Large heated floor

[MNSparky]

I recently looked at a job where the homeowner wants us to lay electric floor heat in his kitchen, dining room and hall all controlled by a single thermostat. The total square footage is about 600 sq ft. I have a lot of experience with floor heat, but I've never done one this big.

The kits that that I normally use only go up to 220 square feet which is a 10.7A load at 240V. Here are the issues I'm running into:

- I could use three of these kits and tie them together at the stat, but the stat is only rated at 15A. Can't do that.

- I could use the stat to control a 40A contactor but then I would loose the GFCI protection provided by the stat and the HO would hear the contactor pulling in and out.

Right now, I'm thinking I'll have to do the contactor and mount it in the garage where it won't be as noticeable. I'd also have to feed the contactor with a 40A GFCI breaker in order the get GFCI protection on the heating leads.

My questions are:

Does anyone know of a system that will do 600 sq ft easier than the above system?

Does anyone see a better way to make my system work?

Thanks!

 

[nickelec]

I'm not exactly sure but I have been on a job before where they used electric in floor heat that in the form of a wire instead of a mat . U kindof lay it out like pex. https://www.westsidewholesale.com/d...JYCUBVkIG-9HGABZ_hEfKgikj4Tgqdz6MAaAo-n8P8HAQ


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[nickelec]

But 600 is alot to cover with electric is it on a slab if so they are obviously renovating the kitchen anyway maybe better off and more efficient to have a plumber lay some pex and do a mud job on top

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[MNSparky]

But 600 is alot to cover with electric is it on a slab if so they are obviously renovating the kitchen anyway maybe better off and more efficient to have a plumber lay some pex and do a mud job on top

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Yes, I use the individual wire type. They can't go hydronic because it would raise the floor too high.

 

[curt swartz]

I have done Nuheat jobs in the past that required multiple circuits. A contactor was supplied by Neheat or the company the GC purchased the Nuheat from.

You can't feed the Nuheat mats from a 40 amp circuit. You need to break the system up into multiple 15 or 20 amp circuits. The first zone and contactor coil get fed from the thermostat. The remaining zones get fed from separate GFCI circuits that are controlled by the contactor.

Edit: I said Nuheat in my post but this would apply to all of the mat and wire types of floor heat systems.

 

[growler]

I recently looked at a job where the homeowner wants us to lay electric floor heat in his kitchen, dining room and hall all controlled by a single thermostat. The total square footage is about 600 sq ft. I have a lot of experience with floor heat, but I've never done one this big.

I would think that he would be better off with three seperate thermostats anyway.

It's hard to control the temp in one area when the thermostat (sensor) is in another area.I think he would get better control by having the thermostat close to the area of the floor heat.

Just a thought. Homeowners don't tend to think about function.

 

[curt swartz]

I would think that he would be better off with three seperate thermostats anyway.

It's hard to control the temp in one area when the thermostat (sensor) is in another area.I think he would get better control by having the thermostat close to the area of the floor heat.

Just a thought. Homeowners don't tend to think about function.

With the typical electric floor heat systems a sensor is installed in the floor. You set the thermostat to the temperature you want the floor not the ambient temperature of the room. These systems are not normally installed to provide space heating. They are designed to take the chill off the floor.

 

[augie47]

I would be hesitant to put them all on one GFP breaker as the cumulative leakage might cause tripping. I would likely install the three separate thermostats ..if necessary out of sight to meet homeowner requirements .. then install their desired master thermostat to control a contactor supplying the individual circuits,.