Installing a radiant floor heating systems is a practical way to heat your home, especially basements. Radiant floor heating is installed beneath the floor and the heat radiates through the floor material to heat the room. It is very popular in concrete or tiled floor finished basements. However, a radiant floor heating system can be installed under any type of flooring.

Most radiant floor heating systems require a network of hot water tubing to be installed underneath the floor. It is installed in a two to four inch bed of light concrete. Radiant floor heating systems are best installed during initial home construction.

For wood finished floors the rough flooring sheathing is slatted with two by fours. Tubing is laid between the two by fours and covered with a low mass concrete cement mix. This makes it possible to install radiant floor heating as a remodeling project.

Heating smaller areas such as a bathroom or kitchen with a radiant floor heating system may not be cost effective. The difficulty, complexity and cost of installing the system are not worth the small amount of savings in operational or energy costs.

An electric radiant floor heating system is ideal for heating these smaller areas. These systems are comprised of a thermostat and a heating cable. These systems are often times less expensive than a hot water radiant system and are much easier to install. Unfortunately they are very expensive to operate.

Radiant heat technology has made significant advances over the past ten years and is an excellent way to heat a basement or your entire home. However, as most radiant floor heating systems operate on hot water, a boiler is necessary.

Older Homes Energy Saving Tips

Outdoor Wood Furnaces

Proper Attic Ventilation

Radiators to Heat Your Home

Radiant Floor Heating Systems

Space Heaters

Under Floor Heat System

Under Tile Heating