Radiant floor heating is a type of in-floor heating that heats your home from the ground up, instead of going through vents and ducts in your home. This is done through a heat transfer system installed between the finishing layer and substrate layer of your flooring. Here are some things to know about this type of home heating system.
There Are Different Types of Radiant Floor Heating
The first thing you should know about this form of heating is that there are actually different methods. There are hydronic heating systems that work through radiant air floors in your home, though this is the less popular option. This is done by having tubes installed underneath the floor's surface, which hot water goes through. It works similar to a radiator. When hot water fills the tubes, it helps to heat the home. The other type is electric radiant heating, which is the option used most often. There are wires underneath the flooring that heat up when the system is turned on.
They Cost More to Install
In terms of cost, radiant floor heating costs more during the initial installation period, but can end up costing you less in operating costs. This is especially true with the hydronic heating systems, which are difficult to install and require an HVAC specialist. It requires installing the tubes underneath the floor and registers in the baseboards. Many homes choose to have these floor heating systems installed during construction, since it tends to be an easier process before the floors are installed. However, you can still get it even if your home is already built, it just may cost you more. Consult a local contractor to discuss the installation and how much it might cost you in comparison to other heating options.
You Can Install it in a Basement
On the plus side, if you have a basement or crawl space beneath your home's flooring, you can use that to install the heating system. This allows you to get the benefits of radiant floor heating without having to pull up all your flooring. In a basement, it is installed near the top of the basement and underneath the flooring of the first floor of your home. In the basement, you might not get much heat, but the rest of your home will be nice and toasty.
Radiant Heat is Eco-Friendly
Since less energy is used to heat your home with radiant in-floor heating, you will be lowering your carbon footprint as well. The system uses a type of space heater under the floor, which doesn't run for a long time before the home starts to heat up. Combine that with the option of changing the thermostat's temperature to a lower setting, and you will save money and energy at the same time.
Share31 December 2015
Hello! Welcome to my blog! My name is Julie and I live in a large house in the suburbs of Perth, Australia. My husband and I moved into our current home a couple of years ago and since then we have been working to transform it into our dream place. The house itself is lovely, but the interior looked like something from the 1970s. When we started our renovation project we didn't have a clue what we were doing. However, with each job we completed and each mistake we made, we learnt a new skill. I decided I would like to share what we have learnt here.