I am considering including a hydronic (Pex tubing) radiant heat system in my new house (still in the planning phase). I have done some reading/resaerch...here was a straight-forward, mercifully direct and short, non-“buy me!” write-up: https://www.everything-about-concrete.com/concrete-floor-heating.html
My main take-a-ways/questions:
-- Is a radiant floor heating system and a traditional HVAC/furnace system necessarily duplicative or overkill? Or can be considered supplemental to each other.
-- “Properly locating the manifold”…I am not sure of the implications of “properly locating.” Can't just be anywhere convenient in the garage, for instance, as long as a hot water line is available?
-- Shocked (as usual) about the cost per sq foot estimates…it is just Pex, zip ties, some basic labor additional for each square foot; the basic planning/layout and manifold/control unit are up-front single costs amortized (or whatever word) over the whole covered area. Am I missing something?
-- I gotta wonder what the “catastrophe” rate is, either at install time (e.g. after the slab is poured) or during the life of the home (e.g. a severe crack in foundation splits Pex; inferior Pex used and it starts to leak)?
-- “Radiant floor heating usually lasts around 20-35 years”…huh? Important to know if this means the manifold/controller (easily replaced) or the Pex system itself?