What's So Great About Radiant Floor Heating Systems?

For a long time, the radiant floor heating has been the most preferred system in many homes. This is because of the reliable and thorough heat it provides to a home and the people living in it. With heat provided from the ground, families are guaranteed the sufficient warmth they need during the cold season.

Radiant heating systems supply heat to the flooring or to the wall panels or ceiling. From the source, heat is directly transferred to the people and objects in the room through heat radiation also known as infrared radiation.

This process is considered to be more efficient than baseboard heating and forced-air heating as no energy escapes while it goes through the ducts. It is also beneficial to people with allergies as no moving air is involved.

Radiant heating that uses the water system or the hydronic type has an edge as it consumes less electricity. It can also use different energy sources such as the boilers fueled by gas, oil or wood, solar water heaters or a combination of these. As for the floor covering, the most commonly used is the ceramic tile as it's a very effective conductor of heat. Other suitable materials are vinyl, wood, linoleum sheet and carpeting.

Different types

There are actually three types of radiant floor heat - the radiant air floors, electric radiant floors and hydronic or hot water radiant floors. The installation of these types also varies.

Radiant air floors are not commonly used in homes but they can be used together with solar air heating systems. The only downside is that they can only be used during the day.

The electric radiant floors involve the use of electric cables installed on the floor. The latest innovation is the mat type with plastic that are electrically conductive and is rolled out on the subfloor beneath the flooring. They can cost less if using a thermal mass such as thick concrete flooring. The role of the thermal mass here is to store heat in a home lasting from eight to 10 hours without need for any electrical input. This, therefore, translates to more savings to homeowners.

Hydronic radiant floors are also referred to as the liquid systems. This type is considered the most popular and cost effective as well. In this system, heated water is pumped from a boiler going through tubing laid in a certain pattern under the floor. There are some systems involving zoning valves or pumps and thermostats which allow homeowners to control the temperature in each room by regulating the hot water's flow through the tubing.

Installation process

Installing radiant heating systems can either be wet or dry. The wet type of installation is the oldest form and involves cables or tubing embedded within a solid floor such as a slab, gypsum or other materials placed on top of a subfloor.

The dry floor features cables or tubing running in an air space underneath the floor. This type has also been gaining popularity as it is quicker and less costly to install. This, however, requires heating at higher temperatures because it entails heating an air space. Another variation in dry installations requires suspending the tubing or cables below the subfloor between the joists. This involves more work, though, as drilling needs to be done through the floor joists to be able to install the tubing.

Whether building a new home or renovating your present home, it's important to consult a professional before deciding on what type of radiant floor heating to use.

Radiant Floor Heating For Comfort And Efficiency

Radiant floor heating is an efficient and comfortable way to heat your home. It provides superior comfort to compared forced air heating because the heat emanates from the floor, and rises. The air cools somewhat as it rises. This allows the temperature at the feet and legs to be slightly warmer than the temperature in the air around the head.

Radiant heat is produced from either hot water flowing through a pipe system in the floor (hydronic), or by electricity. Hydronic systems are more complicated to install than electric systems, because the pipes need to be set in the cement under the floor. Obviously, this is expensive to install, but hydronic floor heating has it's advantages over electric heating.

The water holds the heat much better than electric wiring does, and as a result, is more efficient. It also allows for a variety of ways to heat the water itself. You can use gas, propane, oil, electric or even solar heat. Any traditional heating method is a usable option for heating the water that runs through the underfloor tubing.

Electric heat functions like an electric blanket. As electricity flows through the wiring, it encounters resistance, which causes the wires to produce heat. This is much less expensive to install than hydronic heating. It's easy to find floor tiles with the electric wiring built in, ready to just place and install. These are easily available at just about any home improvement store.

Radiant floor heating is especially popular in rooms that are commonly floored with tile, such as kitchens and bathrooms, but it can be used in any room, or the house as a whole, with any type of floor covering, including hardwood and carpet. It's quite nice to walk into the bathroom on a cold day and notice nice, warm tile on your bare feet. This simply isn't available with forced air heat, unless you keep the temperature uncomfortably warm.

Another advantage of radiant floor heating over traditional forced air heat is that there is no air being pushed through the home. This seems almost obvious, but when air is being pushed through the home it can suck the humidity from the air, especially if there a a leak in the system allowing the dryer outside air to mix with the air being heated.

It also can distribute allergens through the air in your home. Of course, there is also the issue of feeling hot air blasting on you while the heat is on. If you're in the wrong part of the room, it's still too cold. In yet another equally wrong part of the room, you're being hit with hot, dry, allergen carrying air. Neither of these options are particularly comfortable.

Overall, radian floor heating may be a little more expensive to install, but in the long run, it will be a more efficient and cost effective way to heat your home. It will also be much more comfortable. That's a double bonus in my book. I would ask, what's the price you would put on your comfort, but the reality is that it's going to be a big savings in the end.

What Are The Benefits of Radiant Heating: How Do They Compare With Other Heating Applications

Some of the benefits of radiant heat

Comfort: Let your bare feet soak up the warmth of soothing heat without the dust and noise associated with other heating sources. Enjoy evenly distributed heat throughout your home kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and basement.

Custom Designed: Whether for supplemental floor warming, or total space heating, every system is custom designed to fit all rooms independent of their shape or size. These systems will heat under any surface including marble, slate, carpet, hardwood and tile. The compact Control Box will hang on the wall of your garage or in a utility room. No heating vents or ducts will be seen, and no furnace or boiler is required.

Perfect for Remodeling and Additions: The simplicity of the low voltage heating element makes this system incredibly easy to install in your remodeling or room addition application. No floor buildup is necessary and no additional construction costs are incurred. The unique heating element can also be installed in between floor joists to heat an existing floor or room.

Safe: So safe, in fact that nails, water, and even touching the heating element during operation will have no harmful effect! You will have peace of mind while loved ones play as the systems are tested to UL standards and run on worry-free, low-voltage energy (8 to 32 V.).

Reliable: The solid-state heating systems are virtually maintenance free and the heating element is backed with a 25 year industry-leading warranty. With no moving parts and advanced self-diagnosing technology, there is no need for yearly maintenance or service checks.

Efficient: Radiant heat is the most efficient form of heat available. Significantly less operating time is required to maintain the desired warmth compared to furnaces and other radiant heat systems, keeping operational costs to a minimal. Low-voltage radiant heating systems run 98% to 100 % efficiency at any elevation as they evenly heat every area of the room.

Convenient: Our accurate thermostats allow you to easily adjust the floor or air temperature of your space heating or floor warming system. You also have the option of programming the exact time of day you want your system to operate. Simply relax, enjoy the comfort, and know that your system will work for decades to come.

So lets compare to other heating applications. Radiant Heat versus other applications:

Radiant Heat vs. Hydronics at a Glance

Both electric and hydronic radiant heat systems have certain advantages for specific applications. The following highlights the advantages low voltage radiant heat systems have:

A Boiler Room is required to run a hydronic radiant heat system. A 17"x12"x7" Control Unit is required to run low voltage radiant heat system.

Gypsum or concrete slab is required for installing a hydronic system. It is estimated that it costs approx. $4.00 or more per square foot to install a hydronic in-floor heating system than it does to install a in-floor heating system.

The ZMesh heating element is installed directly under the floor surface without any floor buildup. The 12" wide ZMesh is rolled out over the area to be heated then nailed and/or stapled to the wood subfloor.

Electric radiant heat warms your floors evenly because it uses 100% of the system's energy. A hydronic system, however, heats the floor less the further away the hot water gets from the boiler (see illustration below). Hydronic systems use only 65-85% of the system's energy. At higher elevations, electric radiant heat still is 100% efficient, where as hydronic systems are even less effective than at sea level.

For a complete comparison chart, please refer to http://www.radiantshop.com/vshydronics.html

Radiant Heat vs. Forced Air at a Glance

A room with floor Radiant In-Floor space heat will have a very uniform temperature from the ceiling to the floor. Heating a basement floor is the ideal application for our radiant heat systems. If you've lived in a house with forced air, you can crank the heat up, but the basement floor are still chilled. Installing a floor warming system will add comfort and warmth to your lifestyle.

A room heated with a forced air furnace will have cold floors and the warmest air at the ceiling. Although the air may be heated, the floors will be chilled and uncomfortable, especially for children playing on the floor.

Start Thinking About More Efficient Ways To Heat Your Home Next Winter

When it gets warmer outside you tend to think more about air conditioning than heating. That's fine, but sometimes you can save a lot of money by purchasing products in the off season. So once you're done making sure your air conditioner is working for the up coming summer heat, take a look at the options for heating your home. One of the options available to you is radiant floor heating, or under floor heating.

It's generally easier to make this decision if you're building a new home or are in the middle of a major remodel as it does require you to install things under the floor. You will need to choose between electric and water (hydronic) systems. You'll also need to consider whether the installation will be embedded directly in the concrete (wet) or attached beneath the subfloor (dry).

Radiant floor heating has been used for centuries. The Romans channeled hot air under the floors of their villas. No single system is perfect for every house so you'll want to speak with an expert to get their opinion on the best method for your home.

Electric radiant floor heating is designed to warm your flooring materials which will not only heat the floor but then radiantly heat anything sitting on the floor, such as your furniture. With the objects in the room warm the air around them will maintain a higher heat level without needing your regular furnace to run as often. You also gain the benefit of a warm surface under your feet which is great on a chilly morning.

Is Radiant Floor Heating The Best Way To Heat Your Home?

Radiant floor heating is a heating system that supplies heat directly to the floor or directly to panels in the walls or the ceiling of the house. It works by the science of heat transfer. This simply involves delivering heat from a hot surface to people and objects in the room. It is also sometimes called infrared radiation. Read on to discover more about radiant floor heating.

So what is the best way to describe this type of heating? Think about the heat that you can feel from an electric burner on your stove from across the room. That is somewhat similar to the way this type of heating feels. The big difference is the heating elements are located in the floor so the heat rises up through the floor and into the room.

Radiant heating is more efficient than standard baseboard heating. Most of the time it is also more efficient than forced air heat. The big advantage is that no energy is lost through the heating ducts in the home. The heat goes to where it is most needed and keeps a room toasty warm.

Another advantage that you have to take into consideration is that this type of heating is a lot easier on people who have allergies. There is no dust and allergens flying around the room like you would find in a forced air heating system. Without these offending elements in the air, it is much easier for people with severe allergies to breathe.

There are three types of radiant floor heating systems. They are radiant air floors, electric radiant floors and hot water radiant floor heating. The type of system used in a particular home depends on a lot of things. Some of these being the price of electricity in the area or the location of the home in relation to the power grid. Read on to uncover a little more information about each type of heating systems.

The first type that we will examine is also the least cost effective of the three. This is the air heated radiant floors. This type of floor heating is rarely installed because air does not hold heat well and is therefore not a very effective means of heating a residential building.

The second type is the electric radiant floor heating system. This is the second least cost effective type of radiant heating due to the amount of electricity it takes to run this system.

The third type is the most popular and the one installed most often. It is the hydronic or liquid radiant heating system. This system involves pumping heated water though tubing that is laid underneath the floor.

So there you have the basics of radiant floor heating systems and a good overview of what is most cost effective. They can be a great way to keep warm in the cold climates.