Is Radiant Flooring the Right Choice for Your Home?
The gentle, consistent heat radiant flooring provides can keep you comfortable even in the worst of Delaware and New Jersey’s winter storms. While this heating method has many benefits, it’s better suited to some situations than others.
Know Your Options
A radiant floor heating system is ideal if you’re looking for:
More even room temperatures
More energy-efficient heating thanks to more heat near floor level
No blowing air, meaning less circulating dust and allergens
Hydronic systems are the most common and energy-efficient option. In these systems, a pump circulates hot water from a boiler through tubing laid inside the floor. The efficiency of hydronic systems makes them a good fit for large areas such as the living room or the entire house.
Electric radiant floor heating is also available. These systems consist of mats containing electrical wires, which are attached to the subfloor underneath the floor covering. They’re cheaper to install than hydronic systems, but more expensive to run due to the relatively high cost of electricity. For this reason, they’re best used in small spaces such as the bathroom.
Where Radiant Flooring Works Best
It’s easiest to install radiant flooring during construction while the floor is being build. Installing a hydronic system in an existing home requires tearing out the floor and rebuilding it. An electric system can be installed without removing the floor, but only if you can get to the floor through the basement or crawl space.
Your choice of floor covering also affects how much you’ll benefit from radiant floor heating. These systems work best with ceramic, porcelain or stone tile, which conducts heat efficiently. Thin carpeting isn’t ideal, but can be used. Laminate flooring and solid wood, however, aren’t good choices because the flooring system’s heat can warp them. Thick carpeting is also best avoided because it conducts heat poorly.
At Sobieski Services, Inc., our goal is to help our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey learn more about energy and home comfort issues – especially HVAC and plumbing issues – so that they can save money and live in healthier, more comfortable homes.
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