Radiant Heat Consumer Awareness
10 Revealing Questions
Your Glens Falls Saratoga Region Floor Heating Company May Not Want You To Ask
Radiant floor heat is the proven most comfortable, economical, and healthy heating method you can have in your home.
But the finest heat delivery system will only be as good as its designer and installer. This website will help you learn the key secrets to hiring the intelligent way.
If you were to ask the contractors bidding on your floor warming these simple but powerful questions, you’ll rest assured that your system will be the most reliable and money-saving that you can get in Clifton Park, Brant Lake or anywhere in between.
1. May I get the names and phone numbers of customers you’ve worked for, and permission to call and visit the job sites?
Experts love to show off their work, and happy clients love to display their state-of-the-art heating system. Follow up with referrals whose projects are similar to yours.
Another possible source for contacts who have had work done by the company are local plumbing and heating supply houses. These supply houses are not only a reliable resource regarding a technician’s reputation in the industry, they can verify a company’s financial trustworthiness for paying the material bills for your project.
To cut to the chase and find an unrivaled heating designer and installer in the Lake George or Wilton area, ask the heating supply store Manager, “Who do you hire to design and install your own showroom’s heating system?”
The boiler room for FW Webb’s Plumbing & Heating Supply Queensbury NY branch, designed and installed by David Sellers. It includes five hydro-air heating units for the showroom and receiving area, and one zone for the sidewalk snowmelt. The two-stage boiler provides added fuel economy.
2. Will your designers perform a comprehensive heat loss calculation to size my system?
“He [your properly trained system designer] spends a good deal of time going through your home, measuring the dimensions of your rooms, windows and doors. He looks for fireplaces, exhaust fans, recessed lighting fixtures, and other things that can cause heat to escape from your home. He inspects the quality and quantity of insulation in your attic. He also asks whether you have had any additional insulation installed in your walls. These things can make a big difference in how much fuel you’ll use, and what size your heating system will be.
“He takes the time to survey your home and perform an accurate heat-loss calculation because this always results in the greatest economy for you. He would never guess at how much heat your house might lose on the coldest day of the year. Nor would he ever base the sizing of your new heating equipment on what’s already in your home. That’s simply not good engineering. He can’t take for granted that the long-gone contractor who first sized your heating equipment was correct. It always pays to check, especially nowadays with fuel costs so high.
“And when he performs the heat-loss calculation on your home, he certainly doesn’t use ‘rules of thumb.’ ‘Rules of thumb’ often make the sizing process easy for a heating contractor, but these overly conservative rules also are guaranteed to increase your fuel bill every winter from now on.
“Most of the ‘rules of thumb’ we’ve run across in our travels come from the days of single-pane-glass windows, little or no insulation in the walls or ceiling, open-window ventilation, and cheap fuel. Your heating contractor should refuse to provide you with an oversized heating system, and that’s why he always takes the scientific approach.
“And nowadays, the science is pretty advanced! He invests in both the computer hardware and software that helps him do his job of sizing your system quickly and accurately. The system he proposes will fit your home like tailor-made clothing rather than something off the rack. There is no reason to increase your long-term fuel bills by oversizing, and that’s why he begins your project by sizing it accurately.”—From Just Add H2Oh! by Dan Holohan, Dan Holohan Associates, Inc., 1997.
3. What’s the difference between a condensing and non-condensing boiler? Which one is best for me?
Standard boilers that your grandparents had (and are still being sold today!) are non-condensing.
A condensing boiler for your radiant heat is more efficient because more of the heat from the flame is absorbed by the boiler water. This results in much lower exhaust temperatures. So more of your hard earned dollars are used to heat your home, instead of being lost to the great outdoors.
This Warrensburg New York office building enjoys four zones of radiant slab heat with outdoor reset. The small wall-hung, high efficiency condensing boiler $aves energy.
4. Will you use test equipment to measure and adjust the combustion process for my system? Please explain.
Modern heating equipment manufacturers require the use of combustion testing equipment to adjust their equipment for safe and proper operation.
Yet many radiant heating installers don’t even own this necessary equipment. Or worse yet, they’ll claim you don’t need it.
Unfortunate news reports of deaths right here in the Glens Falls Region caused by carbon monoxide poisoning are proof that some contractors don’t take this matter seriously.
5. What is outdoor reset control, and should my radiant heated floor have it?
The outdoor reset feature is like having cruise control for your heating system. It regulates the temperature of the water that flows through your heated floors (or radiators, or baseboard radiators) based on the outdoor temperature.
So when your system is climbing the hill because it’s 20 below outside, the accelerator will go to the floor. In the spring and fall when it’s 50 degrees, and you’re coasting down the hill, your system will let up on the gas.
Do you want to increase your comfort by reducing temperature swings in your home? And do you want to save money with a more efficient system? Then you want your designer to be skilled and experienced with outdoor reset.
6. Will you subcontract my work to other companies?
Don’t get caught signing with Slick Heating Sales Inc., who will turn around and subcontract to Joe Butt Crack Coffee Breath Plumbing Company to install your radiant heated floors.
7. Are your technicians trained and certified to install the equipment you’re recommending?
When you’re negotiating with a heating company, the salesman is of necessity knowledgeable about his products. This will in no way be an indication of the skill of those installing your system.
Remember, the finest heated floor equipment is only as good as its installer.
With all the information available today, there’s no excuse for an installation tech to pass up the education provided by manufacturers of the equipment he installs. Ask if the manufacturer has a certification program, and if the installer has passed it.
8. May I please have a copy of your of your Liability and Worker’s Compensation insurance certificates?
In the event you hire an uninsured contractor, you may become legally responsible for injuries to persons and/or damage to personal property. Be sure all workmen on your project are covered under their employer’s Worker’s Compensation and General Liability policies. Obtain copies of these documents before your project starts.
9. Is your company accredited by the Building Performance Institute to incorporate comfort, health, safety, durability, and efficiency into my entire home?
When you set up an appointment with any building tradesman, always ask if they are BPI certified. Find out why here.
10. Are your technicians Radiant Panel Association Certified Radiant Floor Designers and Installers? Since when?
Make sure you NEVER work with an underfloor heating technician that has not been pursuing a continuous education with the Radiant Panel Association. Go here to learn about what RPA certification does for your warm floor system.
Thanks to benchmark-setting authorities like the BPI and RPA, you’ll never have to worry about making the right hiring decision again!
180 Jenni Jill Drive, Warrensburg, NY 12885
Latitude: 43.486369 Longitude: -73.794050
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