Irving’s Plumbing Supplies, offers plumbing heating supplies for all sorts of heating systems including radiant floor heating, hot water heating systems, boiler and baseboard heating systems. Heating supplies are major part of any plumbing system that has to heat water and the building itself in the most efficient way possible. We specialize in everything from the old European style baseboard heaters and radiators from Stelrad, to gas and electric water heaters from Rheem. We also carry Weil Mclain boilers, and components for the popular Rehau radiant floor heating systems. As suppliers of for all of these heating systems, we are in the unique position of being able to offer you all the available options and then meeting if not exceeding your expectations.
Direct Heating Systems:
Next to the hot water heater which heats the water you use for so many things, the heating system that keeps you warm has to be the most important appliance in your house or workplace. There are so many heating options to choose from that it is important to know as much as you can before you make your final decision. The first thing you should know is that heating systems are either direct or indirect. The first known heating systems were direct in that an open fire in a fireplace, stove or brazier (metal pans that held charcoal fires) would warm the air in a room. Since fireplaces and stoves waste a lot of energy and are not that great at providing thermal comfort, most people don’t bother with them any more except for aesthetic reasons.
Indirect Heating Systems:
The first indirect or central heating systems appeared in the early 1800s using hot water as a heating medium. Hot water was soon replaced by warm air (1835) and steam (1850) which transported thermal energy to all the rooms of a building via an elaborate piping or duct system. Today’s modern building typically uses a warm forced air heating system where a furnace draws cold air into its ducts via a cold air register, passes it through an air filter, and then blows it through the furnace. The heating is often supplied by natural gas which means working with appliances that operate on gas and using gas piping to deliver the gas.
Steam, Hot Water and Electric Heating Systems:
While forced warm air heating systems are still the norm, their thermal inefficiency, high consumption of energy and tendency to fill a room with dust and viruses have forced heating contractors to look once again at hot water, steam or even expensive electricity as a viable heating solution. In a typical hot water system, water is heated to a temperature of 60° to 83° C (140° to 180° F) using a boiler and then circulated to another device which transfers the heat to the room. These devices can be simple a piping system or a radiator which consist of a series of cast-iron grids or coils or a convector consisting of a network of finned steel or nonferrous metal tubes. A typical baseboard heating system, for instance, is relatively easy to install, has a low operating cost and offers true thermal comfort.
Radiant Floor Heating
Another solution might be a radiant floor heating system where steam or hot water pipes are placed in the walls or under the floor during construction of the building. Steam or a warm liquid is circulated through the pipes which transfers the heat to the walls and floors of the room. If electricity is used for heating, panels containing the heating elements can be mounted on a wall, baseboard, or in the ceiling of the room. While installation costs might be high, radiant heating provides true thermal comfort and has a comparatively low cost of operation. Efficiency is high because instead of heating the air to a certain temperature, a radiant floor heating system heats the walls and the floors reducing the loss of heat from your body.
Hot Water Heaters
Except for the central heating system, the next popular appliance has to be the hot water heater or a hot water boiler. Hot water not only helps us to keep clean, it can help us to relax and get away from the pressures of life. The most popular style of hot water heater is the storage tank that takes in cold water, retains it, and then heats it to a certain temperature and holds the heated water at that temperature until you open a tap. Water heaters come in many different sizes and can be gas, electric, oil or even solar.
Tankless Hot Water Heaters
Tankless water heaters, also referred to as instantaneous water heaters, provide an endless supply of hot water without using a storage tank. Powered by gas or electricity, tankless water heaters are easy to install, cost effective, a space saver and are designed to last 20 years or more. They can be used as a supplementary source of hot water located at the point of use or can replace your existing hot water heater.
Circulator Pumps
In addition to hot water heaters, we also carry hot water circulator pumps by Armstrong, which eliminate hot water shortages by recirculating the water in a continuous hot water pipe loop through the water heater.
Boilers
Whether you are interested in boilers for your home, apartment building or a large university, we provide a wide selection of boilers to meet your every need. Efficient, easy to install, and cheap to operate, our heating equipment is designed to succeed.
Baseboard Radiators
Our baseboard radiators are proven performers in a very competitive market. We offer decorative baseboard designs that are ideal for renovating older homes or historical buildings. Efficient, easy to install, and cheap to operate, our heating equipment is designed to succeed.
Whether you are looking for new type of heating system for your home or workplace or you just have a problem with your hot water heater, let us help you make the right decision.