Choosing to heat your floors may be one of
the smartest decisions you make. The comfort
of having warm, friendly floors is hard to
appreciate until you experience it. Imagine
your children or grand children playing on the
floor. Is a cold floor what you wish for them?
If you are building a new concrete floor, it is
relatively simple to heat the floor. One of the
best ways is to include heating pipes in the
concrete as you pour it. After the construction
is complete, you merely connect a hot water
source to the piping and the floors are warm
and cozy.
One of the options for heating the water that
you can explore is a simple 10-gallon water
heater. I am talking about a common gas or oil
fired water heater like you use to heat the
domestic water. Along with a small circulation
pump they are very able to heat a large area.
Another good and greener way to go is to use
a heat pump to create the warm water.
On existing construction and or upper floors it
is best to go with an electric powered system.
Radiant electric floor heating mats are pre-
built like an electric blanket mats for heating
floors and may be easily installed under floors.
Ceramic tile is the usual the floor covering of
choice for radiant heating, however almost any
material can be used, depending on how the
system is installed.
Electric floor heating systems will create even
under floor heat with no cold spots on tiles,
stone, laminate or engineered wood for a
comfortable, warm floor. With each room
controlled by it’s own thermostat, radiant under
floor heating systems can help you zone heat
your home to reduce your heating bills.
Rather than heating air and then circulating it
throughout the house, radiant heat system
warms objects like carpet, furniture and even
people. It takes less energy to transfer heat
directly to people, better than filling the entire
room with heated air like a forced-air furnace.
Some manufacturers offer the product in a
portable mat that can be spread under wall-to-
wall carpet. This is a great option for
apartment or condo dwellers. These mats can
be moved with you to the next apartment.
