Home Floor Heating
Systems
There are three
kinds of floor heating systems: radiant
air floors (air is the heat-carrying medium); electric radiant floors;
and hot
water radiant floors (also called a hydronic
floor heating system.
These three different kinds of floor heat systems all have different
applications. for residential use, radiant air floors are not
the
best floor heating system. they are generally used for larger
buildings. That leaves installling electric
floor heat systems or installing hot water radiant floor heat
systems.
Installing an
electric
radiant floor heat system
is usually only cost-effective if
your electric company offers time-of-use rates which let
you "charge" the concrete floor radiant heat system with heat
during off-peak hours
(usally around 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.).
If the
floor's thermal mass is
large enough, depending on outside temperature, insulation,
etc., it will keep the house comfortable for
eight
to ten hours without any further heating of the concrete floor radiant
heating system. This can save quite a bit of money compared
to peak electric rates
during the
day.
The best floor heat systems
for homes are probably hydronic
radiant floor heating systems. They are the
most
popular radiant heating systems and
the most cost-effective for colder climates. Hydronic
radiant floor systems pump heated water from a
boiler through tubing laid in a pattern underneath the floor. The
temperature
in each room is regulated by controlling howm much hot water moves
through each tubing loop. This is done by a system of zoning valves and
thermostats.
There are many
on line resources offering information on
how to install radiant floor heat.
Proper installation of radiant floor heat systems can be relatively
simple or quite complicated, depending up on which of the residential
floor heating systems you use, and your own level of expertise.
Hydronic radiant floor heat andnot electric is considered
more
difficult to install in many cases, however, it is also potentially the
most efficient floor heating system. If you don't know how to install in floor heating,
you should consider hiring a professional who knows how to install
radiant floor heat in residential floor heating systems.
make
sure the person you hire has experiene with the more tricky technical
aspects of installing electric
below floor heating,
such as radiant floor heat slab preparation, radiant heat for floor
joists, tile floor heating wire installation, and choosing the best in
floor radiant heat floor covering.
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