question about electric radiant heating located in the ceiling
Fred Walter
the other two.
I am currently looking at a triplex that has electric radiant heating
located in the ceiling. The real-estate agent was able to tell me
nothing about this type of heating, and doing a keyword search on subject
at the local library on "radiant heat" produced no references.
All three apartments in this triplex have seperate electric meters
(and the tenants pay their own utilities).
My questions are:
1) is there a book something (that I could buy/borrow from
a library) that discusses this type of heating mechanism?
2) what sort of lifespan does this heating mechanism have?
3) is it trouble/maintenance free?
4) how cost effective is it w.r.t. other types of heating?
I regularly read misc.consumers.house, so I'd appreciate it if any
followups were also posted there.
Thanx,
fred
--
fr...@mks.com | Disclaimer: everything I write is my personal opinion and does
| not represent or reflect the opinion of MKS Inc.
afo...@lmsmgr.lerc.nasa.gov
I had this type of heat in my first house.
1. I have never seen it describe in any book.
2. The system should last the life of the house. My house was 40 yrs old
when I bought it and it was fine except one circuit in the kitchen and
family room which wasn't working. The former owners had install some
baseboard electric heaters to heat these two rooms. We looked into
repairing the system, the local electric company came out to try to find
the break in the wire but there was more than one break so we couldn't
locate it. We ended up replacing the system in these two rooms when we
were doing some major rehab with a modern version of the same thing.
3. There is no maintenance.
4. Cost effective? Not w.r.t gas heat. It probably the same as electric
baseboard. The one advantage, if you can use it, is that the system we had
had a thermostate in each room so that we could turn down the heat in
rooms that weren't being used. Also, the electric company had a sliding
price scale for electrically heated homes so that the more electricity you
used the cheaper the rate. Our electric budget was about $120/month for a
2000 sq.ft. house. Peak bills in the winter were about $220 using
4200 KWH.
5. Major drawback...no air ducts, no central air conditioning.
RPruitt625
between drywall (like a sandwich). This type heat is no longer installed
in new structures. It is found primarily in the South, where twenty-five
years ago electricity was dirt cheap. This is a comfortable, even heat,
but is also very expensive to use (the attic stays comfortable also).
There is no maintenance, however, when an element burns out, it is
generally not cost effective to repair it. It is much easier to install
baseboard heaters in the affected areas, if central heating is not an
option.
Robert
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh
>I am currently looking at a triplex that has electric radiant heating
>located in the ceiling. The real-estate agent was able to tell me
>All three apartments in this triplex have seperate electric meters
>(and the tenants pay their own utilities).
>
>My questions are:
> 1) is there a book something (that I could buy/borrow from
> a library) that discusses this type of heating mechanism?
> 2) what sort of lifespan does this heating mechanism have?
> 3) is it trouble/maintenance free?
> 4) how cost effective is it w.r.t. other types of heating?
Electric Ceil Heat (tm) is an old, reliable, and _mostly_ desireable heating
system.
It lasts virtually indefinitely, with the exception that the thermostats can
wear out. It requires no maintenance, but can _cause_ a couple of maintenance
problems, if it was not properly installed. It can:
cause ceiling cracking, if the plaster under which it's embedded was
not aerated enough before application, and
requires very careful probing of the ceiling to avoid cutting the heat
wires, if any ceiling holes must be drilled or cut.
It is a nearly ideal heat, from the standpoint of user comfort. It allows
each
room, or even zone _in_ a room to have its own temperature setting. The only
drawback is that areas under tables, chairs, and beds (in the infrared shadow
of those objects) will stay cooler. In really cold climes, the shielded areas
can be several degrees cooler than the areas directly exposed to the 'shine'
from the ceiling.
The separate meters are because many utilities did (and some still do) offer a
distinct discount for all-electric heating. Ceil heat IS, after all,
resistance heating. So it's not the most efficient way to heat. But if you
get a heating energy discount, it can still be cost-effective.
Unfortunately, some districts have actually assessed a resistance heating
PENALTY, which makes it very unattractive.
Nice heat, if you can afford to run it.
LLoyd
Victoria Dowling
afo...@lmsmgr.lerc.nasa.gov wrote:
>In Article <4l30mo$d...@ia.mks.com>
>fr...@mks.com (Fred Walter) writes:
>>My questions are:
>> 1) is there a book something (that I could buy/borrow from
>> a library) that discusses this type of heating mechanism?
>> 2) what sort of lifespan does this heating mechanism have?
>> 3) is it trouble/maintenance free?
>> 4) how cost effective is it w.r.t. other types of heating?
I have lived in a house in Massachusetts with electric heat in the
ceiling for the last 18 years. It was a popular component of the
"all-electric house" of the late sixties and early seventies. My house was
built in 1970. The advantages: thermostats in each room, absolutely no
maintenance; the disadvantages: electric heat is *very* expensive, holes
can't be cut in the ceiling so you're limited in light fixtures, plant
hanging, and so on. Because of the cost, I supplement with a woodstove and am
looking into having oil heat installed. The electric company paid 80% of the
cost of adding insulation to my basement and attic to keep usage down, so that
helped control my heating bill.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Victoria Dowling Phone: (413) 545-3865
UWW, Montague House http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~vjacoby/home.html
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003-5610
Andy Baumer
cheapest electricity in the nation, it's cost effective. One drawback: there's no
air exchange with fresh air (e.g., outside) so a tight house will retain odors,
carbon dioxide, mildew, etc... Some houses have vent fans, but they don't seem
big enough to me. We open the windows every chance we get.
William Morrissey
Electric Panel. I have had ESWA in my home for about 8 years now and have
no complaints. It seems to heat the objects in the room so that
everything in the room is comfortable temperature. I know that in BC and
I think Quebec there are Class Action Suits against another brand which I
believe was Flexwatt. You may want to check it out.
The problem, which a neighbor of mine had with some types was FIRE. There
was extensive damage to a relatively new home caused by the radiant panel
getting the gyproc too hot. You should check randomly at least one of the
panels to ensure there is no scorching -- such as through attic access.
Good luck -- and hope it's ESWA or some other reliable product. My
insurance company was notified that my home has ESWA, "THE ONLY RADIANT
ELECTRIC HEATING IN-CEILING SYSTEM CONSIDERED SAFE FOR RESIDENTIAL USE"