Green Builder Media co-founder Ron Jones explains why hydronic radiant heat is the only space-heating choice he uses in his high-altitude mountain buildings, from insulated slabs and tankless combi boilers to the pumps that move the water.
00:00:02:28 - 00:00:34:21
Ron Jones: For me, there is only one choice in space heating, and that is hydronic radiant heat. And so we always incorporate that into our designs and our buildings. All of these buildings happen to be slab on grade and on the ground floor. We have insulated slabs that are supplied with open air tubes that feed the manifolds that are distributed perfectly for silence, for comfort.
00:00:34:24 - 00:01:03:05
Ron Jones: They give you air quality that's unmatched because they're not blowing dust around. They're durable. They're reliable. And if your feet are warm, you feel good. You're in better shape because you're not breathing that overheated, dried out air that you get from other systems and has been our choice for a very long time. And that left us with the choice of the boilers.
00:01:03:07 - 00:01:10:13
Ron Jones: We were very fortunate to be able to secure from Bosch.
00:01:10:15 - 00:01:39:16
Ron Jones: Many combos that are tankless boilers that provide the heat for the radiant space, heating in the slabs. And on the second story, all of the second stories are on frame, but they are also heated with hydraulic tubes. And in addition to that, the many combos heat the domestic hot water, and it's almost an endless supply. It's virtually endless supply of hot water.
00:01:39:16 - 00:02:03:23
Ron Jones: So you're not going to be in the middle of a shower and the water goes cold. The buildings are so stable. They are so comfortable when you have radiant heat. And the best way to do it, by the way, set the thermostat at the lowest comfortable temperature and leave it alone. Just forget about it because it will keep you comfortable and stable.
00:02:03:26 - 00:02:36:06
Ron Jones: And if there's a big storm coming in, there's going to be a 40 degree drop in temperature. Adjust it a little bit, takes a little time to turn it around, but it's the most reliable and and most desirable way to heat that I know of. And I wouldn't recommend anything else besides that. All of that water has to be moved, just as the water from the domestic well has to be lifted up 300ft to supply these buildings.
00:02:36:08 - 00:03:06:05
Ron Jones: We have the product of choice. Through Gruen Flows, their system pumps the submersible pump for the well, all of the zone pumps, they're as good as you can do. And so we feel like we have the right system in place with the right components. And all of these things are also extremely energy efficient. And that's important to us because we don't supply unlimited power and it's important that we have reliability.
00:03:06:06 - 00:03:14:10
Ron Jones: So those were the choices that we made. And we're looking forward to many years of trouble free service.