tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247002493176705100.post3595157337977710726..comments2023-10-14T02:24:04.900-07:00Comments on This Day In Science Fiction: 5 August 2015Prof. Hubbardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575880031145705761noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247002493176705100.post-80645528028365070222015-08-05T21:21:44.777-07:002015-08-05T21:21:44.777-07:00the electric heating mats are great in bathrooms, ...the electric heating mats are great in bathrooms, anywhere you've got tile floors...zombie rotten mcdonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10601960953323752278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247002493176705100.post-87150642840008738192015-08-05T21:20:54.697-07:002015-08-05T21:20:54.697-07:00the correct designation makes my head hurt
it&...<i> the correct designation makes my head hurt</i> <br /><br />it's almost as bad as conjugating time-travel verbs....zombie rotten mcdonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10601960953323752278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247002493176705100.post-3794909528946510872015-08-05T19:11:11.919-07:002015-08-05T19:11:11.919-07:00Thank you, Herr Professor Zombie. Your full marks ...Thank you, Herr Professor Zombie. Your full marks obviously replace my incomplete grade. I knew you were the right person - or former person or unperson, the correct designation makes my head hurt - to whom this question should be presented.<br />Prof. Hubbardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16575880031145705761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247002493176705100.post-54490028152705742202015-08-05T18:53:31.840-07:002015-08-05T18:53:31.840-07:00Oh boy oh boy oh boy, I get to show off.
Radian...Oh boy oh boy oh boy, I get to show off. <br /><br />Radiant heat is the term you're looking for, and it's been a thing for oh, several thousand years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiant_heating The Romans used air cavities below floors to circulate warmed air. In more recent years, hydronic sources were installed in concrete floors, but the rigid metallic pipes were difficult to repair if they leaked; more successful have been the plastic tubing versions that have cropped up more recently. I've even seen a plywood subfloor product that had grooves in it for plastic tubing to be installed in more standard wood frame construction. As a matter of fact, I am designing a garage for a client, and we will probably be installing a radiant heating system in that.<br /><br />Electric radiant heating had been slow to catch on, because of the perceived greater cost for energy, but that has disappeared and with the greater use of alternative energy sources, it is more flexible. It has a great advantage in that it can be installed in small areas, has much greater control and is easy to install. Creating zones or changing the amount of heating in different areas is much simpler.<br /><br />http://www.warmyourfloor.com<br /><br />In reality, a radiant floor heating system is somewhat cheaper to run, and very comfortable. Because the heat source is so large, it doesn't have to be very warm at all to keep a space tempered. Further, there is a tendency to keep a house at a lower temperature because not only does the heat rise naturally, but it keeps your tootsies warm and if your extremities are comfortable, the rest of your body is as well.<br /><br />The biggest drawback to radiant heating is that the space will still need forced air system for cooling and fresh air cycles, so you're kind of doubling up your mechanical costs. Not quite double, as cooling is much easier to distribute and people are much more accepting of larger changes in cooling temperatures, but it's still an extra system.<br /><br />If, however, you combine the radiant heating system with geothermal energy sourcing, you can get some extraordinary payback times in energy savings. Less than five years, I would guesstimate.<br /><br />There. Class is dismissed. I'm giving our Pal George full marks on this one; the only thing he missed is that floors are more common as radiators, rather than walls or ceilings. Also, plaster is probably a poor medium as the thermal expansion would likely cause cracking. But these are quibbles.<br /><br />Also, the WikiWhacky article mentions, along the lines of Nangleator's comment, that radiant heating has long been used in Asia.<br /><br />Everybody gets a gold star today!zombie rotten mcdonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10601960953323752278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247002493176705100.post-90929970413942526012015-08-05T07:45:45.688-07:002015-08-05T07:45:45.688-07:00That's an interesting method and I can see why...That's an interesting method and I can see why you mentioned it. Not the same, certainly, but similar.<br />Prof. Hubbardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16575880031145705761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247002493176705100.post-25585376645345828332015-08-05T07:40:46.552-07:002015-08-05T07:40:46.552-07:00This is wildly different from wall-based electrica...This is wildly different from wall-based electrical resistance heating, but a Korean woman told me her house in Korea was heated with hot water pipes in the floors. For one who gets up on cold winter nights often, this appeals to me more than I can say.Nangleatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01908938252272172718noreply@blogger.com