DIY Radiant Floor Heat | Install and First Impressions

UPDATE-Here's the link to the one year update video including the monthly cost to run the system in the winter! • Amazing Radiant Floor ...
We decided to install our own radiant heat in the floor slab of our new pole barn home.
Best. Decision. Ever.
Seriously, we love how the warm floors heat our new home and the installation wasn't all that difficult.
Total cost for all of the system components came out to $1,450
Amazon Affiliate Links for our radiant heat system:
Ecosmart 18kw Tankless Heater- amzn.to/2GNjQKC
GrundFos Circulation Pump- amzn.to/2RR9gIZ
Expansion Tank- amzn.to/2OjJJWI
Buy our awesome Little Mountain Life shirts here:
www.bonfire.co...
Music: 'Frannie' by Josh Woodward
Free download: joshwoodward.com/

[@LittleMountainLife]

Here's our one year radiant floor update video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/roXbdayQZrGBqrc

[@kwakman99]

A tip for those planning on going the radiant floor route. Loop the first run of a circuit parallel to the outside walls first. You want the have the hottest part of the circuits going to the parts of the house that will be the coldest (ie outside walls). Then loop the rest of the circuit as normal like in the video. The simplest example of what you are looking for is if you run one continual circuit from the outside towards the middle of the room like a spiral, the heat should be going from the outside towards the center. This will allow for the best heat balance (no hot spots in the middle of the home). Also, sketch out your panel layout before you start installing parts. There are easily 5 to 6 90deg bends on the panel that could have been avoided had the components been setup a little different. The less bends in a circuit the more efficient fluid flow, less costs and less chances of leaks. Just a few things to consider.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Appreciate your input. Its definitely a good idea to run the circuits in a way that doesn't create hot spots. We placed our loops with the initial heat in mind and the 'hot spots' are in high traffic areas where we enjoy some extra warmth on our feet during the winter. I did sketch out the layout, several times in fact. I had some space restrictions which resulted in more 90 degree bends.

[@jklipsch]

:se

[@susang6193]

Have this in a small office building in Kansas. If you want additional heat sit a metal file cabinet on the floor. It will warm up and become like a large radiator.

[@ApocalypseLounge]

"We have been floored with the results"!!!! Made my day! ALOL

[@LittleMountainLife]

Natalie is glad you liked her bad joke

[@modernhousewright5335]

Thanks for this! In your follow up please throw out a budget (cost) for supplies and insulation as well as the electric bill numbers that you've already said you'll talk about. Considering for an old barn.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Here's the update video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/roXbdayQZrGBqrc

[@voramuj]

Wow, hello from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. I am just making my construction, and installed floor heating to main level.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Hello! Thanks for watching! Good luck on your build!

[@gregj2647]

We recently completed construction on a geothermal system with in floor heat with propane as the backup. Because it’s a dual fuel system we get a discounted electric rate. We really won’t know how efficient the system is until we get through one heating season. House is very warm and we are not using much propane. We also cook and dry clothes with propane. It will be interesting to see what your cost comparison is with your system and a conventional system. Thanks for the video.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching! Here's our one year update video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/roXbdayQZrGBqrc

[@RiderOutdoors55]

I was really on the fence with this. but with more and more videos like yours I think it’s a no brainer!! Thanks!

[@notandymarty]

Great explanation. I moved into a house with radiant heat and needed to know what the heck all the parts of it were.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Glad to help. Thanks for watching!

[@McarthurMotors]

400amp service 😳😳 that’s insane... I’m upgrading to 200amp and I’m more then happy haha I also went with NG ... The cost of your electricity here in Ontario would be my yearly salary! Awesome job! Great video

[@LittleMountainLife]

Hahaha. Its not all running and drawing electricity at one time. Thanks for watching!

[@rogerwhiting9310]

I would like to see the savings in electricity if you used hybrid water heating and a storage tank to cover recovery time.

[@tahoefor]

for anybody who is watching this. the type of floor used eith radiant heat is super important. if you use engineered parquet like me, this floor will moan and groan LOUDLY from expansion all winter long. talk to other radiant heat owners about their experience. My contactor was an…id.. iot who never really used it himself

[@70washington]

Might be able to tie-in a wood stove to the system and let it give you dual purpose, heat your floor, and a way to cook on top, Roast, Stew, Chillie ect. I want to tie ours in with options for propane and electric.

[@bobs4718]

If you’re floors are warm (enough where you really feel it) your running your system too hot. The floors should be the same temp as what’s you want your room to be. Radiant floors should be “not cold” meaning neutral to the room temp. Running your supply temp at ~ 115-120 should be enough for that size room. I use a floor temp sensor Aube Thermostat w/ Floor Sensor Model Number: TH114-AF-024T Menards® SKU: 6655651 in my shop with 3 zones and one pump. Works fantastic as you mentioned!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Yeah we eventually turned the heater down to 100 degrees for most days. Super cold days we kept it at 120.

[@bobs4718]

Little Mountain Life Good, also be mindful of the minimum water temp for your water heaters, running too low can cause condensation (at least in tank type heaters, not sure on tankless). Nice job on the install and design, it’s really a simple solution once you have all the proper parts. Enjoy the wonderful heat!

[@bobs4718]

Also, there should be a permanent pressure water line on the system with a pressure reducing valve, not sure I saw that in the install. This keeps the system at a consistent pressure and provides make up water in case there is a dip in volume for any reason.

[@bobs4718]

Varying the temp on the heater too much will cause swings in the slab temperature, should find a happy medium on temp and try to leave it there. The slab has a reaction time of days to the heater temp changes. Radiant systems aren’t meant to be changed in temperature because of the very slow reaction time, unlike forced air. Sorry to be so “advice giving”. Just sharing my experience and research for what it’s worth, be sure to do you own like you have.

[@LittleMountainLife]

We appreciate your input!

[@Bhampedi]

We have a similar story to yalls regarding a small amount of acreage purchase and living in travel trailer/in the project while under construction and build home! So we have built a house with portable sawmill over the last 5 years in Central Alabama and ended up doing ducted Mitsubishi Mini Split units to heat/cool all the living portions of the house with a nice glass front wood burning stove insert w/blower in living room to absorb various hardwood scarps from sawmill and still be able to enjoy a real fire. It actually has its own outside air kit which is nice since the house is so tight by way of Building Codes these days! Wish we would have went ahead and put pex in all the slabs considering that there may could have been the possibility of doing radiant heat everywhere in house (since all the floors on first level are exposed and clear sealed concrete) and then AC only Mini Splits. The remaining portion of this house is a high ceiling A frame exposed truss/t&G Pine workshop room of about 1000 s.f. that is an attached workshop to the house. So basically one big LIVE/WORK Unit that we will have to get creative in managing the sound from the workshop into the house. LOL Regarding heating of workshop, we cannot get natural gas here so seems that the most reasonable option remaining is to use an extra Rheem Rtex 18 that we already own for heat source for that floor system. I was a bit nervous on the economics of going this route in terms of monthly billing however unless we did some sort of solar setup there are really no other good options for us with respect to radiant system, and several have advised that the cost of solar equipment may not really even make it a good option. Would you be willing to provide any ballpark data on what it is costing you to operate the system or some way I may could try and calculate that out. I realize yall have an 18k and 24k so maybe you don't know exactly how much it is costing each month for just the 18K unit but would be awesome if you did have a break out $$ average per unit. Or even if you happen to know how many KWh you might be using on the 18K unit per month in peak months realizing that it is costing yall more in Virginia maybe then Alabama would be. This is one of the more exciting projects for us within out larger project and it is good to see that others are using Electric Tankless. The other big issue that I have been challenged to get answers on is Insulation under slab. As of yesterday and polling several people over the last few months I think we decided to eliminate any rigid insulation under the slab for reasons of possible termites and short winters and just do the insulation of slab edges, however do our typical vapor barrier. Common consensus is that in Alabama we may want the cooler ground temperatures in contact with the slab for summer months and then supposedly termites can get involved with the xps foam, however still if there is no close wet wood source and or easy access to framing for them to tunnel up then this leaves me somewhat confused of what really then is the issue with termites. Only thing I can figure is that they could potentially void out the foam and it become structurally weak under the slab if there were some infestation directly under the slab but we have gravel backfill so there should be no standing water, but its hard to be the mind of a termite. LOL. None the less thanks for a concise video confirming many of our ideas to go ahead and do the experiment. There is limited information on this topic in our area, but seems like a wise move for us to heat out workshop area with such tall ceilings this way such that the heat will stay close to the working area of the humans.

[@PopleBackyardFarm]

My first home was a custom built home that had some kind of heated floor it was neat. New friend Ruthie

[@LittleMountainLife]

Isn’t it the best?!

[@paulblamer]

Fantastic, inspirational series. We have land in Fort Valley (can't be far from you) and have similar plans.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thank you! We aren't far at all!

[@DinoPasic]

System is good, but instead of electric water heater you can use gas tankless boiler which is consuming much less.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks We aren’t doing gas in this house.

[@younglee4666]

TTU! Thanks for sharing, brother

[@brockwagner939]

"Hey, that was a great joke..........................anyhow" 😂

[@1966cambo]

I would think that second pump is adding a lot of flow resistance to the system.... could be wrong on that though

[@LittleMountainLife]

That's possible I suppose. System is running well this week.

[@alchoy62]

Great and very informative video, love you and your wife's interactions :) Couple of quick questions: What make and model is the filter? I'd like a transparent one to watch the flow as well. Also When do you transition between the 1" to the 3/4" plumbing? It was not quite clear on the video. Once again, thanks for passing on your experience.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching! The whole manifold system is 3/4" and the strainer info is in the description of our update video here kzbin.info/www/bejne/roXbdayQZrGBqrc

[@terrim.602]

Hey, we are watching you from our TV, so I had to jump on my phone to comment. ☺️ I am SO thankful you gave us your thoughts and opinions on if radiant heating is worth it or not. The Hard Yes is what we needed to hear!! We bought our large home way out in the country this past spring with wood heat only, and since this year has been really bad with fires, loggers couldn't get in the woods until late. (We are bringing in a deck of logs to cure.) I have been so stressed because it gets insanely cold where we live! The home was set up with all the piping for the radiant heating and my husband is out putting everything thing together as I am writing this. It is 10/21. We had to find a video that gives us the most common sense place to put the overflow tank. We are using a duel propane hot water heater. Question: How to you have your overflow tank mounted? It looks like it is just held there using the in-flow and out-flow pipes. I didn't get a good look though. Thanks for both of your opinions and details of how it is working! ☺️

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching! The expansion tank is not directly mounted but the pipe mounts are supporting the pex right where it connects to the tank.

[@cygnus1965]

Compression nut and Ferrell are the parts you were using to connect the lex to the manifold.

[@LittleMountainLife]

That’s it!

[@OldReddingFarm]

We are thinking about going this route when we convert our garage into living space... cool to hear your thoughts on it.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Sounds like a plan! Thanks for watching!

[@hokmed4787]

When you put your wood stove in run the water through it

[@davek6630]

140 degrees seems kind of hot? Seems that most systems run 100 to 120 degrees. It’s a nice clean install!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Yes this is an old video now… haha. We currently run it at 105

[@davek6630]

@@LittleMountainLife that sounds better!

[@henrypotter3024]

I hope that those fittings didn't give you any problems. I know my sister chose to replace some similar fittings on her shower since it took away the water volume(?) because of the reduced inside diameter... Which they hadn't accounted for.

[@brandonscheffer7715]

I was always taught not to install the pump on the return side

[@hosackies]

Can you put together a parts list for the entire system, including the valves and all the thermometers? I want to replicate the system and wouldnt mind using your aff links.

[@casycasy5199]

great video you broke down the heat system very well.i wonder the one pump your not running will seize up.i heat my house with an outdoor wood boiler and i have to turn the pumps on during the summer if not i had stuck impeller .we are on a well system and have hard water.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thank you! Haven't had any issues with the second pump yet, fingers crossed! Helps that it's a closed system.

[@Temblor65]

Where does water loop too? Tank? Is it closed system? How do you keep drinking water seperate? Did you use a additive in water?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Completely closed system with independent tankless heater. No additives.

[@wendybradford3733]

Two problems you may encounter. You said you put in type B pex but you didn't say if it is an a oxygen barrier pex. If it is not oxygen barrier pex then you will have problems with ferrous materials in the system , like cast iron pumps steel expansion tanks ect. Second problem i see is you should pump away from the PONPC point of no pressure change. That would be the expansion tank. With your setup i would run the first pump after the air separator and expansion tank. Good luck and hope it works well.

[@craiggerlach5548]

Isn't expansion tank on suction side of the pump? flow is down away from that point. was getting ready to mount my 3 loop system.. information is scattered on web.. this looked like simplest setup I could find. Was going to take advice of Bob below and add supply feed between tank and separator with 15# boiler fill system. but thanks on the O2 comment, will see if the PEX I bought for the wall runs meet that.. the tank is only iron component here, bought an SS 1 Bar pump for circulation.

[@craiggerlach5548]

bought all my stuff in sweat so all complicated moving to PEX, but save few bucks even with extra fittings.. bought online so not like go exchange locally.. life in the woods...

[@goudsekaas5673]

@@craiggerlach5548 yes suction side as close as possible 2 the tankless heater.

[@goudsekaas5673]

@ wendy bradford put a air separator on the suction side and a magnetfilter on the pushing side of the pump those wil largely encounter those problems. The magnet filter pick up all metal parts that can damage the system and less air means less oxide or corrosion on steal parts

[@richardberends7792]

I use an ecosmart27 and it supplies all heat and hot water on an open system

[@LittleMountainLife]

Cool! You on city water or well water with a softener?

[@pullingintertubes]

Richard Berends I’m looking to do something similar. Would love a description or any inspiration you can share!

[@fordclassics5861]

How long does it take to warm up the floor from a “cold start”? Also, do you know about how many kW you’re using per month? Nice job on the house

[@tahoefor]

half hour. i had radiant heat for 12 years in my condo.

[@ericsage5093]

Seriously….all of the components and materials cost under $2000? What size is the slab ? I’m doing a 35’x40’ and trying to figure a rough cost. Thank you for the inspiration and great work on everything!!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! Yeah it’s not a huge slab. 32x32

[@sparky3869]

you used the crescent wrench backwards

[@aNuthaRedneck]

I am set up with the radiant floor tubing in my slab. The one thing I haven't seen an example.of is how you or anyone else installed the thermostat or its sensors. My slab is the same as yours 32x32 but with only 3 zones. Unfortunately I only have 200 amp service. I can do propane unless I can find a safe way to utilize the tankless water heater already installed. It happens to be the exact same 27kw eco smart you have. So, my real question is how did you install thermostat sensor....

[@LiloUkulele]

Great video! Thanks so much for putting in the time and effort to create this video. I am doing an open system: my propane WH will provide hot water to the house and the floor. IS there any real difference in the plumbing set between an open vs closed system> i.e. flow valves, etc.???? To run the system, you just turn the pump on???...Thanks again❤

[@HeinrichGerber]

18KW is a serious amount of energy (pool pump is 0.75 - 1 KW, home kettle typically 2.2KW to give an indication), hope you have affordable energy supplier.

[@LittleMountainLife]

We often times run just one element in the heater so it’s 9kw on most days in the winter. It is a lot of power though, and that’s why solar panels and Tesla batteries are part of the plan.

[@marktomlinson3448]

The Ecosmart heaters do NOT run continuously at their max rating unless they are set for a high output temp (eg 140 F). Normally at about 90 to 100 F with typical flow rate of 1.4 to 2 LPM (about 0.5 USGPM) per loop, the heater will modulate down to a much lower power level.

[@ALLElectricChannel]

Would love to see an update video on this system. How well did it work during winter? Wondering how the tankless electric water heater worked.

[@LittleMountainLife]

We are actually about to film an update video now that we're almost a year into using this system. We really love it so far and the tankless heater has run great in the system.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Here's the update video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWW2iIelZpx0l6c

[@sebastiancyran9879]

How do you like your EcoSmart tankless heaters? If you had to do it again would you use them? Or would you go with a boiler maybe?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Love them! We just did an update video and would do the same again.

[@gregrupar135]

I hope you have some good electric rates

[@Adirondacks4me]

The expansion tank shown in your video does not match the size you listed in more info. The listed one shows it to be 11x11x15 and the one shown is no where near that size?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Great catch! Ours is the EX15 AMTROL EX-15 15 Extrol Expansion Tank www.amazon.com/dp/B003QSAH38/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fab_Ps1CFbB47D22N

[@jeffack1306]

140 is too hot going in. Since it is an electric boiler it can run at a lower temp. Probably 110 degrees. As long as loops are't more then 240 feet

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for your input. We try to just run it @ 140 when we start it up on a cold day and usually run it @ 110 or 120 for extended periods.

[@nickosterhout]

I'm building the same system but I have 14 loops and the big 17 Kw eco smart. Its a bit more complex because I have 3 zones. Good to know the heater I bought will work though. thanks.

[@michaeltammaro482]

Why didn't you use compressed air as a test medium?

[@LittleMountainLife]

We used compressed air to test while the concrete was poured.

[@davidparker8475]

Thanks for the video.

[@LittleMountainLife]

You’re welcome! We will be doing an update in a month or two 🙂

[@glosshogg]

great video, thanks for posting!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching!

[@tahoefor]

Do you have zone valves like HoneyWell? How do you turn on/off individual zones manually or via thermostats?

[@LittleMountainLife]

All zones can be adjusted manually with the flow knobs.

[@rohan1tkr]

Is no one gonna mention how nice they look with one another?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks :)

[@larryburns3561]

What does it cost to heat your home? Running on electric verses propane sound expensive.

[@LittleMountainLife]

We haven’t been able to get an accurate number yet because we only just now finished insulation. We will post an update this coming winter.

[@lostinthebutte3290]

Hi, Thanks for uploading the video. It's very helpful since I am about to pour slab with the radiant tube. If you don't mind, would you share what youtube videos that you watched before installing yours? I want to learn it as well. thanks!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Sure thing! kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6K0ZoOunNiepMU kzbin.info/www/bejne/j16bdoqBZrKinpI kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJ6kdnmErrZrldE kzbin.info/www/bejne/faWmg32ed5yWjdU

[@thomascallahan5756]

Can i ask you how many kw hours you use for your radiant floor system annually? or what your monthly average is? I live in a similar climate, have radiant floor installed but am deciding between electric and propane. I'd like to use electric and someday have a solar system but wondering what the cost would likely be. if i knew the KW usage i could multiply by my cost per kwh. Thanks! great video

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching! We are crunching these numbers now for an upcoming video update within the next month.

[@billmathwig1291]

I'm curious if you guys did the slab yourselves over the floor... do you have any footage of that? Thank you

[@rogercrane3344]

Nice video, very helpful. Planning on installing a radiant heat system this year. I hate forced air heat. Couple of ?s. How big is your house? Where did you get your material so cheap? All I have seen are at least twice your cost. Thanks!

[@LittleMountainLife]

1024 square ft. Supply warehouse dot com

[@EasyToDIY]

very good job

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks!

[@calmeilles]

I'm curious as to how you organised you zones. And why only four. My impression is that North America tends to large area zones with uniform temperature settings. Here in the UK we tend to zone-per-room and each room with a thermostat so with a programmer each can be time and temperature controlled. So it you want your bathroom warm but bedroom cool at bed time, or your kitchen warm in the morning but not so much the rest of the day it can be made so.

[@LittleMountainLife]

It's a small house with just a great room, 2 bathrooms, a bedroom, and utility room on the main floor. I typically run all zones at the same flow rate/temp anyways. We could technically control the temps like you do but so far haven't felt the need to.

[@Gearhearts1]

Awesome video. Appreciate you taking the time in sharing your experience. How much did this whole system cost if you don't mind me asking. Ballpark price of course. I am considering doing this type of system for a house I have in NE PA. It would primarily be used to keep the house from freezing and not as the main heat source. But who knows. Thanks again.

[@LittleMountainLife]

About $1500

[@Marco-wp5ev]

If i were to install just the one pump, which one am i to leave in and run. The one in between the drain & fill valves or the one right before the water heater?

[@LittleMountainLife]

We have been playing around with this as we turn on the heat for this fall/winter. Looks like the pump between the drain and fill valves is the way to go. :)

[@robertovermier6200]

It appears you have installed the first Grundfos pump upside down which will have the water flow going in the wrong direction if used. From my reading of these pumps, you can not change the direction of the water flow by simply changing the wire hock ups. I've personally built two of these setups for buildings on our property and don't want to see you run into a major issue if the second pump is used at some point in time.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Sorry it might not be clear enough in the video. It’s installed the right way and has been working great. Thanks 🙂

[@logicalblueberry]

I'm just beginning to research a hydronic floor heating system. I looked at the Amazon links you included. The components don't seem very expensive. What was your total cost to purchase and install the system? We would be installing in an existent 2300 sq. foot house on a concrete slab in the high desert of California. I think we would need to put in a pad to prevent the heat from going down instead of up. How much would this raise the height of the floor? Thank you.

[@spencerwilton5831]

Why the electric resistance heat though? Possibly the most expensive method of heating there is! Underfloor is a perfect fit with a heat pump, which could cut your electricity consumption by 75 percent.

[@pullingintertubes]

Thank you for this video, super helpful as I approach the same project on my cabin. Curious if you entertained running domestic water (bath/kitchen) and radiant heat off of a single tankless system? I’m working with limited space and hoped it possible as I see some units have two thermal exchangers.

[@LittleMountainLife]

You’re welcome! 🙂 I wanted to keep the systems separate to make maintenance and future replacement as simple as possible.

[@danr.7139]

Great video and info ... loved the joke!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! 🙃

[@rikardekvall3433]

Great build. But as I could see, so didn’t you insulate the ground before the slab was poured. That’s so wrong. Correct me if I’m wrong, because I couldn’t here you talking about it. In northern Europe, we insulate the foundation of the concrete slab BEFORE we fill it with rebar, PEX and concrete. 1-2 feet of styrofoam. Insulation must stop the cold bridge from the ground. insulation on top of a hot concrete slab is a waste of heat/money. The heat is stopped by the insulation and heats the ground below and less up in the house.

[@LittleMountainLife]

You must have missed it. The slap has foam board under it and around the perimeter. That’s code for our area.

[@rikardekvall3433]

@@LittleMountainLife thanks. My Fault. Great build. Love to do the same one day….

[@coolcat312]

Thank you for this video! I'm working on setting up a hydronic heat system for my garage and you've helped me immensely. I have already purchased many of the same components that you have and I was looking at the same water heater that you're using and to hear that it is working so well for you is reassuring. Since I'm only looking to keep the garage above freezing most of the time and only heating up to about 55° occasionally for winter auto maintenance I'm actually now wondering if maybe it's a bit oversized but I think that's better than undersizing it. I didn't hear any mention of antifreeze in your system, are you just running straight water? I want to run a glycol mixture to make sure that there is no chance of bursting or damaging any components just in case the system fails for any reason. We get sub zero temps here, sometimes for extended periods, so I want to make sure the system is safe. My biggest question is about the annual flushing that EcoSmart recommends when running on hydronic heat with a glycol system. Also, how did you determine that you only need one pump? The boiler I was originally considering actually requires two pumps in the system in order to maintain it's warranty so I did buy two but your system is actually bigger than what mine will be so if I can return one and save some money that would be a big help. Thanks and keep up the good work.

[@vaughnkaloust1876]

I may be out of step with your progress, but where is the electricity coming in for your water heater? Generator or utility?

[@LittleMountainLife]

We have 400 amp electrical service to the house. 🙂

[@LittleMountainLife]

And we have a 17500 watt portable generator for backup.

[@markhylton4408]

Great video learned alot. Wife and i plan to start building in the spring i want radient floor heat also. .my only question i'm haven is loss on electricity has this been an issue with you

[@LittleMountainLife]

We have a 17,500 watt generator for backup power. 🙂

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for watching!

[@gwc3721]

How is it working after a few years?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Heading into our third winter with it and very confident it’ll perform great like it has in the past! 👍

[@mdt3796]

Love your videos. Thanks for sharing your journey. I heard about you and your channel on the TSP podcast. (redundant?) Can the radiant floor system be used to cool the house too? I was born and raised in the next county over from you and I know the summers can be oppressive.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for coming over! I’ve heard of people running cold water through the floor but have never tried it myself. We installed mini splits and they cool down the house with great efficiency.

[@EricCalabros]

How much electricity it consuming?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Hard to tell because the house wasn’t insulated last winter. We will do an update this winter for sure.

[@SP-ez4lk]

How has the Eco unit for radiant floor been holding up? EcoSmart sales rep advised me that using the Eco Tankless Water Heater for radiant floor systems would void warranty. I do not understand that as a closed looped radiant floor system would be easier on the unit (return water inlet much warmer than domestic potable water).

[@LittleMountainLife]

I agree with your thoughts. So far so good with our heater though. No problem heating the water and warming our entire house. 🙂

[@timinwisco4921]

Like you I'm a self doer also... I'm doing radiant floor heat only and it's a closed system (antifreeze)... You didn't talk about the electrical supply for you recirc pump... since these boilers are "on demand" what tells you pump to turn on? I've been trying to think of a way to have a thermostat Tell the recirc pump to turn on so that the boiler turns on... I hope I didn't confuse you but your input could help me

[@LittleMountainLife]

The pump is currently connected to a simple on/off switch but we are planning on adding a thermostat control this fall.

[@timinwisco4921]

@@LittleMountainLife I just found one at Home Depot for $25, (another youtuber suggestion) Cadet T522-W non-programmable 2-pole, I'll let you know how it goes

[@LittleMountainLife]

Awesome! Appreciate the info!

[@marktomlinson3448]

Normally, a 24 VAC thermostat turns on a 24 VAC coil relay which connects 120 VAC to run the pump. These relay controllers can be obtained from TACO and other companies. When the pump starts, the flow sensor in the ECO unit senses that there is enough flow and allows the heater elements to operate at whatever level is needed to supply the demand.

[@gregsolesbee28]

Is your entire house running off electric utilities? If so, are you running a 400amp panel or 600amp? Have you had any issues with this drawing 75amps? Does this always draw 75amps?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Yes. 400 amp service to the house. I usually turn off one of the two elements once the floor is up to the desired temperature. On super cold nights I’ll leave both elements on.

[@cpurdy1974]

Great video and thanks for sharing. Question, knowing what you know would you recommend using solar instead of electricity to run the tankless hot water heaters? We would really like to be off grid as much as possible.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Sure, thanks for watching! For off grid I would definitely look into a outside wood boiler. These electric tankless can really draw a lot of energy and you'd have to have a pretty robust solar set up to handle it along with everything else in a house.

[@cpurdy1974]

@@LittleMountainLife Thanks for the reply, keep on keeping on 👍

[@chrisdue6026]

Hello guys, love the video. Did you insulate against the foundation so you don't have heat loss that way? Also I was wondering about adding glycerine? Do you think it is necessary? I will be adding a slab to the front porch and entrance ramp to house I plan on heating.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Definitely keeping ours just H2O but I’ve heard of folks using additives in far norther climates. The slab has 2” foam board insulation underneath and down the sides. 👍

[@chrisdue6026]

@@LittleMountainLife ok yeah I like your set up so am kind of modeling mine off it, but being mostly outside I wanted to add a pal 150 pressure pump / feeder for the glycol antifreeze. But wasn't sure where it would be able to be added. I will figure it out though.

[@Ms2Chill]

will this work for a driveway?

[@LittleMountainLife]

I know of a lot of people and towns that use radiant heat for driveways, parking lots, and sidewalks. An electric tankless heater would not be the preferred heating method for sure.

[@charlesavalos7928]

Were there any particular videos or websites that gave you valuable information for this DIY radiant floor heat project?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Well, I watched literally every other youtube video that mentioned radiant heat at least 3 times before starting my process with the manifold. Smart Easy DIY has a great channel and I used his videos a lot. I also used the radiant heat company's websites and pictures as a guide for components.

[@charlesavalos7928]

@@LittleMountainLife Thank you!

[@timdixon928]

What flooring do you have on top of the slab? Polished concrete/tiles or wood... any advice on carpets or rugs?

[@reliczhomestead609]

Great video thank you. Could you provide some info on your kwh for your radiant system? We are considering installing radiant for our new pole barn home. We are wondering how energy efficient an electric tankless water heater is versus using mini splits to heat the home. Also did you install foam insulation in your slab?

[@bostonchoir]

What is an advantage over using electric coil?

[@LittleMountainLife]

I’ve heard it’s more efficient but I’m not sure. We wanted bare concrete floor and this is the best option for use. Electric coil works well under laminate or wood flooring.

[@racinehomeinsulatorsllc7636]

Thanks you so much for this video. I have a question, did you put your reinforcement wire under your vapor barrier?

[@LittleMountainLife]

The vapor barrier (plastic) for the slab is under the wire

[@benturk7177]

i have a radiant system in my basement & i now want to add the other two floors. Floor 2 will be concrete with tile, Floor 3 will be tubing in the joists for wood floors above. My issue is where to put the manifold, ? do i add it to the basement & drag all the lines down, or is there away to put it mid house on floor 2 & connect a line to the original system for the hot water feed

[@LittleMountainLife]

That sounds like a project and plan above my pay grade. So your main floor is already poured concrete? Or are you still planning it?

[@goudsekaas5673]

Put a manifold on each floor atleast 50cm above the floor ur heating. Only let the supply pipe that feeds the manifold pump up . This will make shure no air bubbles going get stuck in the system. Also please dont put the pex pipes under ur osb between the joists, u will lose so much heat because the wood insulate tot much. Here is a way too do radiant heating on a wooden floor we call it a dry system (because its not in concrete) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnKpYZyFmJpmm9k . Also in that clip u see the laying patern he uses we cal it the snail house patern and it makes shure ur heat is equaly spread over the floor so the end of ur group is not colder than the beginning of ur group. And 1 pump for the whole system is enough. U dont need a fast flow, u want the floor to extract the heat from water so make shure ur return at the manifold is always 25%/20 colder than the feed, if not u need to slower down the flow with the flow meter. Make shure u put ur thermostat in the biggest room, as u can imagine small groups wil give more heat if the have the same flow rate as the big ones and u can adjust that later by lowering the flow on that group. 10cm of space between the pipes on the floor is the best. Here in the netherlands floorheating is comon for decades and we mastered it really well and i must say i havent found 1 youtube clip where the floorheating is laying correct in the USA.

[@83Pally]

Great content, new follower. I assume your radiant floor heat is in a walkout basement? How often do you use this system? Dec-Feb 24x7 or just when you are planning on using the space? Any estimation on how many hours of run time each day/week?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks for checking us out! This heat is for our main floor. No basement and no carpet or wood flooring. We turned it on for about a week the end of October, half of November, and now it’s on just about 24/7.

[@michaelwas8549]

shouldnt you use glycol so if your system fails the pex wont burst

[@LittleMountainLife]

Glycol is usually only used in the far northern climates. We are not concerned with failure, especially below the slab where there's no connections or hardware.

[@bcnewsome]

Does the system have a thermostat so the amount of flow changes as conditions change? Great video thanks

[@LittleMountainLife]

It doesn't have a thermostat at the moment but we intend to add that soon. Thanks for watching!

[@lawrenceeldridge1155]

how does the electrical water heaters work for this - as in the efficiency levels..? the price for warming the house verses - propane or fuel oil?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Its hard for us to calculate the true cost because our home is still not fully insulated. We'll be able to provide read life data this coming fall/winter. However we are still very happy with the system. It can warm up a cold floor in a few hours and maintains the heat for several more hours after being turned off.

[@chrisschauer7505]

You mentioned the total cost, can you provide your $/kwh

[@rubberdwellers3911]

I like your system my question is, how do you hook up a thermostat for this system?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Thanks! We are still working out the thermostat situation. We will be sure to include that info in the fall update.

[@michaelwitt7984]

Little Mountain Life - in commercial systems we typically vary the supply water temperature to meet the load. This requires a modulating thermostat output and the ability for the heater to take an input signal to adjust temp setpoint. In lieu of that, we vary flow rate instead. You could do on/off but it is problematic with the high thermal mass of the system.

[@bobs4718]

Best solution for a thermostat is an in-floor sensor thermostat. Usually placed in the slab with piece of the same Pex , just not filled with water, between two Pex heat lines in the floor. That way you are measuring the slab temp close to a heat line which is quickly reacts to temp changes (4-6” from it). If you didn’t place a piece of pex in the floor you can always drill one in (carefully!). The pex line in the floor allows you to replace the sensor if it fails. Easy! Been running mine this way to 8 years, no issues at all.

[@colingoldthorpe5918]

@@LittleMountainLife I have 2 ways that the system can operate on my in floor heating system, one on a programable timer and the other is on a thermostat. The Grundig circulating pump is activated by either the thermostat or the programable timer thru a controller switch. On the return water loop I have a mixing valve that I can either close or modulate to allow the cooler returning water to mix with the hot water supply line into the floor loop. I guess this is there to help modulate the temperature, my system uses 2 hot water tanks one permanently for the floor heating and the return loop goes to my other hot water tank that is for the household taps. I live in western Canada so you have to have this loop running almost permanently in the dead of winter as my frost line is 8 feet, and you could in theory freeze the water loop solid. The further north you go they now use Glycol with a heat exchanger to prevent freeze up issues. Hope this helps, we love our system we don’t use and forced air heating in an 1850 sq/ft basement in Alberta Canada, the water loop heats this whole part of the house.

[@richardberends7792]

I installed a system from radiantec, they list the thermostat and things they use on their site sp you know what you could use. But basically the thermostat can sense both air temp and floor temp with a sensor. When the air temp goes below the set temp it turns the heat on which is turning on a relay which powers up the circulating pump. The floor heat sensor shuts it off at 80F if you have a wood floor to avoid warping.

[@masoudnilforoush]

Hi, How many kWh do you use in the winter months?

[@thebabyfarm8571]

What is your electric bill like when this is running full tilt?

[@vinnym5034]

How many feet of pipe is recommended per zone . What is the max length of pipe per zone

[@LittleMountainLife]

Everything I’ve read says to keep it under 300 ft per zone

[@vinnym5034]

Thanks that’s good to know I appreciate the response

[@SuperTrumptight]

How do you cool your house in the summer?

[@LittleMountainLife]

We will install 2 mini split units this coming spring.

[@tworth1953]

Wondering why you have heavy jackets on while inside your warm home ?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Check our our updated video. 😉 That was from when our house wasn’t even insulated.

[@OrganicRawRootsFarm]

New fan.. saw you on a live chat thought ill say hi.. and check out your channel

[@LittleMountainLife]

Aw thanks for checking us out!

[@kisschaiyarungsee6484]

Where to get the system like that?

[@eddychang9186]

How’s your energy bill?!?!

[@LittleMountainLife]

Really high last winter but only because the house was not insulated. We will have more accurate energy costs this coming winter.

[@valkyreel]

What company makes the manifold? Thanks.

[@LittleMountainLife]

Bluefin

[@Petey1112]

How much is your electric bill?

[@LittleMountainLife]

Great question. We are actually about to look at that now that we're almost a year into using this system and we will do a follow up video detailing performance and energy costs.