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December 18, 2008 00:12 AM  BY STACEY BARRUS
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The home improvement world has seen many recent
developments in heating, making hydronic systems
more convenient and possible radiant
heater solutions for major home remodeling projects.
Today we’re going to discuss one form of
radiant
heaters: hydronic floor heating.
Hydronic floor heating is the
oldest and most popular type of radiant
floor heating. These systems are comprised of a
boiler or hot water heater, pumps, manifolds,
PEX tubing, thermostat, and either gypcrete (a
concrete-like material) or wood panels. Hydronic heating
is the most complex of all radiant heat systems.
These systems require trained professionals to
design and perform the installation. Your best
economies of scale are achieved for hydronic systems in
large areas or entire homes because of their
expensive components and operational costs.
Hydronic systems can be installed under any type of
flooring.
Most hydronic systems require
hot water tubing to be installed in a
2-4″ bed of light concrete and are best installed
during the initial construction because of its
weight load demands and adjustments to floor
height.
If you’re wanting to
heat smaller areas such as a bathroom or kitchen,
a hydronic floor radiant
heating system may not be the best value for your
project. The complexity and cost of installing
the system, along with the long-term maintenance
and up-keep required, might not be worth the small
amount you will save in operational costs.
Radiant Heaters Tip:
Radiant
heaters for your home or business come in a variety
of forms – all efficient and providing
reliable, cozy warmth
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December 13, 2008 00:12 AM  BY STACEY BARRUS
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Recently John Thiffault of Carriage Lane
Homes wasrecognized by the Canada Mortgage
and Housing Corporation for building homes that
maximize health and efficiency.So what is
it about Thiffault’s homes that set them apart
from other homes, and make them safer and more
efficient?Well, Radiant
Heaters are one way.
Health Benefits.
Radiant
heaters improve the air quality, which is important,
especially for anyone who suffers from either
dust allergies or asthma. The heated towel rails
provide ample heat alleviating a breeding ground for
germs to multiply not to mention the added
benefit of not having change filters or clean
heat ducts.
Health experts also claim that
radiant heaters can help in eliminating dust
mites that live in our homes, and since dust mites love
a warm moist environment, towel heaters aid in
maintaining a consistent room temperature and
keep it moisture free. Furthermore, mold and mildew are
also caused from excessive moisture especially in
bathrooms with insufficient
ventilation.By placing radiant heaters or a
radiant heat towel rack in the bathroom you can combat
the spread of germs for only pennies a day.
Efficiency. Radiant
heaters are the most efficient form of heat
available. Significantly less operating time is
required to maintain the desired warmth compared
to furnaces and other methods of heating keeping
operational costs to a minimum. High efficiency boilers
or electric radiant floor systems makes radiant
heat one of your most efficient ways to heat
your home. Coupled with a well insulated home these
systems can quickly warm your home and then shut down or
wait idle for long periods of time before being
called upon by the thermostat to operate.
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December 21, 2008 00:12 AM  BY STACEY BARRUS
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Innovations in home heating are here and ready
to keep your home comfortably heated!Flat
panel radiant
heaters are used to heat objects via radiant heat
transfer. These radiant heaters have
traditionally been used in a variety of industries
and applications. Some of these applications include
space heating, drying, curing, and water
evaporation. More recently, these heating
systems are also gaining popularity in home heating
applications as well.
Radiant
heaters use different types of emitter surfaces.
Choices include: quartz, high-temperature glass,
stainless steel, and ceramic tiles. These are
all materials that are easily and efficiently used in
home applications such as flooring, countertops,
and towel racks. Because these items are easily
turned into emitter surfaces for radiant heat,
they can easily and beautifully be incorporated into
home heating applications such as heated floors,
walls, and towel racks.
To find out about radiant
heaters for your home, check with the folks at
warmzone.com. They have a complete product catalog of
radiant heating solutions that can accommodate
almost any application or budget.
Radiant Heaters Tip:
Not only are radiant
heaters a great way to efficiently heat a home,
while maximizing your home’s beauty, but
they are very cost effective and easy to
install.
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January 07, 2010 00:01 AM  BY WARMZONE
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The Radiant Heat Solution
Salt Sense:
Choose Radiant Heated Driveways and Avoid the Pitfalls
and Hidden Dangers of Snow Melting Products
In winter
months, rock salt and other snow melting products
present an array of hidden dangers. Not so
with radiant heated driveway systems. If you want
more bang for your ice-melting buck, and greater
peace of mind, you might want to consider radiant heat
as a safer, more permanent
snowmelt solution for your driveway and
those well-traveled sidewalks bordering your
home.
Salt and snow
melting products must be purchased in advance of
inclement weather. Most distributors recommend
that you not only pre-treat surfaces for enhanced
performance, but that you participate in
“early-buy” programs to ensure you
get an adequate supply at a competitive price. On
the other hand, heated
driveways are activated by a snow
sensor before a snowstorm to keep pavement
warm, clear and safe, with little effort.
Then there’s the danger of using the
wrong snow melting product, or misusing the
correct one. If you are having to use excessive
amounts of an ice melting product, there’s a
chance you are using the wrong one. Climactic
variables such as temperature can also dictate
just how well these products work. For example, you may
be spending more on calcium chloride than is
needed to respond to specific weather conditions,
when a less expensive rock salt “blend”
would be more efficient. In contrast, radiant
heating systems are durable, reliable, and
consistently and efficiently melt snow, every
time.
Because salt
attracts water, it can cause concrete that makes up your
drive and walkways to become more saturated than they
otherwise would. The extra water, in freezing
conditions, creates pressure within the concrete
matrix, causing the surface of the concrete to fail and
spall or flake off. Heated
driveway systems can be installed in a
variety of medium without harming these surfaces.
Some
manufacturers warn that oily-like residue from
snow and ice treated with calcium chloride
actually creates a slip and fall hazard! The excessive
application of rock salts can also create a
slippery situation akin to walking on marbles!
Radiant heated driveway systems create no slippery by
products or unexpected hazards.
Why bother to
sort through perils and pitfalls of snow melting
products when you can install a radiant heated
driveway? Once installed, a heated driveway
requires no surface pre-treating. The initial cost is
offset by low operational costs, and the
elimination of all those fancy snow melting
blends, and the damage they are inflicting. You
don’t even have to follow the weather. Heated
driveway systems are fully automated,
utilizing sensors sensitive to temperature and moisture
changes to trigger operation of the system before
snow can accumulate, eliminating the potential for
slippery conditions, and any worries you might have
about safety.
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Warmzone Radiant Heat Services - The Complete Package
Construction
Professionals, Reduce Your Worries and Expenses with
Warmzone
When it comes
to COMPLETE radiant heating solutions, Warmzone offers
the total package. From industry-leading products
at low prices and certified installer discounts to
comprehensive system design
services, Warmzone covers all the bases. Be
assured that all your questions will be answered and
needs will be met.
When working
with clients, it is especially crucial to anticipate all
costs and avoid any financial “surprises”
during project construction. When you work with
Warmzone to install a radiant
floor heating or snow
melting system, you can be assured that the
process has been well thought out by our design team.
After recommending the best possible options, our
professional designers evaluate your radiant
heating system from top to bottom and create a detailed
CAD of the system layout. You'll know the
electrical requirements, technical specifications
and system performance expectations before one foot of
heat cable is installed. This valuable service minimizes
any "installation surprises" that you may
otherwise encounter, which ultimately saves you
time and money in the long run.
Warmzone
personnel are experts in radiant heat who understand the
different demands of your clients. When it comes to radiant
heated floors or radiant heated
driveways and sidewalks, we know that
different brands and types of radiant systems offer
unique qualities, but no single system is perfect
for every type of job. That's why we offer a
variety of “best-in-class” systems and can
recommend the ideal solution for your project. Our
experienced staff will help you match the best
product for your client's home or business at the best
price possible. Since we don't promote one
radiant heating product for every application, we
can offer sincere, non-biased recommendations that
are best suited for you or your client’s
particular needs.
Customer
service is at the top of our priority list, and you can
expect simple, honest explanations for our
suggestions to you. We are committed to
matching custom projects with the best products for that
particular application by providing:
- Top quality materials
- Installation packages that simplify the
work
- Comprehensive system design services
- Installation advice and support
- The latest ideas in energy efficiency and
alternative energy
Call Warmzone
today to receive a
FREE quote
or to learn more about the radiant heat
options available to you (888.488.9276).
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December 26, 2008 00:12 AM  BY STACEY BARRUS
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If you’ve
been researching home
heating systems, chances are your head is
spinning right about now. It’s no wonder!
The number of types of radiant heaters available for
residences or businesses could make anyone dizzy in no time
at all. There’s really a lot of selection for
homeowners to choose from. Today we’ll discuss
the electric cable heating system kind of radiant
heaters. Electric cable heating systems are gaining
popularity in as radiant heaters and are ideal for
heating smaller areas (10-300 square feet) like
bathrooms, kitchens, and sun rooms. These systems are
comprised of a thermostat and a heating cable. On some
systems, the cable is be shipped as a large spool of
cable. These systems are oftentimes less expensive,
and give you the ability to space the cable how you want
and customize a layout that will heat every square inch of
your floor. Other systems have the cable attached to a
plastic mesh or tape to create a mat to maintain its
proper spacing.
Every available cable system is equally
effective, so when determining which radiant heater
system to purchase, you should look at the warranty of
the product, along with the ease of installation. Some
cables must be embedded in a separate layer of
concrete or mortar, whereas other systems can simply
be installed in the thinset.
Radiant Heaters Tip: When heating smaller
areas with a radiant heater, it is next to impossible
to beat the simplicity and price of an electric cable
heating system.
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December 12, 2008 00:12 AM  BY STACEY BARRUS
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We’d risk
a guess that a majority of homeowners are probably most
familiar with forced air unit heaters and might not realize
that there are other options for heating a home
– other options that are more efficient and
even more comfortable. One such option is radiant
floor heating, which, as opposed to warm air
systems, delivers the source of heat upwards from the
floor level, not from the ceiling. Radiant
heaters or radiant energy is the oldest form of heating
used to provide comfort and is the basis for all
heating systems. Radiant energy is heat efficiently
radiating outwards, and is absorbed by an object
without physical contact with the heat source or by heating
the surrounding air, as is the case with convective,
forced air systems.
It might be hard to believe, but under floor
heat was first used by the Romans. While under floor
heating was initially reserved for the rich, it
eventually became increasingly commonplace in public
buildings and villas. This form of radiant heating was
used particularly in the colder regions of the Roman
Empire. The Roman system was based on hypocausts,
comprising ducts that underlay the floor (itself built on
raised brick piles) and flues that were built into
walls. Hot air or steam from fires circulated up
through this system, warming the floor and walls, with heat
passing into the rooms.
If you’re looking for efficient,
comfortable heat for your home, radiant floor
heating could the solution you’ve been looking
for.
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December 22, 2008 00:12 AM  BY STACEY BARRUS
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Are your eyes so tired from all the research
you’ve been doing because you’re
looking to warm your floors with radiant
heaters? We know, it sometimes can be hard to narrow
down what kind of radiant
heaters to install. There are dozens of products
available to purchase, and there are even more
companies telling you that their product is the
best.
For many homeowners, electric
cable heating systems, often called line- or
high-voltage systems, are gaining popularity and are
ideal for heating smaller areas like bathrooms,
kitchens, and sun rooms. These systems are
comprised of a thermostat and a heating cable. These radiant
heater systems are oftentimes less expensive, and
give the ability to customize a layout that will
heat every square inch of your floor.
Every available radiant heater
cable system is equally effective, so when
determining which system to purchase, you should look at
the warranty of the product, along with the ease
of installation. Some cables must be embedded in
a separate layer of concrete or mortar, whereas
other systems can simply be installed in the thinset.
Most radiant
heater cable systems can only be installed under
tile. However, on others, if the cable is
embedded in mortar or concrete, any flooring can
be installed on top of the concrete.
Radiant Heaters Tip:
When heating smaller areas, it is nearly
impossible to beat the simplicity and price of an
electric cable radiant
heating system.
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December 20, 2008 00:12 AM  BY STACEY BARRUS
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Not traditionally
used in heating homes, flat panel radiant
heaters are used to heat objects via radiant heat
transfer. These radiant heaters have traditionally
been used in a variety of industries and applications,
such as space heating, drying, curing, and water
evaporation. More recently, these heating systems are also
gaining popularity in home heating applications as well.
Radiant
heaters use different types of emitter surfaces. Choices
include: quartz, high-temperature glass, stainless
steel, and ceramic tiles. These are all materials that
are easily and efficiently used in home applications
such as flooring, countertops, and towel racks. Because
these items are easily turned into emitter surfaces for
radiant heat, they can easily and beautifully be
incorporated into home heating applications such as
heated floors, walls, and towel racks.
To find out about radiant heaters for your home,
check with the folks at warmzone.com. They have a
complete product catalog of radiant heating solutions
that can accommodate almost any application or budget.
Radiant Heaters Tip: radiant heaters a
great way to efficiently heat a home, while maximizing
your home’s beauty, but they are very cost
effective and easy to install.
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December 28, 2008 00:12 AM  BY STACEY BARRUS
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Are you having a
hard time deciding which radiant
heat system is right for you? We know,
it sometimes can be hard to narrow down what kind of
radiant heaters to install. There are dozens of
products available to purchase, and there are even more
companies telling you that their product is the best.
For many homeowners, electric cable heating
systems, often called line- or high-voltage systems,
are gaining popularity and are ideal for heating
smaller areas like bathrooms, kitchens, and sun rooms. These
systems are comprised of a thermostat and a heating
cable. These radiant
heater systems are oftentimes less expensive,
and give the ability to customize a layout that will
heat every square inch of your floor.
Every available radiant heater cable system is
equally effective, so when determining which system to
purchase, you should look at the warranty of the
product, along with the ease of installation. Some cables
must be embedded in a separate layer of concrete or
mortar, whereas other systems can simply be installed
in the thinset. Most radiant heater cable systems can
only be installed under tile. However, on others, if the
cable is embedded in mortar or concrete, any flooring
can be installed on top of the concrete.
Radiant Heaters Tip: When heating smaller
areas, it is nearly impossible to beat the simplicity
and price of an electric cable radiant heating
system.
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December 16, 2008 00:12 AM  BY JEN BAKER
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A lot of people out there might hear about
allergies and asthma and assume that they're
only warm-weather maladies–I sure did once upon a
time. But the sad and uncomfortable truth is,
they’re very often year-round! Allergies
and asthma affect at least 60 million Americans
in one way or another, generally making the sufferers
rather miserable. Many allergy and asthma
experts will advise certain changes in
housekeeping habits to help alleviate allergy- or
asthma-causing conditions in your home. In
addition, you might consider changing your heat
source to radiant
heaters.
It could come as a surprise to learn that radiant
heaters could be such a simple solution to
helping keep your home healthy. In reality, radiant
heaters improve the air quality, which is
important, especially for anyone who suffers from either
dust allergies or asthma. Not having to change
air filters or clean heating ducts should also
cut down dramatically on dust or other allergens in
your home’s air.
Allergy experts agree that another way to keep
your home healthy is to eliminate the dust mites
that live in your home. Since dust mites love a
warm moist environment, towel heaters and other radiant
heater systems aid in maintaining a
consistent room temperature and keep it
moisture-free…and dust mite-free, too.
Furthermore, mold and mildew are also caused from
excessive moisture especially in bathrooms with
insufficient ventilation.
Radiant Heater Tip: Did you know that
simply by placing radiant
heaters or a radiant heat towel rack in the
bathroom you can combat the spread of germs for only
pennies a day?
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