Baseboard Radiant Heating
Baseboard Radiant Heating
What is it?
Home radiators distribute steam or hot water through a series of coiled pipes called fins. The fins are made of cast iron or other material that easily conducts heat and usually run along the edge of the room along the floor. The heat transfers from the steam or water to the cast iron and then transfers to the air around the pipes.
How does it work?
The air in a room naturally moves around, even without a fan. As the warm air rises from the radiator, the cooler air in the room is pulled from the floor level alongside the warm radiator. The steam or water inside the radiator coils cool off as the heat transfers to the air.
In a hot water radiator system, the water is heated in a “boiler” but it doesn’t actually reach boiling point. Therefore no steam is generated. The hot water is circulated to the radiator with the help of an electric pump.
When the steam reaches the radiator, it travels through the fins. At the end of the final fin sits a thermostatic vent, which closes in response to the temperature of steam or hot water. This ensures the radiator operates efficiently by keeping the steam inside the fins until the heat successfully transfers to the air. When the steam condenses, the thermostatic vent opens, allowing the liquid to travel back to the boiler through the return pipes, much like taking your thumb off the end of a straw.
Some radiators used in a hot water system feature a manual thermostatic valve, which allows you to control how much hot water flows through the radiator. As the temperature in the room decreases, the thermostatic valve opens, allowing more flow and increasing the temperature.
This month, we looked at how Baseboard Radiant Heating, next month we are going to review to adjust that heat in your home.
If you have questions about your baseboard radiant heating, please contact JOB Heating & Air Conditioning, we will help you.
JOB Heating & Air Conditioning is a Trusted Saskatoon plumbing company. We show up on time, deliver on budget and we leave the work area cleaner than when we arrived! At JOB we take pride in our plumbing services in this city and surrounding area, so nothing means more to us than testimonials from our clients as their preferred plumber in Saskatoon.
JOB products and services: