Radiant Floor Heating

Radiant floor heating is a method of heating your home by applying heat underneath or within the floor. Comparable to warming yourself in the sun, this type of heating warms objects as opposed to raising the temperature of the air. As the radiant heat rises from below, it warms any objects it makes contact with. The air temperature remains constant and you stay comfortable because the surrounding warmed surfaces aren’t taking warmth from your body.

The warmth is supplied by hot-water tubes buried underneath the floor. Hot-water “hydronic” systems are the most common and cost effective applications. Water circulates from a boiler or water heater through loops of tubing. The flexible tubes are either installed on top of the subfloor in grooved panels or clipped into aluminum strips on the underside of the floor or embedded in poured concrete.

A radiant floor heating system is a highly efficient way to heat your home, increase comfort and reduce energy costs. Depending on how well your home is insulated, a radiant in floor heating system can be up to 30% more efficient than forced-air heating.

Radiant floor heating is old world technology. From the Romans heating their bathhouses to royalty heating their palaces; radiant floor heating has been an effective method for centuries.

The ideal system installation is during the design and build stages of construction but not limited to homeowners who want to renovate and incorporate radiant floor heating throughout their home. An advantage of radiant floor heating is that homeowners have a choice of a whole home application or selecting specific rooms such as bathroom, kitchens or other commonly used rooms in the home.