Boiler
To heat the water / glycol of our radiant floor systems, we only use CSA certified boilers from Thermo 2000 company designed specifically for this purpose,
Advantages
- The boiler modulates the heating power of the water / glycol according to demand
- Possibility of using a probe to adapt to variations in the temperature of Canadian winters (the temperature of the water / glycol varies with the outside temperature)
Pitfalls to avoid:
- Some might be tempted to use a standard hot water tank or a domestic water instant water heater to reduce the cost of purchase but avoid making this mistake. Here’s why:
- These appliances do not have CSA approval for heating
- Heating with a hot water tank means heating 40 to 60 gallons continuously, which increases heating costs
- Instant water heaters are designed to heat domestic water. The diameter of the inlet and outlet pipes are therefore generally 3/4 inch, which does not allow sufficient flow for floors with an area greater than 1500 ft2.
Here is the required diameter of the boiler inlet / outlet piping depending on the area to be heated:
1500 ft2 and less: 3/4 in. Diameter
1500 ft2 to 3000 ft2: 1 “diameter
3000 ft2 to 5000 ft2: 1 1/4 in diameter
Info tips
Which boiler to choose, Mini BTH or Mini Ultra ?
The mini BTH is similar to a small 2 gallon hot water tank. If we tell it to heat the water to 100 degrees F, it will heat the tank water to 100F continuously. A circuit breaker installed on the top of the boiler makes it possible to extinguish it in the spring and to reignite it in the fall.
The Mini Ultra boiler is a smart model that only heats the water in its tank when a thermostat requires it, which saves energy. An outdoor temperature sensor is also supplied with the boiler
What is the use of an outdoor temperature sensor ?
By being informed of the variations of the outside temperature thanks to the probe, the boiler can adjust the temperature of the water / glycol of its tank and thus allow to offer more heat to the slab in cold weather and avoids the problems of overheating when the weather becomes milder
What is the power of the circuit breaker required to power the boiler ?
This information can be obtained from your electrician or from the boiler manufacturer’s brochure.
And what is the use of a floor sensor ?
A floor sensor takes into consideration the temperature of the concrete slab in order to adjust the room temperature.
It can be used in two ways.
Here are some examples.
- The temperature of a garage is usually set according to that of the slab. Thus, the air flow created during the opening of the door will not trigger the start of the system, the temperature of the slab has not necessarily decreased.
- For a house, the temperature of the air is taken into account by giving a minimum and a maximum to the concrete slab, in this way if an outside door would remain open when it is very cold, the floor would stop rising when it would reach the maximum temperature of the slab.