One of our specialties at Sun Fire Plumbing is the installation of radiant floor heating systems. Radiant heating provides several benefits that no other heating system can provide. There are probably no other heating systems that provide the comfort radiant floors do. Just think about getting up in the middle of the night and walking in your bare feet on a nice warm floor. But not only is radiant heat comfortable it’s also good for our overall health while lowering your heating costs.
Benefits of Radiant Heated Floors
As we all know heat rises so the warmest part of your house with a radiant floor will be at your feet. This will reduce heat loss from your feet and legs, helping to maintain your body’s warmth. As the heat rises it will cool slightly with cooler temperatures around your head. Studies have shown that having cooler temperatures at your head level helps maintain alertness. The coolest temperatures are at the ceiling which means lower heating loss resulting in lower heating costs.
Radiant heat warms not just the air, but the surface of objects including the occupants in a room. This results in less heat escaping your body, keeping a regulated body temperature. This also helps people to feel comfortable with room temperatures 3-4 degrees F. lower than with other heating sources. This enables you to use less heat, once again resulting in lower heating costs.
Radiant Floor Heating Improves Allergies
Because radiant heat is one of the cleanest heating sources available as no dust, odors or germs are blown through the air as they are with forced air heating, it provides many health benefits. This is a lifesaver for people who suffer from allergies, especially allergies to dust. This system is also beneficial to families with young children, babies, and pets who spend more time on the floor.
What is Radiant Floor Heating
There are two types of radiant floor systems; hydronic and electric. Hydronic heating consists of polyethylene tubes with hot water running through them under your floor. And electric radiant floors work best in bathrooms but are usually too expensive for the rest of the house. These consist of RFH which use heat-conducting plastic mats that contain copper or nichrome resistance wires.
Radiant floor heating has been popular for heating bathrooms for years in Europe. We now have controllers that can help you regulate which rooms get the most heat during the day and control how they are heated. When combined with solar you can achieve the most cost savings and while enjoying all the benefits of a radiant floor.
There are no other heating systems that can match the efficiency, comfort level and cleanliness of a radiant floor system, while also giving you great health benefits.
I really like how the article mentions the fact that radiant heating systems don’t blow dust, allergens, or germs through the air like a conventional heating system. This could be really beneficial for someone who suffers from indoor allergies like myself. Combine this benefit with the energy saving benefits mentioned in the article, and radiant flooring seems like a very attractive heating option.
Thank you for your thoughts. Radiant heating is a very attractive heating option because of the reasons you stated and the simple fact it’s just very comfortable. Your house stays at a consistently pleasant temperature and the floors are never cold.
Floor heating seems like a great thing. I love the fact that it helps reduce heat loss through the feet and legs. My feet are always freezing in the winter, so that would be really great for me.
My parents recently moved to an area that is much colder during the winter than they’re used to, so they’ve been asking me for ways they can stay warmer. It is so true that underground heating reduces the need for air vents, which in turn helps people with allergies stay warm. It seems like a great option for anyone with a tendency towards cold lower extremities like my parents. I’ll be sure to share this information with them!
So happy this article helped you. The heating elements are under the floor not underground, but the overall effect of radiant heat helps keep the house at a comfortable uniform temperature. Because it is sometimes difficult to replace the floor, which one has to do in order to install radiant floors, you can also install radiant heating in the walls and ceiling, which is more cost effective with less impact on the house during installation. It works utilizing the same principle. Let us know if you need more information.
I hadn’t really thought about, but it does make sense that radiant floor heating could remove allergies. After all, you wouldn’t have to rely on an air vent to blow warm air and allergens into the room. It might also help with reducing heating costs in general since the heating from the floor would just rise anyways.
Your blog is found to be very useful as it has given me so nice information. Nice job my friend.
Thank you, we are glad you found it useful. If you would like more information please let us know.
It’s great to know that radiant floor heating is a good alternative for people who have allergies. Ever since we tried using that furnace heater we were gifted, we’ve been experiencing sneezing episodes more often, so we opted to return it to our friend. Now that I know a better heating system for our family, I’ll look for any HVAC contractors that can help us install some radiant floor heating.