Radiant floor heating (RFH) is a fundamentally different approach to heating your home in cold weather, although the concept is by no means new. It involves installing electric heating coils or tubes carrying hot water tubes under the floor. The effect is dramatic. The heat emanating from the floor warms your entire house and makes it feel cozy and comfortable.
If you compare the benefits, radiant heating flooring is a great alternative to other heating systems, such as electric or gas furnaces. It is best for new homes, but old homes can also be retrofitted. Here are 5 reasons you will want to have RFH in your home this winter:
Heat has a natural tendency to rise: With other heating systems, the floor is the last area to become heated because warm air goes up and not down. As a result, even though the air in your room is warm, the floor is still cold. RFH solves this problem by heating the floor first and then heating the rest of the room. This happens naturally because the air that comes into contact with the floor becomes warm and rises up. At the same time cold air from above rushes down take its place. In this way, the whole space is quickly filled with warm air.
Even distribution of heat: RFH runs under the entire floor and heats every room in your house evenly by conduction. This ensures that there are no areas that are left out. It also means that all areas are heated evenly. The same cannot be said about other heating systems. You can even set up your RFH to heat different rooms at different temperatures.
Free of noise and allergen: Other heating systems depend on a furnace and ducts to carry heated air into the rooms. There are two problems with this. The furnace is often noisy and the air carries allergens, no matter how good the air filter is. Radiant heating flooring has no such problem. It is concealed under the floor and doesn’t make any noise. As it heats the floor by conduction, it doesn’t blow allergens into the room.
Cost-effective to operate: RFH is a more cost-effective option to operate than other types of heating systems if you combine the hydronic system with heat-retaining flooring tiles. Hydronic RFH uses a boiler fired by oil or gas to heat the water that is circulated through the tubes under the floor. Solar water heater s or geothermal systems can also be integrated to heat the water.
Compatible with any type of flooring: RFH can be installed under carpet, laminate, hardwood, tile, concrete and more, meaning it will not affect the aesthetics of your home. In addition, your heating system will be completely concealed under the flooring, and you will no longer need to worry about blocking air vents with your furniture.
Admittedly, radiant heating flooring has a higher installation cost, but the long term benefits far outweigh the costs. So install an RFH before winter to make sure that your home will be warm and cozy from the floor upwards no matter how cold it gets outside. Talk to the experts at Laird and Son to find more about installing RFH system in Toronto.