“I'm planning a radiant floor heating system for my 3,000-sq.-ft. shop. One of the installers I've spoken with wants to install 500-ft. circuits of 1/2-inch PEX tubing because he says it makes the installation easier. I know from some reading I've done that this is quite a bit beyond the recommended 300-ft. maximum circuit length for 1/2-inch tubing. My installer says he will compensate for the longer circuits by using a high head circulator. Do you think this is a good idea?”
After reading this, some of you have surely rolled your eyes, thinking, “Here we ago again with another bad radiant job.” Perhaps, but let's look at this a bit deeper and put some numbers behind a decision to support, or recommend against, this proposed installation.