Rob Boyle
In the Trades
Hey gang, I'm in the design phase of of a heated driveway project.
I'm in the Mtns of Colorado, so lots of snow to melt. Estimate my needs at 135 btu per sq ft, 500 square feet of driveway. BTU requirement of 67500 BTU
The home has two 75 gallon natural gas water heaters for the DHW, rated at 76,000 btu each. These are standard water heaters with b vent exhaust.
Doing the math, it may be feasible to use the 2 existing water heaters to heat the drive, using heat exchangers and pumps as needed. Would like to hear opinions on this option.
The most reliable and more expensive route will be to add a condensing boiler that is dedicated to the purpose of driveway heat.
Some boiler system questions.
1. Can the glycol loop be direct from outside slab to boiler? Do I need a mixing bypass, mixing valve or heat exchanger? ( can most boilers handle high concentration glycol mix for our 30 below temp extremes?)
2.Can the new high efficiency boiler be used in conjunction with the 2 75 gallon water heaters to make them more efficient? Perhaps add a pump loop and a heat exchanger to them?
I'm in the Mtns of Colorado, so lots of snow to melt. Estimate my needs at 135 btu per sq ft, 500 square feet of driveway. BTU requirement of 67500 BTU
The home has two 75 gallon natural gas water heaters for the DHW, rated at 76,000 btu each. These are standard water heaters with b vent exhaust.
Doing the math, it may be feasible to use the 2 existing water heaters to heat the drive, using heat exchangers and pumps as needed. Would like to hear opinions on this option.
The most reliable and more expensive route will be to add a condensing boiler that is dedicated to the purpose of driveway heat.
Some boiler system questions.
1. Can the glycol loop be direct from outside slab to boiler? Do I need a mixing bypass, mixing valve or heat exchanger? ( can most boilers handle high concentration glycol mix for our 30 below temp extremes?)
2.Can the new high efficiency boiler be used in conjunction with the 2 75 gallon water heaters to make them more efficient? Perhaps add a pump loop and a heat exchanger to them?