I’m exploring warmboard radiant for use in ceilings in a 200 year old timber frame cape. It seems this is a less common use but has advantages for existing home. Would a system installed in the 3″ wide bays between the 7 ft hight ceiling timbers work? Would it give some heat to the above rooms or be best insulated from them? This house is in southern Maine so cold winters, humid summers. Would radiant cooling be possible with a HRV system in this climate?
Yes, using Warmboard for a Radiant Heating Ceiling is a great option. We highly recommend that you insulate above the Warmboard panels in order to heat a the living space below. It is possible to cool with the Warmboard panels, but you still would need a secondary source for cooling in your part of the country.
Radiant heating in the ceiling is powerful, simple and very efficient.
But radiant cooling in the ceiling is not as powerful, and much more complex due to condensation prevention controls.