Browse Forums Heating, Cooling & Insulation 1 Sep 26, 2007 12:09 am Hi,
In the unit that we are currently renting, there's a heating duct in the bathroom. We really liked it - easy (esp. for the kids!) to have a bath during winter! We're thinking of putting 2 additional heating ducts to our ensuite and bathroom. Has anyone done it? Any comments whether this is good or bad? Would greatly appreciate any feedback! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Built the Nevada 42 Next project - landscaping! Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 2Sep 26, 2007 12:17 am Personally i think it is a great idea...
If the vents were in th efloor in my new house I would have 1 in the laundry also to dry the clothes on a rack in winter... oohhh ... maybe not that would be being energy concience and i cant do that!! Ruin my reputation... I have reverted to username - mattwalker Carlisle Homes - Grande 43 My building experience is here: http://www.ourgrandeplan.blogspot.com Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 3Sep 26, 2007 8:03 am Hi VJ,
I had a heating duct into the bathroom at our old place and it could be like an oven in there sometimes. It's was Ok when you were drying off after bathing, but just been in there fully dressed with a heating duct going was not. Might be better to have a separate heating unit that you can turn on and off as you wish. Maybe something like a tastic heater or heated towel rail. Anyway, just my thoughts Tony Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 4Sep 26, 2007 8:40 am When we designed the layout & zones for the ducted system for our place, we looked into vents in the bathroom & ensuite, and got told the same thing about being too hot in winter when you're dressed, and too cold in summer when you've just jumped out of the shower.
I then worked out the design with a mate who is in the game (more the commercial side though) and he showed me how you can fit a switch beside the door, which is hooked up to a damper motor (like an on/off or zone valve in the ductwork) that you can flick on & off as you please. The idea being that in winter you flick it on while you have your shower, and as long as the heating is running, it will flow, then flick it off as you get dressed etc - same in summer, leave it off during your shower, and flick it on when you want a cool bathroom. Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 5Sep 26, 2007 9:45 am Audio Visual Dreams Personally i think it is a great idea... If the vents were in th efloor in my new house I would have 1 in the laundry also to dry the clothes on a rack in winter... oohhh ... maybe not that would be being energy concience and i cant do that!! Ruin my reputation... LOL Since I don't have an outside clothes line I actually just hang our washing on a clothes horse under the vent in the rumpus. It's great - I don't think I'll buy an outside clothes line anymore. Hehe But definitely watch your act, Matt, we wouldn't want people to think you are actually being energy conscious! .. [sneakersss] Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 6Sep 26, 2007 9:49 am commodorenut When we designed the layout & zones for the ducted system for our place, we looked into vents in the bathroom & ensuite, and got told the same thing about being too hot in winter when you're dressed, and too cold in summer when you've just jumped out of the shower. I then worked out the design with a mate who is in the game (more the commercial side though) and he showed me how you can fit a switch beside the door, which is hooked up to a damper motor (like an on/off or zone valve in the ductwork) that you can flick on & off as you please. The idea being that in winter you flick it on while you have your shower, and as long as the heating is running, it will flow, then flick it off as you get dressed etc - same in summer, leave it off during your shower, and flick it on when you want a cool bathroom. Hey, that sounds great! Are you able to give more info about this switch thing like a link perhaps? We're planning to put ducts into our bathroom/ensuite, too. And just slightly confused...but would you have your bathrooms/ensuite zoned separately from the rest of the house and then use the switch to control it more? Or would you have them zoned with the main areas of the house and then use the switch to control it? [sneakersss] Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 7Sep 26, 2007 2:55 pm They are "Y" branched off the bedrooms zone, so you need to have the bedroom zone working first, and then they will work on or off as desired.
If the bedroom zone is off, no amount of switching will work them! You could possibly run a 'bathrooms' zone seperately off the unit, but it would be massive overkill, and extremely noisy/draughty. I dare say it would not be advisable as you would be straining the main unit by having it force all it's airflow designed for 4-6 big outlets, through a few small vents. The control is achieved with 'zone motors' or motorised 'dampers' which are like a valve in the ductwork. An example is here: http://www.ductair.com.au/products/dampers_be.asp Your ducted aircon installer should be able to fit it all up for you at minimal extra cost on top of the main install. You could save some $$ if your bathrooms are near to each other - simply branch off the main ducting of the desired zone with a Y piece, fit the zone motor, then run your ducting to each bathroom off that line, meaning 1 zone motor controls the air for both (which also means tey both get warm/cool at the same time, not individually). Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 8Sep 26, 2007 11:28 pm Hi, we had a ducted heating vent in the bathroom and ensuite in our last place. We also had IXL tastic lights in there as well. The ducted vent was not right near the shower anyway, so it worked a treat.. We are doing the same in the new place. I like to be warm when i get out of the shower. If it's warm, then the air con is on anyway, so there's no problems there. Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 9Sep 27, 2007 10:46 am i like outlets in the bathroom / ensuite. If it gets too warm in there just adjust the damper in the floor boot, i wouldn't bother setting up dampers and the like for one or two outlets. Unless you have a high efficiency heater you wont really save any money - it'll just blow more air somewhere else... at least with the high efficiency models when you close an outlet or two, the heater senses it and slows down the fan speed and gas consumption! Good luck! Dynamic Heating & Cooling - http://www.DIYheating.com.au DIY Ducted Heating & Cooling Systems DIRECT to the public Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 10Sep 27, 2007 10:51 am We've just bought a heat shifter to, well, shift heat from our lounge to our bedroom. We haven't got ducted heating but in a way, with the heat shifter, we will. It cost about $250 and runs on very little power.
Found out about them on this site: http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/re ... ifters.pdf Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 11Sep 27, 2007 11:57 am Sounds like a fantastic alternative, and a lot cheaper to run also, if you only want the on or two rooms running from the heated room.....
Wish something like this was available when I was living in my old home, could have save me a fortune... Gav & Vanessa Building In Melbourne (Sth East Suburbs) http://www.arkraider.blogspot.com/ Rawdon Hill Construction - Canterbury Heritage Re: Heating duct to bathroom & ensuite 13Sep 28, 2007 10:20 pm Sorry for the late reply, but I didn't receive an email notification about your replies.
Thanks for all the info that you shared. It's good to hear that most people find it a good idea to have a heating duct in the bathroom. We've been renting in this unit for 5 years and we really like having heating ducts even in the bathroom. We had our electrical appointment and already added heating ducts to the bathroom and ensuite (extra $200 each). We were not allowed to move the other duct (in the master, as we have 2 there) to the ensuite, and the one at the hallway (upstairs) to the bathroom, so no choice but to pay extra Anyway, I'm sure it will be worth it, based from our experience. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Built the Nevada 42 Next project - landscaping! the step up is 30mm and wanting it to be flat . how much does the concrete have to be lowered .we plan on removing bath and lenghten shower and adding seat. the old bath… 0 11828 Thanks for the suggestion. The space between shower and sinks was too tight. I agree about the toilet location. So I have tried two other options: The lower one is… 3 6128 |