Lincoln Nebraska's Radiant Heat Specialist

The basic principles of radiant heat are not complex. The primary law is that heat moves from warm to cold. Any object or surface that is warmer than another, will give up its heat to the cooler object or surface.

There are 3 methods of heat transfer:
Conduction, Convection, and Radiant Heat Transfer.

Conduction is how heat moves through two materials that are in direct contact with each other. When we stand on a cool basement slab or a tile floor, we give heat up from our feet, so it feels cold to us.

Convection is the transfer of heat through a liquid or gas (such as water or air). Heat does not rise, but warm air does. Baseboard heat is one example of heating with convection. Cool air descends and passes over the fin-tube where it is heated and then the natural air current is warmed and then rises to provide convective heat.

Radiant heat transfer is infrared light (radiant waves) moving through space from one object to another, with no intermediate such as air used in the heating process. The sun heats this way. Light travels unimpeded 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 is similar to visible light in that it travels in a straight line from the source.

Why does radiant heat work so well?

Water retains heat hundreds of times better that air, so it is a great “medium” to carry the heat. Heat a gallon of water to 140°F and then turn it off. Now, heat the same volume of air to 140°F and turn it off. Which one will remain hotter longer? The water can transfer heat more effectively and efficiently than air alone.

Radiant floor heat is not just a trend, why is it so great?

Radiant floor heat has been around since the early Roman times. They built fires in the basements below the marble floors. Voila’, warm floors. The modern version allows us to use zoning, the ability to separate rooms and areas of the house so that everyone can be comfortable with their own individual temperature. The use of zoning can also increase system efficiency by turning down the temperatures in rooms that are not being used. With increasing fuel costs, why not turn down the thermostat in the guest bedroom or a storage room that is unoccupied. Radiant floor heat can be detailed to YOUR exact needs. Tile, wood floors, carpet, we can factor all of that information in when we design your system.

Technology!

Your mom and dads old house with the big cast-iron radiators was always really nice to warm up to. We can make it better. In an older system with a boiler, the boiler always wanted to make 180°F water no matter what the temperature was outside. If it is -10°F outside, your house will need a lot of heat, we call it Design Conditions, here we might actually need all of the 180°F water to keep it nice and toasty. So what if it is only 30°F outside, wouldn’t it stand to reason that we won’t need as much heat to keep it comfortable? The cast-iron radiators (depending on the residence) might only need 140°F water to keep it comfortable at 30°F. Wow!

This is called Outdoor-Reset. We can fine-tune the water temperature in the boiler to match the needs of the house to maximize comfort and efficiency no regardless of outdoor temperature. If the boiler doesn’t need to work as hard, that means I will cut down on fuel consumption right? That’s right! Lower fuel bills are just another advantage that we can offer.