Wizard's Help Floors and Zones

Floors & Zones

Your floors and zones play a major role in how your radiant heating system is designed. The type of floor you have, probably concrete or wood, affects how heat moves through your home and how you should lay out your PEX tubing. Concrete is dense. It holds heat well. Wood floors transfer heat more quickly but don’t retain it that well.

That brings us to the concept of “On-Center” spacing. This simply refers to the distance between PEX loops. Wider spacing uses less tubing and works well for concrete slabs, about 12 inch on-center spacing, while tighter spacing provides more consistent heat under wooden subfloors, about 8 inches on-center spacing. 

Concrete Floors

Install in Heat-Sheet insulation or staple to foam sheets, or tie to rebar. Spacing: 12 inches on center

Wood Floors

There are a number of products out there on the market.  These are the solutions we can best help you with.

Aluminum Heat Spreaders above the sub-floor

8" on center tubing.  Consider which way you might want flooring to run and run the tubing across that direction.

Aluminum Head Spreaders below the sub-floor

Typically 8" on center depending on joist spacing.  The water has to run hotter in this installation to get the heat through the wood and the finish floor material.

Your zones determine how your home is divided for temperature control, and they don’t always match a one room per zone ratio. A zone is a thermostat-controlled area of your home, this might be an entire basement, a large open main floor, or a group of bedrooms that behave similarly. Grouping rooms with similar usage or temperature needs can improve comfort and efficiency throughout the home, while splitting distinct areas into their own zones gives you more control.

See more about thermostats here

With your floor types and zones defined, the Wizard can estimate the right components and layout for your home. And once you’ve submitted your project, our team will review everything and help you fine-tune the details to ensure the system fits your space perfectly.

The Wizard is just a fancy piece of software that is a minimum viable product (New updates coming), So if you are doing a unique, large, or special project, please contact sales directly (218-587-5001), and they will be delighted to help you.