No other heating system is as comfortable.
No other heating system is as efficient.

Although hot water can be used with virtually any type of heating system, including forced air and baseboard, we want to talk specifically about radiant floor heating. Whether you are planning new construction or want to improve comfort and reduce costs by updating the heating system in your existing home, business, church or any other facility, you should consider the advantages of installing a radiant floor heating system. With this heating system heat radiants from the the entire floor. No other heating system is as comfortable and no other heating system is as efficient.

Improved Comfort
To understand why radiant floor heating is more comfortable we have to understand the human body. Our body temperature is the highest in our head and circulation is poorest in our feet. Look at the Ideal Heating Curve for the Human Body - Chart #1. The human body is most comfortable with a temperature of 75 degrees F at our feet and a temperature of 68 degrees F at our head. With this temperature curve our feet and bodies are warm while our head is slightly cooler. We feel warm, comfortable and alert.

Now, look at the Radiant Floor Heating curve - Chart #2. Radiant floor heating is the only heating system that gives you a room temperature curve that matches the Ideal Heating Curve for the human body. Warm at the floor and cooler at our head.

Chart #3 illustrates the room temperature curve you get with forced air heating. It is the exact opposite of what the human body requires. With forced air we can have cold feet, an uncomfortably cool body and we feel tired because the air is too hot in the top half of the room.

During the heating season ceiling fans should not be used with radiant floor heating. The moving air caused by the ceiling fan will change the room temperature curve. Comfort and efficiency will be reduced.


Why Heating Costs are Lower with Radiant Floor Heating In almost every building heat loss is greatest in the top half of the rooms. With forced air heating systems - Chart #3, your heat is concentrated in the top half of the room so you naturally lose more heat. With radiant floor heating - Chart #2, your heat is concentrated in the bottom half of the room where the people are and where heat loss is lower.

For example, the top half of 32' x 48' building with an 8' wall height has 1536 sq ft of ceiling plus 640 sq ft of top wall area for a total of 2176 sq ft of heat losing exterior surface area. The bottom half of the building only has 640 sq ft of heat losing exterior surface area. When you compare 2176 sq ft to 640 sq ft it is easy to understand why Radiant Floor Heating is more efficient.

With Radiant Floor Heating you also eliminate the air currents which chill the body. With less heat loss, no chilling air currents, and because the heat is concentrated where the human body needs it the most, you can set the thermostat 4 degrees F lower and you'll be more comfortable.

Compare Chart #2 and CHart #3. If the thermostats were mounted at head level the one of Chart #3 with forced air heating would be set at 76 degrees F while the thermostat on Chart #2 with Radiant Floor Heating would only be set at 69 degrees F. As a result heating costs are generally 20% to 30% lower.

Savings of 20% - 30% are indeed significant and provide a positive payback, but savings will be even greater in buildings with ceiling heights over 8'. Homes with cathedral ceilings, office buildings, shops, manufacturing plants, auditoriums, barns, warehouses and churches will all realize greater savings. One church in Pennsylvania reported energy savings of over 60% after installing Radiant Floor Heating.

A local equipment operator was able to drop the temperature in his shop by 10 degrees F with Radiant Floor Heating. With the old style heating system the thermostat had to be set at 75 degrees F when the grader was brought in from clearing winter roads. in the morning there would still be snow and ice on the grader and what had melted off would be lying as water on the floor.

With Radiant Floor Heating the thermostat is now set a 65 degrees F and in the morning there is no snow or ice left on the grader. It is warm and dry and so is the floor. It is better for the equipment and the service crew are now comfortable when they work on the floor.

With Radiant Floor Heating the entire floor is a radiator. Because of the large area radiating heat the temperature of the circulating water is lower. This also helps reduce energy consumption.

Other Advantages
No Cold Spots:
With Radiant Floor Heating heat radiates from the entire floor. You get a warm floor and even heat without hot or cold spots.

Quiet and Invisible:
Radiant Floor Heating is the invisible heating system. You can't see it, you can't even hear it. There's no fa, no ducts in the floor and no radiators along the wall. You'll have total freedom in arranging the furniture in your home and the equipment in your shop. It's the only heating system you don't think about when it is in operation.

Cleaner:
With no radiators or duct work to attract and trap dust you'll have less cleaning and there won't be any germs, allergens or dust blowing from room to room.

Radiant Floor Heating also makes ceramic tile floors more feasible. Tile flooring is the easiest to care for and it doesn't trap dust or allergens so it is healthier.

Tile flooring is one of the most durable, longest lasting floors available. But in our northern climate people have been reluctant to use tile flooring because it can be cold. With Radiant Floor Heating and tile you'll have the best of both. A barefoot warm floor that's more durable, longer lasting and a lot easier to care for.

Healthier
Radiant Floor Heating doesn't dry out the air like a forced air system and there's less heat loss when doors are opened in the winter. you can even open windows for ventilation without significant heat loss. People with allergies have fewer problems with Radiant Floor Heating. The warm floors also stay dryer, especially noticeable in bathrooms and entrances as well as in garages and shops.

Warm Window Sills:
As part of our ongoing research a heating loop was installed in every window sill of a 15 year old home in which radiant floor heating was installed. Because the home has not yet gone through a heating season we are not able to report the results. However, the window sill loop is expected to help reduce window condensation as well as the cool drafts which come down from windows.


Installing Radiant Floor Heating

Radiant Floor Heating can be installed in any new or existing building. Residential, commercial, public or agricultural. It works with all types of floor coverings from carpet and vinyl to ceramic tiles and hardwood. Radiant Floor Heating can be installed in any floor - concrete or suspended wood floor.

With suspended wood floors the radiant floor heating pipes can be placed either above or below the floor.
When placed below the floor the heating pipes are generally run along both sides of each floor joist. A layer of insulation is then placed under the joists. Either fibreglass insulation, with a reflective side, or astrofoil insulation is used. Astrofoil is very light weight, easy to work with, only 1/4" thick and it has a down insulation value of R15.

A warm cavity is created between the joists. Heat then radiates evenly up through the floor. Any type of floor covering can be used. When different combinations of floor coverings are used, such as carpet in the master bedroom and ceramic tile in the master bath, the rooms should be zoned separately. While below the floor installations are popular in new construction many homeowners are choosing this type of installation for existing homes as well.

In 2 story homes or homes with finished basements, the drywall is simply removed from the ceiling of the lower floor to give you access to the joists. It is relatively fast. Two carpenters should be able to remove the drywall from the ceilings of an average sized home in half a day. If the drywall is cut with a utility knife there won't be a lot of dust and if the ceiling is cut an inch or two away from the walls, the walls won't be damaged and the drywall taper won't have to redo the top corner joint.

When installed above the floor, the floor is strapped with spacer boards. Reflective foil is placed between the strapping, the heating pipe is laid in place and a second floor is installed on top of the strapping. In some installations the heating pipe can be laid in place above the wood floor with a layer of concrete poured on top. Although lightweight, self levelling concrete mixes are available the floor must be engineered to support the weight.

In new construction with concrete floors the heating pipes are laid in place and generally tied to the re-bar prior to pouring the concrete.

With existing concrete floors the heating pipes are simply laid in place on top of the old floor and a new layer of concrete is poured on top.