KaiTech Plumbing and Heating Ltd.
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Radiant Heating Systems: Calgary, Airdrie, & area

What Is Radiant Heating?

Radiant heat, otherwise known as thermal radiation, is simply heat that radiates out from a central source such as an old-fashioned radiator, underfloor heating, and baseboard heating. Radiant heat transfer is caused by a warmer object giving up its heat to a cooler object. Radiant heat is not seen or heard, and is present in everyone’s daily lives in form or another.


The sun is a perfect example of radiant heat. As the sun radiates its energy towards the earth, the radiant energy is absorbed by the earth and is released as heat. The feeling of warm you get on a hot summer’s day comes from the radiant heat on your body from the sun having a higher temperature than your own internal temperature. 


Popular residential radiant home heating system include: in-floor heating, wall heaters and ceiling heaters for garages and workshops.

Have Questions About Radiant In-Floor Heating Installations? Contact Us Today At 403-945-8324

Radiant Heating Vs. Forced-Air Heating

Radiant heating systems function in a very different manner than traditional forced air heating systems. In contrast to a forced air heater that keep indoor spaces warm by blowing heating air around, radiant heaters generate heat internally and then radiate the heat to nearby objects.


People and objects in the heated area feel the warming effect much sooner than with a conventional heating system that operate from a centrally located main unit and a series of ducts and air vents. Radiant heat eliminates the inefficient heat loss created by rising heat, as warmth is not distributed through the air. These systems are allergy-friendly, while forced air pushes allergens throughout the house. There are many ways to heat your home with a radiant heat source.

Common Types Of Radiant HeatIng Systems

Underfloor Heating

Wall Mounted Radiant Heaters

Wall Mounted Radiant Heaters

Hydronic In Floor Heating

Quite often used in bathrooms and basements, in-floor radiant heat systems are installed directly underneath the floor surface.

Wall Mounted Radiant Heaters

Wall Mounted Radiant Heaters

Wall Mounted Radiant Heaters

Wall Mounted Heaters

Wall mounted radiant heaters offer heat that is more balanced than ceiling and floor heaters, and take up no floor space

Radiant Tube Heaters

Wall Mounted Radiant Heaters

Radiant Tube Heaters

Radiant Tube Heaters

Often used in garages and workshops, radiant tube heaters are installed on the ceiling and provide heat to objects directly below.

Baseboard Heaters

Infrared Heaters

Radiant Tube Heaters

Baseboard Heaters

Hot water baseboards heat the room by using a central boiler to pump hot water into the pipes that run along the bottom of the wall on one or locations of a room.

Infrared Heaters

Infrared Heaters

Infrared Heaters

Infrared Heaters

 Either fueled by gas or electricity, many infrared heaters are free-standing units that can be easily moved room to room, and used as a short-term heating solution in areas such as workshops, garages, and utility rooms 

Fireplaces

Infrared Heaters

Infrared Heaters

Fire Place

 Not only are fireplaces a great focal point in your living or bathroom, both inserts and built-in gas fireplaces are dependable heat producers. They emit radiant heat and spread warmth as it is absorbed by people and objects within a room.

Customize Temperature Settings Room To Room

Radiant Heating Options

Radiant Heating Zoning Options

One of the reasons people like radiant heating so much, is because heat can be adjusted differently for individual rooms, otherwise known as “zoning", to the temperature that you want in each individual area with a programmable thermostat. 


Not only does this allow you to have the ability to customize your comfort room-by-room, but it also converts into significant energy savings and costs. Most forced air heating systems only have a single thermostat that sets the temperature the same for every room because they are inherently expensive and difficult to zone. 

Benefits Of Using Radiant Heating Systems

In Comparison To Forced-Air Heaters, There Are Numerous Advantages To Use Radiant Heating Systems Including:

  • Delivery Of Heat Is Directional. This means that heat is delivered to where is it is required, so instead of warmed air rising to the roof, heat is projected to the occupied areas. Heated air rising to the ceiling is wasted energy.


  • Quick Warm Up Times: Generally, the heaters get to full heat output within a minute or two, and the experienced effect is as quick. It then takes a little longer for the surfaces in range to warm up.


  • Multiple Heating Zones: Most forced air heated homes have a single thermostat, and therefore a single zone. This is due to the fact that forced air systems are inherently difficult, and expensive, to zone. Radiant heated homes have multiple zones because they are easy and inexpensive to create. This allows you turn the heat off in a vacant guest room, or turn down rooms for certain times of the day when they are unoccupied. 


  • Efficient In Large Spaces: Large office buildings only require specific areas to heated. With radiant heating, you can easily have several different zoning areas and only heat particular zones if and when required. In contrast, forced-air heating systems require that all the air, in the entire building, needs to be heated to the temperature desired in order to warm the one or few areas where the warmth is required.


  • A Reliable Source Of Heating For Outdoors: Forced air heating relies on containment of heated air so by default does not work outside. Radiant heating does work, as long as the heaters are suited to the external environment and sized appropriately it will be a workable option. Radiant heating is often used for warming spectators at hockey areas.


  • Allergen Friendly: One of the reasons people like radiant heating so much is because it doesn’t spread dust, dirt, and allergens through vents in the home. Instead, the device has the heat rise from the floor to heat the room above without forcing or blowing any air.  

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Main Fuel Sources of Radiant Heaters

Hydronic Radiant Heating Systems, Electric Radiant Heating Systems & Air-Based Radiant Heating Systems

Radiant heaters can utilize energy from several different sources to produce heat. Today's radiant heater systems are basically divided into three categories: electric radiant systems, hydronic radiant systems, and air-based radiant systems.


  • Electric Radiant Heating Systems consist of electric coils that produce heat when electricity is passed through them. They require very little maintenance and have a longer life span. However, electric radiant heater can be very expensive to operate, especially in large areas, due to the ever-increasing cost of electricity. Therefore, they are only cost effective and affordable if used in small areas or sections of a home. 


  • Hydronic Radiant Heating Systems, typically installed under the floor using a series of pex tubing, uses heated water to transfer heat to your living space. A central boiler pumps the heated water through a network of pipes. Similar to electric radiant heating systems, hydronic systems can also be installed underneath the ceiling, floor or wall. However, the likelihood of a puncture in the piping and water leaks are higher with wall than floor installations. Hydronic radiant heating systems are cheaper to operate than electric radiant heaters, because there are several fuel sources that can be used to heat up the water such as natural gas, propane, solar power and electricity. To heat up an entire home, a hydronic system is the most cost-effective choice. However, if something goes wrong with a hydronic radiant heating system repairs can be very expensive and complicated


  • Air Radiant Heating Systems: Of all the radiant heating systems, the ones that use air are undoubtedly the least efficient. This is due to the fact that air is the least efficient method to transfer and retain heat.  


Overall, hydronic radiant heat systems continue to be the most popular because of their cost-effectiveness and efficiency, especially in colder climates. 

Radiant Garage And Workshop Heaters

Tube Heater

Radiant garage heaters work by heating objects such as furniture, vehicles, and work benches. Unlike forced air garage heating units that lose heat as soon as an overhead door is opened, they are the most cost-effective heating system to run as they don’t have to reheat the entire area to maintain a comfortable working environment. 


Radiant garage heaters can be powered by natural gas, propane, or electricity, and come in several makes and models.

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Having Problems Your Radiant Heater? Do You Need EXPERT ADVICE?

If you need help fast, call KaiTech Plumbing & Heating now. We offer professional, quality service in Calgary, Airdrie, and surrounding areas. We will inspect your system and offer multiple options before starting any repairs. Whenever possible, we always recommend cost-effective repairs rather then replacements.

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What is A Hydronic Heating System?

Hydronic Radiant In-Floor Heating, Wall Heaters, And Baseboard Heaters

Hydronic heating systems use tubing to run a hot liquid, such as water or glycol, through loops of plastic piping. Usually, these tubes are installed within a concrete slab foundation or floor joists as a radiant infloor heating system, and allow the heat to radiate evenly across the entire floor surface. The are also present along base board heaters or through radiators to heat a given area. They are energy efficient radiant heating system that allow temperature control to different rooms through zoning in contrast to forced air systems that usually have only one temperature setting to heat an entire home. Hydronic heating systems are energy efficient because you are able to feel comfortable at lower temperatures than conventional heating, which in turns lowers your monthly heating expenses.

How Do Hydronic Heating Systems Work?

The effectiveness of hydronic heating systems occurs with the following three series of events: 


  1. Using conduction, a boiler system quickly and efficiently heats the water that will eventually circulate through the pex tubing laid within your concrete slab or under your floor joists. The water heated from the boiler system must first flow into a plumbing manifold system that is connected to a thermostat that directs the correct water temperature to various zones within your home.
  2. Pumps then circulate the heated water throughout the house through the tubing heating the floor through conduction as well as radiating heat into the room.
  3. The heated flooring surfaces then radiate the heat they acquired from the liquid circulated through the tubing into the room as well. Eventually the desired temperature is reached by the heat that radiates from the floor as well as the solid objects around the room. 

Hydronic Slab Heating

A slab heating system works by simply radiating heat upwards from the concrete floor. Tubes that circulate water heated from a boiler system are installed in the concrete slab when it is poured, turning the thermal mass of concrete into an unseen, silent radiator the produces warm even heat. The advantages of installing a hydronic slab heating system include:


  • The temperature is easily controlled, consistent, and can have different zoning areas
  • You don’t feel drafts or hear the sound of blowing air
  • No allergens or dust get distributed throughout your home through air vents
  • Slab heating consumes less energy than convection heating to achieve the same level of comfort
  • Water is a better conductor of heat than air, which in turn heats up areas faster.

Slab Heating

Hydronic Radiant In-floor Heating

Hydronic In Floor Heating

Hydronic Radiant Infloor Heating Installations

Similiar to slab heating that has tubing encased in a concrete slab, hydronic in-floor radiant heating systems use a boiler to pump heated water through a network of pipes located with the floor joist space to heat the floor surface. 


You can get a good idea of the quality of a radiant floor install by how equally spaced out each pex tube is laid out. When radiant floor heating is correctly installed there will not be any cold spots or hot spots in the room – the heat will be consistent. 


However, if done incorrectly you end up with cold spots in the room, warped flooring where too much heat is being released, and various other issues.

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Hydronic Heating System Requirements

Components Of A Hydronic Heating System

All Heating systems are composed of three essential parts: a heat source, a heat distribution system, and a control system; and every hydronic heating system will require the following devices to heat a home:


  • Boiler System: Heats the liquid that runs through the tubing
  • Heat Conductor: For hydronic heating systems water is most typically used, however some units allow other liquids or water and antifreeze mixes. Glycol is a common antifreeze that is added to a closed loop hydronic system.
  • Manifold: The plumbing manifold (aka thermostat) of a boiler system is the control centre for controlling water flow and temperature.
  • Tubing: PEX tubing is the standard and universal with all hydronic systems.
  • Heat Exchanger: The baseboard heater, radiator, or in-floor component that transfers heat 
  • Pump: Pumps constantly keep the heated liquid in a hydronic heating system in circulation to maintain a consistent room temperature


Understanding Principles Of Heat Transfer

Conduction, Convection, And Radiation Heat Transfer Defined

To fully understand why hydronic heating is so efficient it is important to understand how the process of heat transfer occurs. The transfer of heat occurs in three ways:


  1. Conduction: This is the movement of heat through objects that physically touch, where heat transfers from a warmer object to a colder object. How dense an object is affects the efficiency of heat transfer and explains why liquids are much better conductors of heat than air and gases.
  2. Convection: This occurs when fluids or gases transfer heat while they are being circulated from one area to another. Forced air heating systems are great examples of this method of heat movement. 
  3. Radiation: Thermal radiation is heat that travels in invisible waves through an empty space. It is not something that can be lost to strong air currents or be moved. Instead, it is absorbed by an object that is in the path of the beam of energy, and is a far more efficient method of transferring heat.


Taking in consideration that hydronic heating systems use liquids as heat conductors, and liquids are better heat conductors than air, hydronic heating systems work so efficiently in keeping an area warm over forced-air systems because hydronic systems use conduction and radiation in heat transfer. In contrast, forced-air heating systems rely exclusively on convection and air to heat a given area. 

Heat Transfer Plates For Radiant In-Floor Heating

Benefits of Heat Transfer Plates, And Why We Recommend Using Them With Every In-Floor Heating Installation

For most radiant heating installations that are not encased in concrete, heat transfer plates are necessary. The high efficiency of radiant systems only occurs due to the low required water temperatures to satisfy the heating load, therefore the lower the required water temperature to heat your home the more efficient the system becomes.


Keeping in mind that radiant heat works by transferring heat energy from one object to another, and that water and heat are much better carries of heat energy than air, heat transfer plates improve the conductivity of heat out of the radiant tubing, and increase the surface area to speed up heat transfer. Without heat transfer plates, higher water temperatures are required to produce the amount of heat needed - which ultimately increases your utility bills!

Poor Heat Transfer

High-Efficient Heat Transfer

Adequate Heat Transfer

Poor Heat Transfer

Installation Completed By Others

Adequate Heat Transfer

High-Efficient Heat Transfer

Adequate Heat Transfer

Adequate Heat Transfer

Installation Completed By Others

High-Efficient Heat Transfer

High-Efficient Heat Transfer

High-Efficient Heat Transfer

High-Efficient Heat Transfer Plate Installations For In Floor Heating  -www.kaitechplumbing.ca

Installation Completed By KaiTech Plumbing & Heating

When comparing quotes for in-floor heating, double-check to make sure heat transfer plates are included in your quote. Heat transfer plates are not required by code to pass an inspection, and not every contractor uses them. Trying to save a few dollars may end up costing you a lot more down the road with increased utility expenses, and repairs for troublesome areas not receiving enough heat.

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Expert Installation Services For Hydronic Radiant Heating Systems In Airdrie, Calgary, And Nearby Areas

If your hydronic heating system isn’t producing sufficient heat or you are interested in having a radiant heating system installed, contact KaiTech Plumbing & Heating today for all your hydronic heating needs.

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