Radiant floor heating is an efficient and comfortable way to heat your home. It provides superior comfort to compared forced air heating because the heat emanates from the floor, and rises. The air cools somewhat as it rises. This allows the temperature at the feet and legs to be slightly warmer than the temperature in the air around the head.
Radiant heat is produced from either hot water flowing through a pipe system in the floor (hydronic), or by electricity. Hydronic systems are more complicated to install than electric systems, because the pipes need to be set in the cement under the floor. Obviously, this is expensive to install, but hydronic floor heating has it's advantages over electric heating.
The water holds the heat much better than electric wiring does, and as a result, is more efficient. It also allows for a variety of ways to heat the water itself. You can use gas, propane, oil, electric or even solar heat. Any traditional heating method is a usable option for heating the water that runs through the underfloor tubing.
Electric heat functions like an electric blanket. As electricity flows through the wiring, it encounters resistance, which causes the wires to produce heat. This is much less expensive to install than hydronic heating. It's easy to find floor tiles with the electric wiring built in, ready to just place and install. These are easily available at just about any home improvement store.
Radiant floor heating is especially popular in rooms that are commonly floored with tile, such as kitchens and bathrooms, but it can be used in any room, or the house as a whole, with any type of floor covering, including hardwood and carpet. It's quite nice to walk into the bathroom on a cold day and notice nice, warm tile on your bare feet. This simply isn't available with forced air heat, unless you keep the temperature uncomfortably warm.
Another advantage of radiant floor heating over traditional forced air heat is that there is no air being pushed through the home. This seems almost obvious, but when air is being pushed through the home it can suck the humidity from the air, especially if there a a leak in the system allowing the dryer outside air to mix with the air being heated.
It also can distribute allergens through the air in your home. Of course, there is also the issue of feeling hot air blasting on you while the heat is on. If you're in the wrong part of the room, it's still too cold. In yet another equally wrong part of the room, you're being hit with hot, dry, allergen carrying air. Neither of these options are particularly comfortable.
Overall, radian floor heating may be a little more expensive to install, but in the long run, it will be a more efficient and cost effective way to heat your home. It will also be much more comfortable. That's a double bonus in my book. I would ask, what's the price you would put on your comfort, but the reality is that it's going to be a big savings in the end.
Alex Parry is the author of a heat exchanger cleaning equipment site, where you can also find more information on shell and tube heat exchanger design
