Picture this: you wipe the cold out of your eyes as your alarm clock beeps and you sit up at the edge of your bed placing your feet on the floor. You quickly pull them back up however, because temperatures dropped significantly overnight leaving your floors feeling ice cold. You begin to question why you need to get up and why you even have a job in the first place and wish that you could just stay in your warm, cozy bed all day long.
Why You Should Install Radiant Floor Heating in Your Home
Now that we’ve set the scene for you, of a cold winter morning, you’re probably ready to investigate some of the reasons why you should consider having radiant floor heat installed throughout your home. Well, this would eliminate that “feet-on-the-cold-floor” problem you’re facing and would provide a number of additional benefits as well!
Main Types of Radiant Floor Heat
This type of home heating system comes in three main types. Each option comes with its own benefits and it all depends on what you have access to in your home as well as some of your personal preferences.
- Air-Heated: this type of radiant floor heating uses air to warm the floors which then translates to warmer living spaces of the house. Since air cannot hold a great deal of heat however, this type of heating system is not very energy efficient when it comes to residential applications.
- Electric: electric radiant floors generally utilize a system of mats with electrically conductive plastic mounted to the subfloor in order to produce heat. Keep in mind though, that electricity can be expensive, especially during peak hours of the day, so if you plan on heating your home between the hours of 6a.m. and 9p.m. this may not be the most cost-effective option to choose from.
- Hydronic: these systems are the most popular and for good reason — they tend to be the most cost-effective. Hydronic radiant floor heating systems work by pumping heated water from a boiler through a configuration of tubing placed beneath the floor. Some hydronic radiant heat systems even allow for zoning which allows you to have greater control over how you heat your home, thus saving you even more money in the long run.
Benefits of Radiant Floor Heating
Although we mentioned a few of the benefits of radiant floor heating systems above, there are some additional reasons to consider this type of heating system.
- Both electric and hydronic systems flow in a large area beneath the floor allowing a larger area to be heated. Why does this matter? This process leads to a more even spread of heat around the heated are of the house which will make your home feel more comfortable compared to a forced air heating system.
- Another advantage worth mentioning is that radiant heating systems reduce the need for heating systems to operate all day and all night long.
- Hydronic systems that push warm water through the pipes under the floor usually require a lower temperature of water to be pumped through the system compared to what’s needed to heat air in a forced air heating system.
All in all, radiant heating is one of the most efficient ways of heating a building or house in an environmentally friendly way. In colder climates, such as those around Aurora, Illinois, installing underfloor heating can be a cost-effective way of ensuring a room stays warmer throughout the cold winter months compared to the more commonplace forced air heating systems that suffer from a large amount of lost heat as air is pushed through air ducts.
Radiant heating is a great upgrade to have in any home or office. Let the team of experts at Prestige Plumbing, Heating & Cooling walk you through the process and offer estimates. Call us today at 630-557-1517 630.801.8600 or contact us online to get started with service in Aurora!