Radiant floor heating systems are among the best energy savers in modern homes. Hot air is lighter than cold air, so it’s always going towards the upper part of the room, therefore, in many cases of typical heating systems, people still end up with cold feet, because the heating source is placed at a higher level. Or, if you don’t end up with cold feet, you are surely paying more for energy bills. With radiant floors, heating becomes more efficient because energy losses are minimized and the heat will be evenly spread across the entire surface. As these system don’t need to move the air for heating, they don’t generate air drafts that can be daunting to sensitive people or to allergy sufferers. Besides, a home with radiant floor heating will look less cluttered, because you’d get rid of all those radiators which are not the best pieces of interior decor, no matter how fancy or expensive they may be. Such heating systems aren’t new: Romans, for example, were using radiant floors to warm their rooms. Actually, they had slaves maintaining fires under the floors, thus preserving their temperature constant inside their rooms.

Types of Radiant Floor Heating Systems

Although they all look alike, there are three types of radiant floors:

• electric
• hydronic
• air-heated

Electric radiant floor heating systems are using a resistance wire that goes in loops under the floor. As electricity passes through the wires, they generate heat. Installation is easier than for other systems, because the system can be bought as a complete unit and not as separate parts which need to be put together. This system is suitable for small surfaces only, because electricity is usually expensive.

Hydronic systems are based on hot water circulating through looping tubes, also placed under the flooring. The water is pumped from a boiler through the polyethylene tubes and usually the temperature can be easily controlled and adjusted for each room separately. While it seems like an ideal solution, radiant heating comes with a drawback: not all flooring types are suitable. For instance, thick carpets may reduce the efficiency of the heating system, thus more energy consumption being needed to maintain the same temperature as in other rooms which have ceramic tiles or hardwood flooring. This is why many people choose to install such systems only in bathrooms or kitchens, where the flooring is not very well insulated.

Air-heated radiant floors aren’t too common, because they are not as effective as the other two types of in-floor heating. This is obvious if we think that air can’t store heat like water does. There were some attempts from various manufacturers to install them in combination with stone plates meant to conserve the heat, but it seems those weren’t too efficient either.

Depending on the mounting method, radiant floor heating systems can be in slab, in screed or under tile.

If building new, in slab and in screed heating are both great. When renovating, installing in screed floor heating is possible only if you apply a new concrete screed. Prices of radiant floor heating installation are about 20% - 30% bigger than conventional heating systems. However, the comfort offered by these systems and their efficiency are determining more and more people who build or renovate houses to choose them.

Those of you who think it would be nice to install radiant floor heating should strongly consider to avoid using it under solid wood floors, because wood might get cracked because of the heat. Laminated flooring is more suitable, because it’s more resistant to high temperature.