rainy island
New Member
I was hoping for some advice/insight to help me plan heating changes as part of my bathroom reno.
The salient details are these....I apologize if I'm adding too much information:
1976 bungalow in Victoria BC....moderate climate with relatively few days below freezing. House has one-year old Lochnivar WHN 110 boiler heating 160 linear feet of baseboards in three zones (designed with a primary loop and secondary loops) The boiler uses an outdoor reset and typically heats the house comfortably running at 20% and heating the system water to 115-118 degrees. The zone in which bathroom to be renovated operates has 76 feet of baseboards and the bathroom is question is 12X6 and is currently heated by 2 three-foot baseboards. I have good access to the bathroom from the crawlspace underneath, so piping changes are not a problem.
I want to put in underfloor heating and replace one or both of the baseboards with a hydronic towel rack/heater. The question is given my system's operating perimeters, what combination makes the most sense?
1) electric underfloor heat and replace one or both of the baseboards with a towel bar?
2) replace the baseboards with pex/hydronic underfloor heating and a hydronic towel bar?
I ask because I'm not sure how to calculate out heating requirements. My suspicion is that option 1 makes the most sense, but I would appreciate any guidance the boiler experts here could offer. I should add that Victoria is not exactly a hotbed of hydronic heating use....underfloor heating appears to becoming more popular in newer homes, by large it appears to be a town of electric baseboards or heat pumps.
Thanks for any and all advice
Eric
The salient details are these....I apologize if I'm adding too much information:
1976 bungalow in Victoria BC....moderate climate with relatively few days below freezing. House has one-year old Lochnivar WHN 110 boiler heating 160 linear feet of baseboards in three zones (designed with a primary loop and secondary loops) The boiler uses an outdoor reset and typically heats the house comfortably running at 20% and heating the system water to 115-118 degrees. The zone in which bathroom to be renovated operates has 76 feet of baseboards and the bathroom is question is 12X6 and is currently heated by 2 three-foot baseboards. I have good access to the bathroom from the crawlspace underneath, so piping changes are not a problem.
I want to put in underfloor heating and replace one or both of the baseboards with a hydronic towel rack/heater. The question is given my system's operating perimeters, what combination makes the most sense?
1) electric underfloor heat and replace one or both of the baseboards with a towel bar?
2) replace the baseboards with pex/hydronic underfloor heating and a hydronic towel bar?
I ask because I'm not sure how to calculate out heating requirements. My suspicion is that option 1 makes the most sense, but I would appreciate any guidance the boiler experts here could offer. I should add that Victoria is not exactly a hotbed of hydronic heating use....underfloor heating appears to becoming more popular in newer homes, by large it appears to be a town of electric baseboards or heat pumps.
Thanks for any and all advice
Eric