Overlooking the Hudson River near the village of Sleepy Hollow, New York, sits a new 3,000 sq-ft dream home owned by Peter and Gina Gasperini. The couple spent years planning and deciding on their “must haves.” Near the top of that list was a radiant heating and snowmelt system from Rehau.

The Gasperinis aren’t the average customer when it comes to radiant heating; they’ve been in the business for years. So, they knew exactly how the Rehau radiant system would provide the level of comfort befitting the home of their dreams.

“Through our business, we’ve worked with many homeowners who understand that there’s more to creating a dream home than just design and aesthetics,” said Peter Gasperini, whose Pleasantville, NY-based company, Northeast Radiant, specializes in radiant heating and plumbing systems.

“It doesn’t make sense to invest significant time, money and effort designing a higher-end home and then skimp on HVAC, or toss in a standard forced-air system as an afterthought,” he said. “The indoor climate system should be on par with the rest of the home; otherwise you’ve made a major compromise.”

The Gasperinis’ three-level contemporary features an “upside down” style of living custom-designed by New York architect John Whalen. The home has an open floor plan with living areas, including the kitchen, dining and family room, on the second level and bedrooms on the first level. At ground level is the garage and finished basement. Walls of windows across the front and west side of the home capture the spectacular views of the Hudson River and Tappan Zee Bridge.

For the living areas and bedrooms, the Gasperinis chose a Raupanel radiant system, consisting of 3,000 ft (914 m) of 3/8 in. crosslinked polyethylene (PEXa) pipe laid in aluminum panels installed between the subfloor and flooring material.  

“My company was one of first contractors to use Raupanel soon after it hit the market in the early 2000s,” Gasperini said. “We’ve worked with all of the different radiant systems out there, and there’s none better than Rehau. It’s very efficient, you don’t see it…and you feel so comfortable you don’t even think about it.”

To heat the ground-level and garage, 1,800 ft (549 m) of 1/2 in. pipe was fastened to rebar on top of a thermal break insulator. Then the concrete slab was poured, polished and sealed. This method of installing radiant is very cost effective and provides a beautiful, durable finished floor.

During a typical New York winter, snow and ice are a regular factor and can pose problems if not dealt with right away. The Gasperinis chose a Rehau snow and ice melting (SIM) system for both safety and convenience. The system comprises 1,500 ft (457 m) of 3/4 in. Raupex pipe installed under the concrete pebble-finish driveway and in the 16 bluestone steps, landing and entry leading to the home’s front entrance.

Regulating the 38 pipe circuits of the radiant and SIM systems are eight Pro-Balance manifolds, including one for a towel warmer in the master bath and laundry. The heat source is two Lochinvar Knight fire-tube, wall-mounted boilers and a Squire 80-gallon indirect water heater with Grundfos Magna variable-speed circulators, Spirovent air/dirt separators, Honeywell high-flow zone valves (10cv), Tekmar zone managers, Tekmar 670 WiFi snow melting control and Tekmar 090 snow and ice sensor.    

As soon as snow or ice begins to develop, the system kicks in automatically to clear outdoor surfaces quickly and efficiently.

“We love not having to shovel or pay a contractor for snow removal, and also not having to worry about the potential hazard of slippery steps,” Gasperini said. “We’re actually able to truly enjoy a snowfall.”

After being in the home for three winters, the Gasperinis agree that Rehau systems help make their dream home all they imagined: Comfortable, peaceful and safe.