Levittown’s radiant system used serpentine copper pipes embedded in concrete slab floors to carry the water, which was pumped and heated via a squat boiler that sat in the kitchen right next to the other appliances. (Photo: Tarantino Architect) Radiant for the Masses To this day, I associate radiant heating with all good things: warmth, comfort, and young love.Ī cutaway of an original radiant system. I hated having to get up off that floor it was the best place to be. The north wind rattled the storm windows, but that floor was so incredibly warm, like lying on the beach in July. My own memories of radiant heat’s benefits stem from the time I first laid my 16-year-old body down on a girlfriend’s living room floor in Levittown one blustery December day. According to converts, the benefits of radiant heating include crisper air, less dust to contend with, and lower operating costs. The ensuing warmth heats a house from its bones on out, avoiding the use of forced-air ducts or old-fashioned radiators. Hydronic radiant heat circulates hot water through a series of pipes embedded in the walls, floors, or ceilings. All of the homes were designed to be heated with a new type of system called radiant heat Levittown was the first development of radiantly heated homes in America. William Levitt built the homes quickly during the days that followed World War II, finishing, on average, one house every two hours using a Henry Ford-like assembly line process. Levittown, Long Island, was the first housing development designed to use radiant heating. The houses all looked alike, and everyone who lived there was the same age. Sociologists have written books about Levittown, because the development birthed the first mass-produced homes in America, about 10,000 of them. Even though we were just a couple of suburban kids, anything seemed possible back then.īilly Joel lived in Levittown, New York, which is right next to Hicksville. He turned to me and proclaimed that he would some day be more famous than Herman was at the time. We were about 14 years old at the time, and he was singing a brand new Herman’s Hermits song while tapping the tune on his desk with the eraser ends of two yellow pencils. I clearly remember sitting next to Billy Joel in biology class. Growing up in Hicksville, Long Island (don’t laugh!), I spent a good part of junior and senior high school sharing a classroom with Billy Joel, now the superstar ‘Piano Man.’ That town is not only the site of my single brush with musical fame but, oddly enough, also my connection to the place that introduced American consumers to a revolution in comfort: radiant heating systems. Have questions? Contact AMX and find out have to save on your energy bills.A copper company’s ad touts the cozy, inviting floors that radiant heat, carried by copper tubing, can provide on a snowy winter day. Radiant Floor Heating installation is an investment, but expenses can be quickly recouped from energy savings. It uses energy more efficiently because it radiates pure thermal energy rather than hot air. Radiant Floor Heating is up to 30% more energy efficient than traditional heating systems. Radiant Floor Heating and Energy Efficiency: Radiant Floor Heating is energy efficient and extremely comfortable. Working best with tile or cement floors, the coils evenly heat the entirety of the room by emitting waves of thermal radiation. Radiant Floor Heating is a series of electric mats or hydronic pipes installed just below the surface of your floor. AMX is proud to offer energy efficient Radiant Floor Heating. That’s what Radiant Floor Heating has to offer, a truly invisible heating system. The best heating system is one you never realize is there! No radiators or vents, just a quiet and evenly warmed room.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |