The Truth about Heating

Introducing SunFlow^® Floor Heating Systems, the perfect way to heat a Kiwi home.

Up till now, most New Zealand homes have been heated by convection, the heating of air. SunFlow^® heating systems are hydronic, heating the room and the objects in it by radiating heat from warm water piped through a closed loop underfloor network of tubing. The truth is more and more New Zealand home builders and owners are coming to realise that radiant heat is the superior heat source, no matter how big or small the structure and here's why.

Two fundamental laws govern heating, hot air rises and heat will always find cold. We can see that hot air rises by watching a hot air balloon in flight, as the burner is fired the air surrounding it is heated and rises into the balloon envelope providing lift. And we can show how heat finds cold by observing a skillet on a stove top element. First the initial contact area is heated, then heat migrates to the outer edges until it's too hot to handle.

Convection home heating methods like heaters or forced air systems are the least efficient means of heat transfer because only the air is heated, not the mass of the room. Remember hot air rises, so convection warmth is immediately snatched away upwards gathering at the ceiling, leaving cooler areas below where you are, just like the hot air balloon.

Most of us experience the feeling of radiant heat everyday. . .

The sun on your face on a warm spring day, warming your hands around a steaming cup of coffee, the glow in your fingers as you stretch them toward a roaring camp fire. Now imagine absorbing warmth radiating from your floor and every surface in the room, feeling cosy already?

And because warmed rising air will hardly change the temperature of cooler surfaces and objects in a room your heat will find the cold just like the skillet on the element. As living beings we create our own heat by consuming calories, which keeps our body warm at a steady 37°C. We say we are cold when we lose too much of our heat energy as it migrates to cooler surroundings, the walls, the floor, furniture, circulating air. We say we are too hot when we can't lose heat fast enough.

By controlling the warmth of your room's surfaces and objects a cosy natural balance between room and body temperature is established, now you are feeling warm. Radiant heat is the most comfortable, efficient, healthy and cheapest to run of all the home heating options.

Comfortable because unlike convection methods radiant floor heating systems conduct heat through the floor which is broadcast as heat energy waves to every object in the room, especially you. . .

Efficient because radiant heat is only felt when the energy wave strikes another surface, eliminating air currents and cold surfaces. . .

Healthier because heated air isn't being forced to move through the home so less dust, mould and mites are distributed, helping keep allergies and other ailments to a minimum. . .

Cheaper because thermostatically controlled water temperature can be finely set to provide exactly the radiant heat energy required. And cheaper because air is not being heated and lost to colder air layers above, therefore thermostats can be set lower than convection heating systems.