Thinking About Radiant Heating? 3 Things You Should Know
Posted on: 28 May 2016
Share
Building a custom home is great. You get to make sure that everything that goes into the home is exactly what you want. This includes all the operating systems, including your heating. When it comes to choosing the heating system for your home, it's important that you take the time to understand everything you can about each option. Here are three things to think about if your considering radiant floor heating for your new home.
Why You Should Choose It
One of the problems with ducted heating systems is that they work against the fact that heat rises. This is particularly true if your vents are located on the walls or ceilings in your home. Warm air comes out of the vents over your head and immediately rises to the ceiling. With radiant floor heating, the heat radiates from the floors and slowly rises throughout the room. This allows the warmth to remain in the room long enough to provide maximum heating benefits. Another benefit is that it will keep your feet nice and warm during those cold winter months.
Where You Should Use It
Because the warm air has to radiate up through the floor, it shouldn't be used in any room that is going to be carpeted. The padding and carpeting make it difficult for the warmth to radiate into the room. Instead, radiant heating should be used in rooms that are going to have either hardwood flooring or tile. If your main living quarters are going to be carpeted, you should install radiant floor heating in your bathrooms, mudrooms and kitchen. It's important to note that you can install radiant floor heating in carpeted areas, but it will require a higher output, which may increase your heating bills during the winter.
How It's Installed
There are two basic ways to install radiant floor heating. One way is to place the heating elements directly into the concrete subfloor. The other way is to install the heating elements on top of the concrete subfloor and then placing a plywood subfloor above that, which will create a sandwich effect for your radiant heating. Both types of installation will allow you to enjoy the maximum benefits of radiant floor heating.
If you're trying to decide on heating options for your new home, don't forget about radiant floor heating. Use the information provided above to help you decide if floor heating is the best option for you. To learn more, contact a company like Always On Call Mountain Mechanical.