baseboard heat and radiant floor heat

12 years ago

In another post I'm asking about a wood burning furnace. In this post I wanted to ask if it is possible to have baseboard heat in most rooms of a house, but radiant floor heat in some of the rooms instead (bathrooms in particular)?

If the answer to the above is "yes," the next question is- could the radiant floor be installed using he pipes that go into those rooms already? Can they be in the same loop (or zone) that they're already in, or do they need to be plumbed differently because of the smaller pipe (tube) diameters and much longer pipe runs?

We would do this for three reasons- first, the obvious comfort factor of warm floors in the bathroom when you go in there in the morning. The second reason has to do with space considerations in the bathrooms (more wall space for vanities with no heater in the way. The third reason has to do with the proximity of baseboards to the toilet and the yuck factor that can create due to liquids splashing on a hot surface.

Thanks for your help.

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Comments (3)

mike_home
12 years ago
I am not an expert on this, but I believe the radiant heat could be connected to the existing plumbing.
fsq4cw
12 years ago
Yes you can have baseboard radiators and in-floor radiant.

"Can they be in the same loop or zone?" That may not be the best way to plumb, as the radiators and in-floor will likely require different water temperatures (supply & return Ã¢ÂÂT), flow rates and controls.

Always use proper design and best practices for assured comfort and reliability, not easiest, quickest, cheapest hookup. Don't forget automatic air elimination and dirt separation. Proper placement of every component is crucial!

Plan and document your mechanical room carefully with proper labeling, arrows indicating flow direction, supply & return and a DETAILED schematic that remains on-site and includes every component so that any technician coming on site can understand what they're looking at.

HIRE A SERIOUS PROFESSIONAL - you'll be glad you did!

IMO

SR
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jamesbodell
12 years ago
You can mix, and you can use existing plumbing. You will need space near your zone for a mixing valve to mix high temp water with return water.

You can also put the mixing valve on the boiler side and put only low temp water through the existing pipes.

I have such a dual heat system (actually i have 3!). I have a Buderus boiler with a low temp mixing module. My house is all baseboard except bathrooms and mudroom are radiant floor. The floors use uponor panels. Upstairs I have AC and hydro air units (thus the 3rd heating type)

One thing I really like about the Buderus is both heat types are constant circulation. The heat does not fluctuate much.