Radiant Floor Heating System: Everything You Need To Know

Can you imagine, radiant floor heating has been here for more than hundreds of years.  It began with a hot air heating system known as a “hypocaust” under the Roman Empire. In a cavity beneath the floor, this radiant heating system works by heating the air that warms the space above. The heat was produced by a furnace, which had to be supplied regularly with wooden heat. Whether you want Basement heated floors, kitchen or bathroom floor heating system, there are two types of heating systems:

Hydronic Floor Heat

Hydronic heat uses a boiler to supply heat to the room by pumping water via plastic tubing under the floor. This can be a costly alternative for houses with no boiler since a boiler can cost approximately $4,000. However, integration into houses with a boiler is very straightforward and affordable.

Hydronic heating is great for new homes but it is very easy to install before the walls and flooring are placed. In these respects, this is not the ideal solution for restructuring projects as comprehensive building for the installation might be necessary. It is also hard to fix because when a leak occurs it is hard to find the crack.

Electric Floor Heat

The electric floor heating system is made out of serpentine-pattern heating wiring which transmits heat up to the room above. With a timer or thermostat, the system may be regulated for maximizing energy efficiency. It has a fast heating time and supplies more heat only when required.

In contrast to hydronic heating, heating is great for remodeling projects since the subfloor is the only item that you need access to. The best time to install electric radiant heat is when the flooring in a room needs to be replaced since the new flooring material may be laid immediately on top.

Electrically heated flooring can also display where cable interruptions occur, or an issue occurs in the system. To detect and solve the problem, a specialist might scan the floor using a thermographic camera. To solve the problem, only a tiny part of the floor needs to be removed. Otherwise, you have to pull up the floor without this feature. Finally, heat is inexpensive on the electric floor. Adding radiant electric heat to a standard bathroom only adds around $200-$300 to project costs when building a new floor. Moreover, the operation costs just around $0.12 per kWh.