Facts About Radiant Floor Heating Systems

Installation and Configuration

Most radiant floor heating systems come in one of 2 varieties: Electric radiant heating, and hydronic radiant heating.

Electric Radiant Heating

Lengths of flexible wires laid under the flooring (including ceramic tiles, hardwood, and wood laminate), or mats in which the wires are embedded. The wires have a protective coating and no electrical connections in the floor itself.

Whether the wires are laid by themselves or embedded into mats, the wiring is spaced evenly to heat the entire floor. Leads are run inside the wall to the thermostat, which is used to control the heat level. Multiple wires can be used to create zones in your home to heat certain areas, and programmable thermostats allow you to program specific temperatures for specific times of day in specific rooms.

Hydronic Radiant Heating

In hydronic radiant heating, a series of pipes circulate heated water throughout your home underneath the flooring. The water can be heated by a gas or propane water heater, an electric boiler, solar heating, or any other method of heating water. Hydronic heating is more complex and and can be more expensive to install than electric heating.