Messana Radiant Ceiling Heating & Cooling Panels

Small Planet Supply is excited to offer a new heating and cooling option for our customers.  We now carry Messana’s Ray Magic Radiant Ceiling panels. These panels handle room temperature regulation in a different way than most people are used to seeing radiant panels used. These radiant source panels are hung from the ceiling and then covered with drywall to provide an unobtrusive heating and cooling solution. Paired with a heat pump which flows hot or cold water through a matrix of channels, these panels operate similarly in principle to other radiant sources. While radiant is familiar, this less familiar way of providing radiant may inspire some questions. We’re providing some answers to a few common questions here.   

If Heat Rises, Why Put Radiant Panels on the Ceiling?

The first question on everyone’s mind is why install heating on the ceiling if heat rises. This stems from the common understanding that hot air rises and cool air sinks. This effect is called convection, and it applies to fluids like air and water (yes, air is a fluid), and is a good property to keep in mind when using heated or cooled forced air for home comfort. Radiant heating and cooling however, is not constrained by this effect.

If radiant heat sources followed the same convention of using air to transmit heat, the biggest radiant source we have, the sun, wouldn’t heat the earth since there is no air in space. Radiant heat sources however, work via infrared light emission that emanates in all directions. When these heat sources heat up, the infrared wavelengths travel from the source and are absorbed by objects that are colder than the source.

To look at it in another light, think of the way a campfire warms you up. When you are sitting in the cold night, the fire isn’t blowing hot air at you, but rather it is warming you up by radiating infrared waves and your body is absorbing them, leading to you feeling warm. This is why the part of you facing the fire can feel exceptionally warm while the side facing away will still be cold. Operating in this way, Messana’s Ray Magic Panels offer a convenient way of heating and cooling homes and the occupants within.

Yes, you read that right. These panels can cool your home in the summer months. The process works by the same principles, just in reverse. Instead of the panel being the heat source and you being the colder body absorbing the infrared heat, your body now becomes the radiant source. Meanwhile, the ceiling panels are now filled with colder water which makes them able to absorb some of your body’s radiant energy. This has the effect of making you feel cooler, as the heat energy is being pulled from your body.

Why Install Radiant in Ceilings instead of the floor?

The effects of a radiant system are already realized in the popular radiant slab/floor systems that are commonly used, so why you may be wondering why you should choose this over the more conventional system.  Afterall, in floor radiant systems are well known, and are widely used in ambitious Passive House and Net Zero projects. These systems obviously work, but they’re not a one size fits all kind of thing.

There are many reasons to use Messana’s Ray Magic Panels instead of a radiant floor, but here are just a few:

1.     Simplified installation and a cleaner jobsite

When you are installing a radiant system in the floor, installation is a rather big part of the equation. Zones need to be defined, layout of the lines needs to be planned, and then it all gets laid out and connected. This can take up a considerable amount of the construction time and can get in the way of, or stall, other build tasks.

Thanks to the method by which they go in, Messana Ray Magic Panels greatly simplify the install process and reduce jobsite mess. Since these panels are ceiling mounted, they go right on the framing and keep the floor of the job site completely free of pipes and other unnecessary clutter. This product is comprised of an aluminum panel with a matrix of water channels pre routed through it. This aluminum panel is attached to an EPS foam layer for insulation on the backside, and all connection fittings are contained in the ends of the panels. The whole assembly is installed between the ceiling joists, then the panels connected to each other and the heating/cooling source by a plumber. After everything is installed and hooked up, the ceiling panels get covered with drywall just as one would normally finish a ceiling.

2.     Smaller thermal mass makes changing temperatures quicker

Another benefit of radiant ceiling over radiant flooring is the total thermal mass is much smaller, and therefore easier to adjust quickly. Typically, with a radiant floor or slab, the entire floor acts as a thermal mass, which is great for keeping very stable temperatures. The problem arises when you need to adjust that temperature by a few degrees for the comfort of occupants. Since the thermal mass is much greater, it takes a much longer time to realize a temperature change of only a few degrees. With Ray Magic panels installed in the ceiling, the thermal mass of the entire system is much lower than that of an in-floor design. Thanks to this lower mass, the panels are much more responsive when adjusting temperatures, making this set up more able to achieve the right temperature for occupant comfort.

3.     Less obstruction than in floor installations

Further on the subject of comfort, Ray Magic ceiling panels can offer a greater sense of comfort in several scenarios. Thanks to being on the ceiling, the path of radiance is less obstructed, or even not obstructed at all. Floor installations can be obstructed by furniture, reducing the overall feeling of comfort in the home. While only typically covering 60-70% of the ceiling, Ray Magic panels can offer more radiant surface area thanks to not being obstructed by furniture. This level of coverage also lends itself to allowing for plenty of room to install lighting and other ceiling fixtures, such as supply and return diffusers from a heat recovery ventilator.

4.      Avoiding getting cold feet in the summer

Heated floors from a radiant slab can feel nice on the feet in the cold winter months, but some people don’t appreciate the coldness of the floors in the warm summer months. While the cooling effect in the living space is desired, walking on a cold floor doesn’t always feel great. This problem doesn’t exist with Messana Ray Magic ceiling panels, you can enjoy the benefits of a radiant cooling system and kick your shoes and socks off. What’s more, with Messana’s sense wall sensors and advanced control system, air temperature, radiant temperature, and dew point temperature can be monitored on a per zone basis. Thanks to this monitoring system, water temperature in the radiant system can be adjusted so that the surface of the panels stays below the dew point. Since condensation will only form on surfaces that are below the dew point, you can rest assured that your panels, and ceiling, will stay dry and free from moisture.

What Does the Messana Ray Magic System Look Like and How Will It Impact the Design Aesthetic?

Comfort isn’t the only thing important to occupants in a home, aesthetics is also important and sometimes even supersede functionality. With Messana Ray Magic, this compromise isn’t needed.  Since the ceiling mounted panels are covered with drywall after installation and connections are made, the heating and cooling system becomes invisible inside the home.

The entire system can be hooked up to a heat pump to heat and cool the water. Messana panels work great with the SpacePak systems that we also offer and make for a great looking (aka invisible) interior installation. With the heat pump outside, the interior of the home contains virtually no traces of the heating and cooling system, save for the thermostat, and manifold that handles all the connections. Manifolds are generally placed in out-of-view areas anyway, keeping the invisibility of the system in the living area intact.

Ready to Learn More About Messana Systems? 

Small Planet Supply is working to make learning about and installing Ray Magic panels from Messana easy.  We are offering a webinar covering more about Messana systems on May 12.  You can register using the button below.  Can’t wait until May 12 for the webinar or need help with a Messana system before then?  You can use the consultation request form below to schedule an appointment with one of our team members. 

May 12: Messana Webinar

Learn about this innovative way to heat AND cool your home at this informative webinar featuring Francesco Marchesi, Messana Co-Founder and Bryan Rossi, Sr. Application Engineer.

Also on hand will be Small Planet Supply's Taylor Groebner and Peter Reppe.

Messana Questions? Phone Consultation Appointments are Available

Have some questions about the Messana radiant heating and cooling panels and want to feel like you’ll have enough time to have them all answered? We’re offering complimentary consultations with one of our specialists. You can schedule your time using the button below.