In-Wall radiant heating

Has anyone installed in-wall radiant—pex under drywall? I am going to be finishing my basement and am trying to decide between radiators and in-wall heat. Wasn’t sure how well in-wall radiant pex loops worked. Anyone with experience?

It would seem to me that is very poor place to put heating, it's as close as it could possibly get to where you don't want it going. Insulation is barrier that slows heat transfer and drywall has insulation factor, it's going to be much less than insulation in the walls but none the less it will trap heat in the wall and that heat wants to move to cold whether it's inside the home or the outside wall.

If you have it in the floor or ceiling it's only going to move into the living space above or below it, e.g. putting it in first floor ceiling may make sense but not if there is attic above it.

it's more common in europe. look it up on youtube.

I am finishing my basement, and am considering doing this on the walls, since all heat down there will go just go upstairs anyways, I wouldn’t do Sheetrock though, more like a thin board like a bead board.. but idk if I can justify the money lol

I am doing in floor heat above the slab, and probably like some towel drying racks.

Trumpeterb wrote: ↑

Wed. Jan. 15, 2020 12:14 pm

Has anyone installed in-wall radiant—pex under drywall? I am going to be finishing my basement and am trying to decide between radiators and in-wall heat. Wasn’t sure how well in-wall radiant pex loops worked. Anyone with experience?

I would rather use a radiant ceiling. Less heat loss through the foundation, and it would warm the floor above also.

hotblast1357 wrote: ↑

Wed. Jan. 15, 2020 6:30 pm

I am finishing my basement, and am considering doing this on the walls, since all heat down there will go just go upstairs anyways, I wouldn’t do Sheetrock though, more like a thin board like a bead board.. but idk if I can justify the money lol

I am doing in floor heat above the slab, and probably like some towel drying racks.

Heat moves to cold, never the other way around. When you hold an ice cube in your hand it gets cold not because the ice cube is cold but because it sucked all the heat out of your hand and it's now in the water dripping off your hand. It moves through conduction, convection or radiation.

X amount BTU's are going to conduct out of the wall. This is going to happen regardless of where you put the heat however if it's the wall some of it will never have chance to convect or radiate into the room before being conducted out of the wall.

one putting a reflecttive barrier behind pex with a gap, and then insulation could reflect somer a lot of those rays back into the living space.? also I would recommend spray foam in a wall if doing a reflective wall put your hand on a sprayed insulation wall and your hand gets warmer, when there is no heat in the wall