Radiant In Floor Heat For Your Home

Radiant in floor heat for your home is the most efficient way to deliver heat. The heat is produced just below the floor of the dwelling, not in a furnace which must be piped to the various rooms. Since the heat is produced under the floor, occupants of the room feel warmer than they do with a conventional forced air heating system. And the room air temperature may be kept lower than a conventional system needs to be kept, since feet are near the heat source and are kept warm.

There are two basic radiant heating systems available to heat your home. Resistance radiant heat and hydronic radiant heat.

Resistance heating systems employ a heating cable which can be installed below the flooring between the floor joists, under carpet, vinyl, or wood floor coverings, in the walls or ceilings. These are usually the easiest and economical systems to install, but operating costs may be higher than hydronic systems.

Hydronic systems consist of hot water pipes running below the floor joists. The hot water in the tubing warms the floor and rises into the living space of the home, heating it. These systems are typically more expensive to install, but the operating costs can be lower. More options are available for heating the water in hydronic systems as natural gas, LP gas, oil, electric, solar, or wood heating sources may be used to heat the water.

The benefits of a radiant in floor heating system are numerous. Forced air systems blow dust and other allergins around the home, as ductwork fills with dust over time. Radiant heating systems will not do this. Because radiant systems can be 100% efficient in heat delivery, operating costs are usually much lower than other types of heating systems. Especially the resistance radiant system, because there is no loss to waste heat going up a chimney, or duct loss.