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Australian Hydronic Supplies
10 Frankston Gardens Drive
Carrum Downs, Victoria,
Australia 3201
2.0 Radiant under floor heating
2.1 How does it work?
”
What exactly is radiant energy
?” Hold your
hand over a hot cup of coffee and feel the
heat. The logical conclusion is that heat
rises. Logical maybe, but incorrect! “Hot
air” rises but “heat” can travel in any
direction. That is why you can feel the heat
of the cup when you place your hand near
the side of it. Radiant energy transfer is
caused by a warm surface giving up its heat
to a cooler surface. Place your hand on the
side of the cup and it will be heated through
conduction. Whenever there is a
temperature difference between two
surfaces, both surfaces will attempt to
equalize.
Radiant energy travels through space without heating the space itself. It only turns into heat when it contacts a
cooler surface. Our human comfort relies just as much on radiant heat transfer as it does on air temperature, yet
the majority of heating and air-conditioning professionals think only in terms of air temperature. As a result,
Australians are missing the ultimate comfort available from radiant floor heating in their own homes or places of
business. By controlling both the air temperature and the radiant transfer, radiant under floor heating can deliver
comfort that is unsurpassed. The system delivers a continuous flow of warm water at a temperature as near as
possible to the optimum temperature required to maintain comfort conditions. For the same comfort level the room
air temperature can be 3°C lower because radiant heat warms the surfaces rather than the air around the surfaces.
This means you feel more comfortable. The lower temperature means less fuel is consumed and the system is
more economical, saving more money every year.
# a thought for the day #
If hot air ducted heating is so great, why are there so many duct-cleaning
companies?