Working On A New Heated House

Len B

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Started building a house for some young sulcatas, so they will be able to stay outside during winter. The main lumber is 3/4 inch laminated plywood that is used for form making in concrete work. It will be insulated using 3 kinds of insulation on the sides, top, and bottom. The main heat source is from panels made of 18x18 porcelain tiles. These first 3 pics show the material and the basic design, The last pic it is upside down, getting ready to insulate the bottom.
 

Yvonne G

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Lookin' good! You're still having nice weather, huh?

I'm not quite understanding the heating arrangements.
 

Len B

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Yvonne G said:
Lookin' good! You're still having nice weather, huh?

I'm not quite understanding the heating arrangements.

Weather wise it hasn't been to bad, the growing season is definitely over with night temps in the low 20s on several occasions. The heating system is something I started working on a while back after seeing how the Stanfield pads work. It consist of a heating element encased between 2 ceramic or porcelain flooring tiles sealed with silicone, What I made for this house is one 18x18 and one 18x36 pad, I am planning on the larger one to be flat on the floor and the smaller one to stand against a wall. One good point of doing it this way is the wattage used is low,(less than 100) and the second good point is the cost of making the 2 pads is around $30 for both. Here is a pic of them laying on the floor in testing of how they will work in the real world,so far so good, temps near 90 at 7 inches off floor with the house completely closed. outside temp are low 40s at this time.
 

Yvonne G

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You're so inventive. I would never have thought something like that could be done. I've always wanted a heated floor in my bathroom...I guess it's the same principle, huh?
 

Len B

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Finished the house, regulated the floor and air temps, built a small temporary yard area, I will increase the enclosure size after I am sure that they will go in and out to regulate their body temps as needed and stay inside at night.
 

Tom

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What sort of heating element is in between the tiles?
 

wellington

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Yes, I would like to know the heating too. I am adding radiant floor heat to my shed next summer. Is this the same thing or did you use something different then the ones you buy for this purpose?
 

Len B

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What I used in these tiles is the 11 inch wide flexwatt, I was going to center the 11 inch and run a 3 inch strip on each side of it but after testing found they were not necessary to achieve the temps wanted, so just the 11 inch was used. I was planning on standing the smaller pad on end against a wall, but found it simpler to mount a light fixture from the ceiling with a 60 watt black light to get the right temps throughout the inside.(I don't know why but it worked better) I have everything running through the same dimmer that is turned down about to 80% of max, so I'm guessing that about 120 watts is being used for heating at this time. The first pic is showing how I make the electrical connections, and the next is what it would have looked like using the 11 and 3 inch sizes together.
 

Yvonne G

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So those are under the tiles?

That looks just like the seedling heat mats that I use in my baby tort tables. I just have them on the floor of the table then the substrate on top of them. Of course, my system wouldn't work for anything bigger than a baby.
 
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