US 5,292,065 A · Radiant floor and wall hydronic heating systems

Abstract

A hydronic heating system that has a boiler supplying hot supply water, a reservoir of cooler return water, a supply water line, a return water line and one or more heating loops through which water flows from the supply line to the return line, the heating loop including a heating element that is a length of tubing that conducts water from the supply to the return and is mounted in a wall or a floor of an area heated by said system by RFH or RWH has: a thermally conductive plate mounted in the area floor or wall, adjacent a surface thereof and board-like members for holding the plate and the length of tubing in intimate thermal contact with the plate, so that the plate is heated by conduction of heat from the tubing and the plate has a radiating surface that radiates heat to the area. The plate and board-like members with an elongated space for holding the tubing is provided as a modular piece and several such modular pieces are arranges in line attached to the sub-flooring for RFH, or the wall studs for RWH, for insertion of the length of tubing in the aligned holding spaces thereof; and following such insertion, the installation is ready for a finishing floor or wall covering. Thus, RFH or RWH is installed "dry" (without wet concrete, cement or plaster) and can be accessed later by removing the finishing cover.

Claims27

Dependent claims

In a hydronic heating system having a supply line for hot supply water and a return line for cooler return water and one or more heating loops through which water flows from said supply line to said return line, said heating loop including a heating element that is a length of tubing that conducts water from said supply line to said return line and said length of tubing is mounted in a wall or a floor of an area heated by said system by RFH or RWH, respectively, in said area, the improvement comprising:

(a) a thermally conductive plate;
(b) with spaced apart co-planar plate holding boards of the same uniform thickness, each having length and width and together providing a surface area for holding said plate and an elongated space of uniform width therebetween for holding said length of tubing,
(c) said plate is held flat against said holding boards holding surface area,
(d) said elongated space has depth and length as well as uniform width of which said depth is equal to said boards thickness and said length is equal to said boards length and
(e) said length of tubing is held in said elongated space in thermal contact with said plate,
(f) whereby said plate is heated by conduction of heat from said tubing and
(g) said plate has a radiating surface that radiates heat to said area.

4 more elements

In the installation of a hydronic heating system RFH in a room of a building, wherein the floor of the room in constructed of regularly spaced apart floor joists defining successive, side by side bays between said joists, covered by the floor sub-flooring, said hydronic heating system having a supply line for hot supply water and a return line for cooler return water and one or more heating loops in said building through which water flows from said supply line to said return line, said heating loop including a heating element that is a length of tubing that conducts water from said supply line to said return line and an assembly of a plurality of modular pieces, the method of installing said assembly of a plurality of modular pieces and said length of tubing in said floor, including the steps:

(a) attaching said assembly of modular pieces to the underside of said sub-flooring in said successive, side by side bays between said joists, with the elongated space thereof facing down,
(b) pull the outside end of the tubing from a coil of said tubing and insert it through one after another pipe chase holes in said floor joists from the near joist bay to the far joist bay;
(c) form a first loop of the tubing in said far bay and insert said end of the tubing back through said chase holes;
(d) pull said end from the chase hole that leads into said near bay, to said hydronic heating system supply header and connect it to the a loop fitting thereof;
(e) attach said first tubing loop to the underside of said sub-flooring in said far bay;
(f) pull a second loop of tubing from said coil in the second bay nest to said far bay;
(g) attach said second tubing loop to the underside of said sub-flooring in said second bay;
(h) continue this procedure in bay after bay to and including said near bay;
(i) pull the tubing from said coil to said hydronic heating system return line and connect it to the loop fitting thereof;
and
(j) at any time after forming a loop of tubing in a bay, inserting said loop tubing in said assembled modular pieces elongated spaces.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Radiant floor and wall hydronic heating systems

Life of this patent

Radiant floor and wall hydronic heating systems

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims27