Abstract

With radiant in-floor heating becoming more popular, both in private residential and multi-family residential, the number of failures experienced in these systems is increasing proportionally. Infrared is now being used to locate failure points and assist in the QA/QC process on many construction sites. By utilizing infrared, one can save both time and money and play an integral part in claim subrogation as a failure of this type is mitigated. This presentation will introduce tips and tricks used in diagnosis and repair of electric radiant in-floor heating systems through multiple case studies in which infrared proved to be a valuable resource.

Introduction

In-floor radiant heating has become a very popular means of heating a structure, including the residential, multi-family, and commercial markets of construction. This recent surge can be contributed to the claims that radiant heating is more energy efficient. While this claim can be true in some instances, many times there will be no realized cost savings and in some cases energy usage can soar. In new construction, proper design factors must be taken into account with a radiant floor system, including floor insulation, construction type, boiler efficiency (hydronic), etc. Proper assessment of a potential retrofit floor system should also be performed by a third party who is not selling a product. It pays to have a thorough assessment performed on a case by case basis to see if radiant in-floor heating is energy efficient and thus cost effective.