Blog - Radiantec

Advantages Of Buying a Complete Radiant Floor Heating System

Published March 7, 2017 | By Radblogger

Many people ask if it’s okay to buy some of their radiant floor heating components from us and others elsewhere. The simple answer is, “yes, you can purchase whatever you want from any supplier.” The bigger question is, however, is that really in your best interest?

Before a purchase decision is made, Radiantec spends a tremendous amount of time with each customer. We answer many questions, emails, and take numerous phone calls. All for free without any type of purchase commitment. We do this in good faith in hopes that when you do make a purchase, the supplier of your radiant floor heating equipment is Radiantec.

Radiantec is a “for profit” business. In order for the doors to stay open, we need to sell things. Considering that most new builds end up at least 20% over budget, people need to save when they can. We truly do understand the necessity to save money when possible as long as those savings do not cost you more money and headaches down the road.

Since Radiantec provides “free design assistance,” we can only provide installation advice for components purchased from us.

What About Troubleshooting?

What happens if something doesn’t work properly? Or you have some questions about the installation? A system becomes the system of the installer when a system is built using components from multiple sources. Initially, that may seem okay but what happens when the installer moves? Retires? Goes out of business?

It will be difficult to get help if your system is cobbled together with parts from many suppliers. Selling your home may be more difficult as well if you have a homemade system.

When you purchase our system, everything is kept on file. When you call with questions, we’ll know exactly what you ordered and how it was installed. This is important because it allows us to easily troubleshoot any issues over the phone. Now or 15 years from now. This same service will continue even after you sell your home

We get calls on a daily basis from customers that purchased equipment from online supply houses and they don’t know what to do or how to install it. Or it’s not working properly. Or they received bad information. Radiantec has been in the radiant floor heating business since 1979. Our methods are proven. Our advice and recommendations come from our own experience and not something we read in a book.

We feel it’s important that whichever company you choose should supply as much of the radiant floor heating material as possible. Also, the installation instructions should come from that same company and should be followed exactly.

If you have questions or want a free quote, please go to this page.

Radiantec Radiant Heating System VS. Plumbing Warehouses

Published December 23, 2016 | By Radblogger

When you purchase a radiant system from Radiantec, you get so much more than a box of miscellaneous components. First and foremost, all of us at Radiantec place the utmost emphasis on customer service. We are not simply a retailer of plumbing components. Our goal and passion is to offer the most efficient radiant heating systems at the lowest possible price. We’ve spent 37 years in the radiant industry researching products, developing new technology and creating easy to install packages. This has helped to drive the price of radiant heating down to a more affordable level for the average homeowner.

A radiant heating system is more than common components taken off of the shelf. The questions our technician asks in his initial conversation are very important when planning a radiant heating system. The radiant system can be set up incorrectly, not perform well, and be inefficient if the proper care isn’t taken. Radiant heating is all that we do. We want every single radiant system we sell to be the absolute best in terms of performance and efficiency. We stake our reputation and A+ Better Business Bureau rating that it will be when we gather the proper information.

There are many differences between Radiantec and some of the online supply houses. The biggest one is that they are simply selling you some tubing, a pump, some fittings, or a heater. Most don’t care that you’re using it for radiant heat. They’re not going to offer any installation advice or troubleshooting support after the fact. They didn’t spend any time reviewing your plans and they won’t stand behind it if your radiant “system” doesn’t work properly. More importantly, when you source components from many different suppliers, which one will you call when something goes wrong 5 years from now? 10 years from now? What about if you sell your house, which supplier will the new owner call? When you purchase from Radiantec, we have everything on file and will know what you purchased. We’ll be able to easily troubleshoot any problems and get you going again.

Radiantec uses components primarily manufactured in the US and Canada. We believe this still means something today in regards to quality. Some of the smaller components are manufactured overseas but they are assembled into packages/kits in our facility in Lyndonville, VT. We build our manifolds with our own hard-working staff and then pressure test them at 100 psi for 24 hours. This is an industry best standard. While other manifolds seen online may look flashy, Radiantec’s are built better and will last as longer. Our radiant tubing also comes with an industry best lifetime guarantee. We’ll also provide a custom tubing layout at no additional charge.

The bottom line is that we sell complete radiant heating systems. These systems come with full technical support before, during, and forever after the installation. Many of our competitors sell plumbing components that you have to figure out what to do with. We hope that we’ve clearly explained the difference between the two philosophies. Please read our previous blog post “Radiantec Free Design Assistance” to learn even more about what separates Radiantec from the competition.

Feel free to give us a call at 800-451-7593 or fill out a quote from at: http://www.radiantec.com/pricing/individual-quote.php

Please check in again as we discuss the best type of system in our next blog post.

Radiant Heat & Free Design Assistance from Radiantec

Published January 15, 2016 | By radblogger

Radiantec Company is the original radiant heating company for the do-it-yourselfer. We’ve been in this business since 1979 and when we started there were only a few radiant heating companies but now there are many. We get asked regularly what separates Radiantec from our competitors and one of the many things is our free design assistance and material calculation.

Exactly what is free design assistance you may ask? If you send us your radiant project information and/or plans (the easiest way to get this started is by completing our Next Step form) then one of our technicians will reach out to you and provide a free consultation. First and foremost, he will help you decide if radiant heat is right for you. This is a very important first step for retrofits especially. Some older homes may have excessively thick sub-floors, poor insulation, old windows, or no really good way to install the tubing. In any of these scenarios, the radiant heat may not be able to provide all of the heat for the home. If the customer was looking to install radiant heat and get rid of their radiators, for example, they will want to know this bit of information before they get too far into project and especially before they make any type of purchase. Some companies will sell a radiant heating system without full disclosure of its capabilities or limitations but you will not get that from Radiantec.

Next, he will help you decide which radiant system may be best and also recommend zoning based on your floor plan and how you plan to use the space. Then he will help you decide which radiant tubing will work best based on the size of your project and your method of installation. Every single question we ask and all of the information you provide is very important when planning a radiant heating system. If the proper care isn’t taken, the system can be set up incorrectly, not perform well, and be very inefficient. Radiant heating is all that we do; we want every single radiant system that we sell to be the absolute best in terms of performance and efficiency and we stake our 35 year reputation on the fact that when we gather this information, it will be.

Once our technician gathers all of this information he will then prepare a formal quote for you. The quote will include a material calculation worksheet which shows the breakdown of the zones, how much tubing and how many circuits go in each zone, how many aluminum heat emission fins you should have, and the size of pump for every zone.

Radiant Heat Underfloor Material Worksheet

Sample Radiant Heating Worksheet

He will also prepare an estimated heat loss calculation sheet. This assists us in sizing the heating source and determining if the radiant heat will provide all of the necessary heat or if supplemental heat will be required. Finally, you will get an itemized list of material that we think you need in order to do the job along with the price.

Estimated Heat Loss Calculation Sheet

All of our consultation, including quote preparation and providing a list of materials, is provided at NO COST! Many of our competitors charge you for every little thing that they do. At Radiantec, we will earn your trust by providing all of the necessary information up front, including installation manuals, because we believe that in order for people to buy and install radiant heat themselves, they need to understand it. We feel it’s wrong to charge somebody for a service when the customer doesn’t even know if radiant heat is right for them. After all of this work if you decide that radiant heat or Radiantec isn’t the right fit for your project, you simply walk away no questions asked. We won’t badger you for months with multiple phone calls or emails either. We do all of this work as a goodwill gesture so that when you decide to install radiant heat, Radiantec is at the top of your list of suppliers.

In our next blog post we will talk more about what you can expect when you purchase a system from Radiantec as well as our pricing structure.

Radiantec Company – Who are We?

Published July 1, 2015 | By radblogger

The story of how Radiantec Company began is typical of many small businesses – one man, an idea, and a little red garage. Radiantec was founded by Robert Starr in 1979 when he received a grant from the US Department of Energy to study one of his solar designs. As a requirement of that grant he had to form a business, and Radiantec was born (originally called Solar Option 1 Company). While Radiantec still offers solar hot water packages (www.radiantsolar.com), the radiant heating side of our business is our bread and butter. Radiantec Company is located in Northeastern VT. In this rural area, there is a longstanding tradition of Yankee ingenuity, simplicity, and common sense. You will find these values in everything that we do.

Because our company is geared for do-it-yourself installation, we have a keep-it-simple philosophy. While we do manufacture our radiant systems to be as simple as possible to install, they are well engineered, well-constructed, and reliable because there are fewer components that will fail over time. This is a philosophy that has served us well in our over 30 years of doing business and is evidenced by our A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Radiantec is an “energy efficiency” company, meaning that everything we do is geared towards offering the most efficient radiant heating system for the lowest possible price. Every component we quote keeps this philosophy in mind and every component is there to improve the efficiency of the radiant system. There may be additional components we could add to slightly increase the efficiency but not without adding a lot of cost and complexity.

Our radiant heating systems are comprised of many different components that are taken off of the shelf, so to speak, and assembled by Radiantec. We are proud to say that the overwhelming majority of a Radiantec system is made in the USA or Canada. Our manifolds and assemblies are manufactured by our own hard working employees in our facility in Northern Vermont. We believe that “Made in the USA” label is more important today than ever before.

Radiantec is the original radiant heating company for the do-it-yourselfer. All of our designs and radiant recommendations come from our over 30 years of experience in this industry and not from what we’ve read or copied from others. When you work with Radiantec, we treat each system as if it is going into the home of a friend or family member. It is important to us that every system we sell lives up to our A+ rating and more importantly, the expectations of our customers. We’ll do everything in our power to ensure your radiant heat installation will go as smoothly as possible, and if you get stuck along the way all you have to do is give us a call.

Please check back with us periodically as we hope to make regular posts to our blog. To learn a little more about Radiantec and our do-it-yourself radiant systems, feel free to view the short video below. Thanks for stopping by today.

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Advantages Of Buying a Complete Radiant Floor Heating System

What About Troubleshooting?

Radiantec Radiant Heating System VS. Plumbing Warehouses

Radiant Heat & Free Design Assistance from Radiantec

Radiantec Company – Who are We?