



While laminate isn’t as good as tile, it is fire resistant, and there have been few complaints from people about laminate flooring. Laminate is a fairly safe choice, no matter what type of heating you have. If you do anything right, invest in a good contractor. Note that if done by a trained professional, any type of flooring is safe. While you can use any flooring to cover radiant floor heating, certain floorings are more efficient than others. Not to mention there are certain climates where electricity isn’t quite as reliable as we’d wish. If you live off-the-grid, air-heated flooring is one of your only options. However, it doesn’t retain heat, so this is only useful during the day. The only benefit is that it can be paired with solar-powered systems, making it the greenest option. Air-HeatedĪir-Heated radiant flooring is rarely used. Water-powered heating is ideal because of its balance between cost, safety, and eco-friendly values.
RADIANT HEAT FLOORING INSTALL
But if you can install one, it’s definitely worth it. If you don’t have a boiler, you’ll need a safe place for one. Hydronic radiant floor systems pump heated water from a boiler through tubing that is laid underneath your flooring. Our next system is called hydronic radiant floor heating, and it is by far the most popular type of floor heating. If they do, and you have concrete floors, you can heat the floor and turn the heating off. This heating system is ideal if your electric company charges for time of use. ElectricĮlectric radiant floor heating uses electric cables that are built into the floor. Each one comes with its own set of pros and cons, so perhaps another type of radiant floor heating is right for you. While most people use one type of radiant floor heating, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other options. There are many reasons this is better than traditional heating systems, which is what we’ll get into later.īut first, let’s talk about the different types of radiant floor heating and which ones are the most popular. The heat is conducted through the flooring instead of through the air. Radiant heating is what you feel when the sun shines down on you when you’re standing by the window or the heat you feel from a stovetop when hovering above. Today, we use infrared radiation to heat with radiant flooring. How Radiant Floor Heating Works Image from Pinterest. From there, radiant heating slowly evolved into what we have today. But their way was forgotten and radiant flooring ceased to exist until the early 1900s when the first type of radiant heating was invented via radiant panels. They would even leave space for the heat to travel in slots in the walls. Then, a “praefurnium,” or wood-fired furnace, was put below the floor. The Romans had underfloor heating called a “hypocaust.” Their floor was raised with pillars with spaces left between them. We’ve come a long way since then, but the gist is the same. In Ancient Rome, slaves would stoke fires underneath elevated flooring to warm their masters. Radiant floor heating has been around for thousands of years. History Of Radiant Floor Heating Image from Flickr. Find out if it’s right for you today with this guide, including the pros and cons of such a heating system. This type of heating is quickly becoming the hottest way to heat any house. But with those heating systems come an array of issues. Most houses use furnaces, fireplaces, or gas heaters to heat their home. Radiant floor heating is a trending solution to many standard heating problems.
