How to control heated floors with HAI?

[signal15]

I will be installing this using an electric hot water heater(electric very cost effective in the area). Has anybody here ever used an electric hot water heater to do this? If so any advice?

I know a guy that used to be an engineer with Uponor and he went off and started his own supply company. He told me not to do it and to pony up for a purpose built boiler. I ended up going with a Steibel-Eltron Hydro-Shark II. The III is out now. They are cost comparative to a hot water heater, take up way less space, and are 100% efficient. Mine has been going strong for almost 4 years.

I bought mine from these guys:
http://www.hydro-smartwholesale.com/HydroShark3.html

They supply Menards with them, but I bought mine direct for like half the price Menards sells them for (I have a business account with them though). My 96k BTU equivalent boiler cost me $680. If you're just doing a kitchen, you definitely will not need anything this large. Mine can heat all 4400 sq ft of my house.

 

[Mike P]

Thanks for the replys, I know its not the best way to go about it. But the entire house is only 1600sq ft, It's small. The kitchen area is only about 240sq ft. So, I figure I'll give it a try. My question was, has anybody ever done this? If it does not work, I have no problem installing a propane hot water heater to supplument the electric heat in the house.

Any advice would be great......

thanks,

Mike

 

[Mike P]

Mike P,

I hate to tell you this since you already have the parts but if I was doing this I would skip the water. I did an electric install in our master bath (under a tile floor) and it is great! I did hot water (nat. gas energy source) for the floors in the basement but that seemed like a lot of trouble for the bathroom and floor height was a concern. Putting the water tubes under the subfloor is an option but harder to get the heat through the floor.

Is the floor tile?

Since you are using electric as the power source why heat water that then heats the floor (with pumps, etc)? Just extra losses in the water heater and lots of extra controls and things to go wrong.

I used the type with a coil of wire rather than the preformed mats. The mats might be easier on large open spaces but I found the wire easy to work with.

I didn't hook it into automation but that is really a separate issue and could be done.

An electric water heater can be used for floor heating. I used a gas water heater. It just wouldn't be my choice for this kind of install.

Hi,

I did research electric, most are just floor warmers rather than heating. I have hydronic radiant in our current home, WE LOVE IT. I am just trying to recreate our floor and heat feel using electric to warm the water.