are
particularly important when paving bricks are used. Additionally, interior
floors stay cleaner, as snow, sand, and salt are not tracked in. Hydronic
snow and ice melting has a long list of benefits, and high on the list is
safety. The
importance of safety cannot be understated.  Slips
and falls, vehicular accidents, and the potential liability exposure that
accompanies them are greatly reduced or eliminated.
Hydronic snow and
ice melting can be very effectively used to melt snow and ice on all types
of exterior areas. Applications include driveways, sidewalks, parking
areas, steps, wheelchair access ramps, patios, decks, and roofs.
Hydronic snow and ice melting is successfully used in commercial building
applications. Safety, practicality, and effectiveness define the
importance of snowmelt systems to building owners and managers. A hydronic
snow and ice melting system is the most effective solution for storefront
entryways, parking garage ramps, loading docks, car washes, hospital
emergency entrances, toll booth areas, security gate areas, and many other
specialized areas that must be kept free of snow and ice.
TOP
|
