Can A Tankless Water Heater Be Used For Radiant Floor Heat

It s true that a tankless water heater can easily heat most single family homes.

Can a tankless water heater be used for radiant floor heat.

The answer is you can. But standby losses for six months out of every year can add up. Dual purpose systems a dual purpose system relies on only one water heater to supply both the hot water requirements for the home and the warm water needed for the radiant floor heat. They re extremely well engineered quiet compact 2 2 cu.

While most radiant systems get their hot water from either a tank type water heater or a cast iron boiler my home s heat and domestic hot water dhw are both provided by a single rinnai tankless or on demand water heater. However just because you can doesn t mean you should. We design radiant heating systems to suit the unique characteristics of tankless water heaters. Granted the unit dedicated to heating the floor only wastes heat during the winter months.

Water heater for radiant heat water heaters are good for radiant floor heating because they maintain a low temperature. This model has the most impressive flow rate it is well made and it comes with all you are going to need. The down side is two heat sources. Takagi on demand water heaters have many excellent features.

It is the safest choice as well. You actually have a choice between them as you can use a water heater or tankless for radiant floor heating and not just a boiler. The best tankless water heater for radiant floor heat is the takagi th3 natural gas. We plumbed the radiant heating loop of our vacation cabin to the domestic hot water making an open loop system.

As such we rate it with 5 stars out of 5. They have become the standard heat sources for radiant heating applications. All water heaters waste heat energy even when the burner is off and the unit is sitting idle between heating cycles. The other consideration is efficiency.

The rinnai uses considerably less energy than a tank type heater and costs less to install than a boiler with a heat exchanger. It s also true that a tankless water heater is smaller and less expensive than a boiler or a furnace. A tankless hot water heater is ideal for this application since there is no water to be kept hot at all times. You really only need a maximum of 120 f for your floor.

The system with a tankless water heater will also be much more responsive have unlimited supply of hot water and clean water running through the floor heating pipes without sediments and other mineral build ups. The reasons are outlined below.