Radiant heat in ceiling

Back in the 60's the electric company promoted radiant heat in ceiling. They called it a 5 star heating system and offered a reduced electric rate.
Been working a rental property with radiant heat in the ceiling.
It's like working in a toaster oven.
Heat rises and the ceiling is like a crock pot. A lot of mass in the plaster over the heating wires and it takes a long time for plaster to heat up and a long time for it to cool off. I have to turn the thermostats on the lowest setting, work without a shirt and sweat.

No secret heat rises and cold air settles on the floor.
Yesterday I decided to take a small fan and blow the cold air on the floor upwards past a thermostat to ceiling.

What a difference the fan made. Thermostats in each room. The temperature in the room was 75 degrees with thermostat set on minimum.

Try using a fan to circulate the heat off floor. IMO, a fan on the floor is better than a ceiling fan.
geo

Our house had ceiling heat when we bought it. To me it felt like you were standing out in the sun when you looked up at the ceiling. It was great till that power bill came, wow. After about three years I installed gas central heat and haven't looked back. The original owner had a set of the construction blue prints for the house. Originally it was supposed to have central heat. I'm sure the power company made the same promise of cheap power to sell the ceiling heat.


OTJ

I had a similar experience back when I was using the old gravity feed oil pot heater. Sit down and freeze, stand up and roast. It's why I have ceiling fans in every room. Had to stir it somehow.

George I have had the misfortune or fortune as one prefers, to lived in homes with radiant ceiling resistive heat (believe produces 3.41 BTU of heat per Watt if I recall correctly) NOT MY PREFERRED HEATING SYSTEM as in our area based on the cost of Electricity for pure resistive heat versus Natural Gas (provided its available) gas is cheaper to heat with. However I do like the feature of individual room thermostats. Where possible I prefer heat in the floors so they are kept warm and as you indicate heat rises. As you discussed circulation of the room air (by whatever means in my opinion, be it ceiling OR floor fans) can contribute to more uniform distribution as opposed to it being warmer near the ceiling instead of where you live down on floor level.

When we sold the farm downsized and moved to town a few years ago I was able to have Natural Gas ran to my house so I installed a High Efficiency Natural Gas Furnace and created a Dual Fuel system so I can heat with Natural Gas if its below 45 but above I use Heat Pump, that's working out great and economical. In 50 years of farm homes Ive heated with Wood, Wood Chips, Coal, Corn, LP Gas, Natural Gas, Fuel Oil, Electric Resistive Heat, Electric Heat Pumps but hands down my favorite is my current Dual Fuel system yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

While I haven't used, I have studied Passive Solar and Geo Thermal which I find to be very interesting. Todays Smart Homes are showing promise. Im also a fan of super insulated home technology and a huge fan of saving energy anyway possible GOD BLESS THE USA.....

He who cuts his own wood is twice warmed but I no longer live on the farm

John T Electrical NOT Mechanical or Thermo Engineer so take this, only MY opinion, with a grain of salt. I think we have some professional HVAC gentlemen as well as Mechanical Engineers here, it would be great to hear their thoughts ????????? Its been warm here in south central Florida so Im not too worried about heat so much lol

When I had my hose built in the 70's. I installed ceiling heat. it didn't take long to figure out that was a mistake, with electric bills climbing each year. Installing gas heat will be my next move. . Pushing 88 working with wood is getting to be a chore. When Dad had his house built in the 60's he said he hauled so much wood as a kid he would never have a fireplace in his house. Stan

You have to wonder about an engineer that didn't have enough sense to realize heat rises. Then he has to get salesmen to push a product that defies common sense.

About 10 years after i built my house,i put in two cove heaters, one in the bedroom, and 1 in the kitchen, that's the best money i have ever spent, it heats object's, not the air. No breakdowns,no maintence what so ever! The main heat is L.P gas.

our 1st house had radiant ceiling heat. Never liked the heating part of it.

Radiant heat feels like you are at the beach in the sun.

I think a small fan solved the problem. Removes heat from plaster in the ceiling and removes cold air on floor.
Makes an even heat. Probably cut down on heating bill.

George

My ex-father-in-law bought a new all electric house with ceiling heat in the mid sixties
went to visit one time he had his hat on in house seemed ceiling heat burnt his bald head
he had blisters and small melanomas.

John T
I worked my way through college repairing furnaces and air conditioners at a steel mill.

KISS,. Keep it simple. Electric heat may cost more. If you compare repair and replacement costs of all heating systems. I vote for maintenance free electric heat. Rarely do I have to replace a $20 thermostat.

I've converted 10 properties to total electric, added insulation, better doors and windows. I have happy tenants. I'm happy not repairing a high tech furnace that could explode, leak C0 and only break down on the coldest part of the winter when I'm in Florida fishing.

It's America and it's yours money. Do what makes you happy.
George

It's America and it's yours money. Do what makes you happy. George

AMEN to that Neighbor. Hey we don't want HVAC gents to go out of business now do we lol To each their own heating choices, mine (after having used most all different methods, see above) for efficiency and cost savings is High Efficiency Dual Fuel Natural Gas and Heat Pump while yours is Electric and we remain friends and neighbors yayyyyyyyyyyy

Take care n stay warm now George


John T

My house was built in the 70s with radiant ceiling heat. I put in oil-fired forced hot water right off the bat when I bought it in 93 and have since used some of the 20 amp 220 breakers for wood working machines and a compressor. I burn wood and only use the oil for hot water and backup heat when we go away or something.

JohnT,
My youngest sister married a guy who's father repaired out milk coolers on the dairy. They have a Successful HVAC business.
Sister tells me some of the variable speed blowers for furnaces wholesale go between $4 to $500 .

The higher the tech the more it cost to buy and to repair.

I'm a fan of Kiss and cheaper the better.

George

The higher the tech the more it cost to buy and to repair.

I'm a fan of Kiss and cheaper the better.

George

Click to expand...

Definitely true.


Also, if any one heating method was all around better, there would not be as many choices out there to chose from.

I'm a fan of Kiss and cheaper the better.

Ditto on that George especially the CHEAP part lol I agree Call me frugal or a tightwad anytime you like !!!!

John T

Radiant heat doesn't know the difference between up and down since it's just a form of light and gravity has no effect on it. We think of heat rising but really it is just warmer air (or other medium) that rises due to reduced density. The intent of radiant heat is not to heat the air directly but to heat the objects in the room that the infrared light contacts. Air doesn't absorb much infrared light (at least over the distances we're talking about here) so the energy essentially passes directly through it without warming it. The air in a radiant-heated room would be warmed second hand by convection from the objects that the infrared light was absorbed by.

Guys We have a air to air heat pump over 10 yrs old. 13 seer I believe. Also a LP backup furnace. Over 60 yrs old. I can fix it. Plus a wood stove for emergency. Electric bill hovers around $200. We live in southern Illinois so just need LP for 2 weeks or so a winter. Workes for us.

One of the civil engineers that I worked for in 1972 was building a new house. I remember that he agonized over the radiant ceiling heat, but went ahead with it because the power company engineers said that it was the cutting edge of technology. Before the construction was completed, he added a heat pump to the project. I guess heat pumps are now considered obsolete, but it apparently was a better heat source at that time. I don't think he ever used the radiant ceiling heat.

My aunt and uncle built an all-electric house back in the sixties, and yes it had the heat in the ceiling. As far as I know, that house still uses the original heat.

I bought this place in 1977. I think it was built in the 60s. Only replaced 2 thermostats. One thermostat was blown off the wall when a kid put a paper clip inside it.
Electric heat is almost maintenance. Thermostats are $20.
I never get a call, MY Furnace isn't working. No frozen pipes. No service calls, no service contracts. No expensive furnace replacements. No cracked heat exchangers. No worry about CO leaks. Keep it Simple Stupid. KISS
Converting everything over to total electric is the best decision I ever made. I think a $15 small fan on the floor is the best thing ever.
geo.

TWICE warmed? Looks like a lot more than that to me:

1. Cutting down the tree and bucking it up.
2. Loading the bucked up pieces in the trailer to haul to the woodlot.
3. Unloading the bucked up pieces off the trailer at the woodlot.
4. Splitting the wood.
5. Loading the split wood back into the trailer to move to the woodshed.
6. Unloading and stacking in the woodshed.
7. Carrying the wood into the house.
8. Burning the wood.

JohnT,

How do you compare to Wild Bill W when it comes to frugal and tightwad?
Bill beats me hands down.
George

1. Cutting down the tree and bucking it up. ( I know 6 people killed cutting down
trees, one was a profession logger, one was a 10 year old, dad cut tree and son was
killed.)

2. Loading the bucked up pieces in the trailer to haul to the woodlot.

3. Unloading the bucked up pieces off the trailer at the woodlot.

4. Splitting the wood.

5. Loading the split wood back into the trailer to move to the woodshed.

6. Unloading and stacking in the woodshed.

7. Carrying the wood into the house.
7.5 While carrying wood into house a Friend slip on garage floor and required back
surgery.
8. Burning the wood.
geo

I cant pack water to him lol he's a good friend and old farm buddy

John T

11 years ago, replace the heatpump with a super super efficient model.

Twas... computer controlled, fully variable fan motors inside and out, muti-displacement scroll compressor.

first problem, everytime there was lightning or power variable, making the power surge, the outside unit threw a code to call a technician. I finally learned to simply go to the outside box and throw the breaker which caused the outside unit to reboot... Always in the middle of the night and when the a/c cut off, I got a nudge in the ribs to get up and fix it. grrrrrrr..


Then 6 months after the 10 year warrantee... the inside variable fan motor quit.... $1000 bucks later... got a/c back.... two months later the outside variable fan motor upchucks... Another grand.... Then during the super super 100 year cold spell at 7 degrees, the aux heat strips croak... $650 bucks and thats fixed. still have a compressor that will go next assuming the new better but very very thin high efficient copper coils dont pin hole due to electrolysis. Would seem that building thin wall copper to make the heat transfer faster, limits the life of the coils to a point that some a/c installers are installing sacrificial zinc donuts around the coils.

Short story, the super high efficiency units many not save you as much after all. They cost a lot more up front, but pay you back every a bit every year.

And the engineers were told to make everything last for 10 years... and boy where these guys good.

Recommend disconnecting the ceiling radiant heat system and replace with a forced air heat pump and LP/natural gas .