#Radiant floor heating cost calculator series

Vinyl flooring has come a long way since the old linoleum floors of the sixties. Follow manufacturer recommendations for best results. Adhesives are also important to consider. Careful consideration must be given to the installation to insure the underlying floor structure and concrete is dry in order to minimize changes dues to heat and moisture and avoid warps and cracks. The best carpeting option for radiant heat is a thin carpet with a low pile, Berber for example, and a thick pad. As a result, your toes may be toasty but it will be more difficult to heat the entire room.

CarpetĬarpet is not a bad choice of floor covering for a radiant heat system, but is not a good conductor for heat.

All are excellent heat conductors, do not expand and contract with heat and are highly resistant to warping or cracking, making porcelain, ceramic, or stone tiles your best choice for floor covering over radiant heating. Tile and stone are ideal types of flooring to use with a radiant floor heating system. Always consult the flooring manufacturer’s instructions for exact drying time instructions. If the slab itself is less than 60 days old, extend the drying time to 30-60 days, especially if you are using any kind of wood or laminate flooring. After a hydronic heating system is installed, most experts agree that the heat should be turned on and run for at least 3-6 days before the flooring is installed to leach any moisture from the concrete. If you’re installing radiant heat in a new home, flooring choice should be carefully considered, and measures should be taken by the builder to insure dry installation. Flooring Options Compatible with Radiant Heatingīefore you consider types of flooring for your radiant heating system, check with a professional. Because air cannot retain a great deal of heat, this method warms the floor itself, but cannot be counted on to warm an entire house, requiring that a secondary method of heating must be employed. For this system, air is heated and pumped through a system of pipes embedded in the floor. Hot air heating is simply not very efficient in comparison with electric and hydronic. Today’s materials are stronger, more leak-resistant, and should not become brittle with age, so the system is far less likely to require attention. Problems with this type of heating in the past were due to inferior tubing, sometimes requiring that the floor be ripped up for repair.

#Radiant floor heating cost calculator series

Although most commonly hydronic systems are used for whole-house heating, they can be installed with zone control using a series of pumps. The water can be heated with electric, solar, geothermal, natural gas, oil, wood-fired boilers, or any combination of these. The advantage to a hydronic system is choice of power supply. Due to the nature of the installation, it is usually done during construction. Hydronic radiant heating systems circulate heated water through tubing embedded in the concrete slab. This convenient method of heating is also gaining popularity as a method to de-ice driveways and sidewalks as an environmentally friendly alternative to chemicals or salt and a people-friendly alternative to backbreaking shoveling. Due to the versatility of installation options, electric systems are frequently the best choice for after-construction additions.Įlectric radiant floor heating is controlled by independent zone thermostats that can be set to heat just the floor for barefoot comfort on chilly days, to raise the temperature of a single room, or to heat an entire house. The mats can be embedded in the concrete slab during construction, installed under the subfloor, or even placed directly under the flooring, depending on type. Rolled cables are attached in a looping pattern via braces to mats, mesh, or film constructed of resilient, heat-conductive materials. Electric Radiant HeatingĮlectric radiant heating systems are the most versatile when it comes to installation. Radiant heating systems are a great way to create a cozier living space. This characteristic makes it possible to heat a large area using a lower temperature. Heat from a radiant system does not rise like heated air from a traditional heating unit it spreads in all directions. Electric and hydronic radiant heating systems are more efficient, and consequently more popular, than air-heated systems. There are three different types of radiant heating systems: hydronic, electric, and air-heated. Radiant floor heating is rapidly becoming a popular option in new home construction in the United States due to its cost-effective efficiency. Flooring Flooring Accessories The Basics 5