Making Life Warm through Radiant Flooring Heat

Radiant flooring heat is the most comfortable kind of floor heating. Besides the easy to install feature, it has been widely used in China and Korea because of its affordable price.

But it will not always cost less in fuel cost than most people believe. If the house is small to medium size and is well insulated or uses advanced construction methods, you will not save any energy at all. Also, other factors that will not save energy of the house design is not adjusted to the requirements of the radiant heat device, is if you use non-modulating boiler and improper installation.

To conserve energy, the radiant flooring heat must be insulated differently to be cost efficient. Buying the wrong equipment can shorten the useful life of the device and can damage your house.

A well-designed radiant flooring heat system with a stainless steel indirect water heater, Pex tubing, brass manifolds and other specifications needed could cost less than 3 dollars per square meter.

A radiant flooring heat system, if design and installed properly, will be the most cost effective and efficient thing you have ever considered installing. And, a properly designed radiant system should use the most efficient heat source that is practical for them to be cost-effective.

The following are just some of the advantages of using radiant flooring heat:

• the heat are evenly distributed throughout the floor and not just on localized spots
• humidification is not needed vs. air forced system heating
• comfortable heat
• lower energy cost to operate
• a system that is environmentally friendly
• quiet operation
• low heating bills
• can set the thermostat several degrees lower
• radiates heat for a longer period of time vs. forced air heating system

Although ceramic tile is the common tile covering for radiant floor heating, other floor surfaces can be used. This includes vinyl flooring, carpeting and wood.

However, carpeting and padding will insulate the floor resulting to a decrease on some of the benefits of the floor heating system. If you want to put a carpet, use the kind of carpet with a lower nap and thin, denser padding.

You will also need to increase the water system to compete for the insulating properties of the floor covering. Some installers and wood manufacturers recommend using laminated wood versus using solid wood for this reduces the possibility of the floor shrinking and cracking from the effects of the heat.

A radiant floor that uses a concrete slab may take time to heat up if it's allowed to become cold, therefore, making the home uncomfortable to walk through. That is why most of the radiant flooring systems are controlled by a floor thermostat instead of a wall thermostat such as those in an air-forced heating system.

Such systems can use less fuel and adjusts the water temperature to meet the heat requirements of a certain home. Thus, using radiant flooring heat is much more efficient than other air-forced heating systems.