Radiant Floor Heating

If you have never been recommended Radiant Floor Heating, you're in for something wonderful. It's the kind of heat that warms your home in all the right places. Silently. Invisibly. And oh so comfortably.

That's because Radiant Floor Heating works its warming magic where it can create maximum comfort - from the floor up. It's the flexible system that turns your floors into super-efficient radiators, providing a constant source of gentle, even heat and room-by-room control.

With Radiant Floor Heating, erratic temperature fluctuations, drafts and blowing dust are eliminated. Pleasantly absent, too, are the baseboards and ductwork necessary to other systems, allowing greater freedom in floor plan design as well as furniture placement.

A System Overview

With Radiant Floor Heating hot water tubes are attached to the subfloor and covered with the thermal mass that transfers heat to the room in much the same manner as a traditional radiator. Heat is generated by any hot water source.

	Concrete Floors In lower levels, tubing is tied to the reinforcing mesh before the concrete slab is poured.
	Lightweight Concrete, Suspended Floors Tubing is installed over suspended wood floors and covered with lightweight concrete.
	Heat Transfer Plates, Suspended Floors Tubing is placed over the suspended wood floor. The tubing rests in heat transfer plates that radiate heat uniformly from the system into the floor above. This method is an alternative to lightweight concrete and is excellent for remodeling projects or additions to your home.

Conventional systems allow heat to collect where it's most likely to escape - at the ceiling and along outside walls. With Radiant Floor Heating, the tempertature throughout the room remains nearly constant. This factor alone reduces heat loss by up to 25 percent when compared to similar homes using conventional heating methods.

Radiant Floor Heat Advantages At A Glance

• Concentrates heat at the floor, where it warms people and objects.
• Reduces energy costs by reducing heat loss.
• Warms without drafts that cool rooms and aggravate allergies.
• Provides a quieter home.
• Eliminates circulation of dust from room to room.
• Eliminates unsightly baseboards, hot-air registers and cold-air returns that interfere with furnishings placement.
• Provides smooth transitions between floor coverings of different heights, eliminating toe-stubbing, uneven floors.

Installing Air Conditioning Systems In Radiant Floor Heated Homes

Warm air rises - cool air falls. These basic laws of thermodynamics demonstrate that air conditioning (cooling) and heating are in fact distinctly opposite processess. That's why attempting to combine heating and cooling systems into one process can compromise the efficiency of either or both systems.

Given these facts and the challenge of maximum efficiency, logical design dictates that heat should originate from the floor; cooling from the ceiling. A central air cooling system independent of the heating system can be designed and installed for the most effective and economical use.

As a more economical option, a blower used only for air conditioning can be installed. With centrally located ducts routed through the attic to serve the rooms from the inside walls, installation costs less. This technique also eliminates unsightly ducts in the basement ceiling. Room air conditioners, the new ductless split systems and evaporative coolers are also a good alternative to central cooling.

Radiant Floor for the Do-It-Yourselfer

Infloor Warm Floor Kit Infloor installs easily in bathrooms, kitchens, porches or patios - whether you're building, remodeling or adding on. It makes lower levels more enjoyable - even during the coldest winter months - and Infloor is extremely energy efficient. The 110/120v electric cables attach quickly to wood or concrete subfloors, and depending on the size of the area, the floor can be wired and ready for installation of floor goods in as little as 60 minutes. With energy-efficient, low-wattage heating cables - the small kit consuming only 120watts - you'll enjoy luxuriously warm floors throughout your home for just cents a day.