Electric radiant floor heating: Radiant floor heating systems like this feature electric cables that are built into the subfloor.Thermostats regulate the room temperatures. Some systems control the hot water flow through the tubing by using zoning valves or pumps. In hydronic radiant floor heating systems, heated water is pumped from a boiler through tubing that is laid in a pattern under the floor. Hydronic radiant floor heating: calls this the most popular and cost-effective form of radiant heat flooring.Here’s what you need to know about the two most common types. There are differences, though, in the types of radiant heat flooring systems. Radiant heat flooring is, as the name indicates, in the floor. What Are the Types of Radiant Heat Flooring Systems? Because of this you keep turning up the thermostat in the part of the room where you’re spending time. As a result, the top of your room (where no one spends time) is warmer - sometimes as much as 10 degrees warmer, Vila notes - than the actual living space you’re trying to heat. As air is randomly pumped through grates in the ceiling (where most of it stays) or through vents in the floor, it quickly rises to the ceiling. Stratification is another forced hot air heating issue, Vila states.This means your system is pumping out more energy than it needs to try to hit the intended warmth level on your thermostat. All those ducts and pipes can develop small openings or leaks where the heat can migrate on its way to your intended room. Heat travels through a bunch of ducts to get to the baseboard heater or vent in the room you’re heating. Forced hot air heating also has something Vila calls parasitic heat loss.In addition to providing less consistent heat, it’s a behavior that is, not coincidentally, less than energy efficient. That in turn creates a heating yo-yo cycle that results in adjusting your thermostat to whatever temperature is happening at the moment. This happens when hot air is blown randomly into a room, creating a brief warming spell that then quickly cools. Forced hot air basically operates on what Vila calls a yo-yo effect.He outlines the cons of forced hot air heating this way: In contrast, forced hot air heating operates in a more random - and therefore less energy efficient - fashion, say home improvement experts including Bob Vila. Heat passes through the coils (either through electricity or heated water) and then warms the flooring directly above it. In radiant heat flooring systems, the heat is found in coils that lie under the flooring. The heat is delivered directly from the hot surface via infrared radiation. Radiant floor heating systems rely on radiant heat rather than convection heat. In other words, the heat goes exactly where you are, starting with toasty warm feet, rather than out into the room and up to the ceiling. (Sometimes, radiant heating is placed in wall panels or even ceilings, but it’s more commonly used in floors.) The floor is heated, and then the heat rises. Unlike forced hot air heating in which the heat is blown into a room through baseboards or vents, radiant floor heating radiates from the floor itself. We’re here to help you understand how radiant floor heat works and whether it’s right for your home. It’s easiest to include radiant floor heating when a house is being built, but it can be installed in older homes as well.ĭon’t know the difference between hydronic radiant heat flooring and electric radiant heat flooring? Want to know more about radiant heat energy efficiency? Read on. Once thought to be something only those who might appear on home improvement shows - heated floors in bathrooms, anyone? - could afford, radiant floor heating, in fact, is more accessible and affordable than many people realize. It’s energy efficient and provides, some experts say, a more comfortable, consistent heat source. The good news is that radiant floor heating might be the answer to your energy cost concerns. With a large part of household budgets devoted to heating, nearly everyone is looking to get the most bang for their energy bucks.
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