Hangar in floor heat

sjhurlbut · #1 01-25-2012, 07:41 PM

Looking for information on in-cement radiant heat systems used in a hangar. Any good do-it-yourself packages out there?

Larry DeCamp · #2 01-25-2012, 07:46 PM

Google radiant in floor heat. You will get diagrams, design metrics and how to do it. Pex tubing in the concrete is really easy ( Menards, Home Depot, Lowes, etc.)
I have it in my house and shop floors and it is all they claim to be. More economical than hot air because the hottest temperature in the space is the floor, and heat rises ONLY to the level of the thermostat and satisfies it.

John Tierney · #3 01-25-2012, 08:14 PM

A couple of years ago the owner of a local small airport had a hangar fire. When the insurance company paid to rebuilt it he had in-floor heat installed, but made sure to run a loop to about 5-feet outside the hangar door to prevent the door from feezing shut and make snow shoveling easier.

rockwoodrv9 · #4 01-25-2012, 08:15 PM

I have quite a bit of experience with radiant heat. I installed it in my house and we put it in the garage, floors, patios, and decks at a resort in downtown Aspen. Email me or pm and I can give you some directions to look. The system we have in our house is very good and efficient. I don't know how the natural gas or propane rates are where you live, but here in Colorado they aren't terrible. Our highest monthly bill for hot water, radiant heat, cooking, and 2 fireplaces was less than $180. We have 4500sf and vaulted ceilings throughout the top floor. The boiler is 97% efficient - almost as good as burning a fire in a bucket in the middle of the room.

Let me know and I can get you information on parts and how to install.
rockwood

gerrychuck · #5 01-25-2012, 08:20 PM

In the good old days, you could lay down the tubing and then heat it with a household hot water heater. Unfortunately, code doesn't allow that any more, so it means installing some type of boiler OR an instant water heater. My brother and sister in law have the latter in their home, and use it for both their normal hot water needs and the in-floor heat. At any rate, I really wish the guy who built my hangar had gone with this option when he built it....oh, wait a minute, that was you! jk

Does this mean there's been some progress on the hangar lot issue?

sjhurlbut · #6 01-25-2012, 09:50 PM

rockwood - PM sent - thanks.

Gerry - we may be able to swap lots with someone else - if so we're building asap.

RV Wannabe · #7 01-26-2012, 07:10 AM

A buddy of mine used a high efficency on demand water heater for his in floor heat. No inefficient storage tank leaking heat. Everyone said it would not have the capacity to keep up. He says it works great.

I have been reading a little on solar water heating. It of course requires a storage tank though. Sounds intriguing.

http://www.radiantsolar.com/solar_heating_options.php One place I have been reading on radiant and solar. Like others say google comes up with a lot of info.

Mark

Cadstat · #8 01-26-2012, 11:00 AM

I did it in the garage and apartment 12 years ago. It's still going strong. There are tricks to it though. Send me a private message with your number if you want and I'll talk on the phone. There are down sides to it you have consider.

RVbySDI · #9 01-26-2012, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cadstat

I did it in the garage and apartment 12 years ago. It's still going strong. There are tricks to it though. Send me a private message with your number if you want and I'll talk on the phone. There are down sides to it you have consider.

I would be interested in hearing about your experiences too. Can you post here? I would like to hear about the downsides you are referring to.

humptybump · #10 01-26-2012, 01:02 PM

I did radiant floor heating for my shop/hangar. Top quality installation. Not sure I'd do it again. Here are some thoughts.

The PEX install is nice and pretty easy. However, you will have multiple runs from the distribution manifold and each run needs to be close to the same length, otherwise long runs will be colder than short runs and flow rates will vary. The installer said runs were about 200' each and not more than 10% variance. While it may be a DIY, it may not be cost effective once you include all the materials, manifolds, connections, and a few specialized tools.

Most hangars are not insulated well enough - I have the sandwiched insulation between the exterior metal skin and the skeleton of the building. This is no enough. Also, its hard to avoid air leaks in a hangar and tall ceilings don't help either. Thus the system, even in my relatively mild climate of coastal Virginia works pretty hard most nights in the winter (and then sits idle during the day). I'd say it runs from about 9-10pm until about 8-9am.

If I am using my shop daily (eg if it were currently a business) then heating it full time would make sense but what I find I am wanting with my current project schedule is to "hold" a lower temp during the week and then bring it up to 55 or 60 on the weekends. Radiant does not do this well.

My hangar is big - 75% of a 60'x80' with 18' at the eaves and 27' at the ridge. If I had an insulated drop ceiling at 10', it would make a big difference but that is not an option for a number of reasons. I'd also need to add another layer of insulation at the walls but again not an option without a significant effort.

If you do the extra insulation work up front (and allocate the budget for it) it will make a notable difference.

By contrast, the house is also radiant and well insulated and the system works wonderfully. I'd say the biggest differences being the better insulation and the 9' ceilings in the house vs very open space in the hangar (which makes for a very large air mass).