The middle of summer may seem an unlikely time to be thinking about heated floors. But if you’re remodeling or starting new construction, now’s the time.
“A lot of people think heated floors are only for wintertime use,” says Little Rock builder Fred Lord. “But in the summertime when you’ve got your air conditioner on, the warm floor feels good in the morning when you walk on it.” Any type of flooring material can be heated, but since natural stone and ceramic tile are particularly cool underfoot, they’re the most likely candidates for heated flooring systems.
WHAT IS RADIANT HEATING ? Radiant heating systems involve supplying heat directly to the floor of a house.
According to the U. S. Department of Energy, radiant heating is when you can feel the warmth of a hot stovetop element from across the room. Radiant floor heating systems depend largely on radiant heat transfer — the delivery of heat directly from a heated surface to the occupants and objects in the room.
Radiant heating is usually more efficient than forced-air heating because no energy is lost through ducts.
Newer systems operate much like an electric blanket, with thin heating wires embedded in a durable mat that is laid under a flooring surface.
WHO’S THE CUSTOMER ? About 6 million square feet of electric radiant heating elements were sold in North America in 2004, an estimated increase of 21. 4 percent above 2003, according to the Radiant Panel Association based on Loveland, Colo. (www. radiantpanelassociation. org ). Not only is the radiant industry in a continuing growth cycle, it is accelerating. “Heated floor systems are the one thing that I have put in new or remodeled homes that no one has been sorry about,” Lord says. “Most of our installations are in master bathrooms, but kitchens, hallways and other bathrooms are also popular.” Once considered a luxury item, electric radiant heated floors are now on many homeowners’ lists of must-have comforts, thanks in part to their new ease of installation, reliability and cost effectiveness.
“I think one reason these systems are gaining popularity is because they’re a lot safer to install than the older systems,” says Little Rock electrician Robert Bachelor. “The new mats are manufactured better and you can walk on them without fear that the electrical heating elements will break. The older systems were made up of wires that you had to nail down at each end. They were kind of like phone wires, and it wasn’t safe to walk on them. It was too easy to break the wire or short them out. Newer systems are custom manufactured to fit your bathroom, and you just roll them out like a rug and run two wires to a switch. They’re faster and safer to install.” WHAT’S GOOD ? BAD ? In addition to ease of installation, which can be done by a professional installer or a handy do-it-yourselfer with a little help from an electrician, there are other advantages to radiant floor heating systems.
They add heat where it’s needed — near the floor, not the ceiling — and most systems come with a programmable thermostat. “The Nuheat system I installed in my home can be set between 88 degrees and 102 degrees,” Lord says. “I started out with mine set at 88 degrees. It took the chill off but it didn’t feel warm, so I reset the thermostat to 93 degrees. I keep it there all year long. Most people program their systems to come on for a couple of hours in the morning, so they’re typically not on all day. It’s pretty energy efficient, too. I bet it doesn’t use any more energy than a couple of light bulbs. None of my customers have noticed a marked increase in their electric bills from using a radiant floor heating system.” On the downside, they are relatively expensive to install. “They cost between $ 12 and $ 15 per square foot, which adds up to about $ 2, 000 for a master bathroom,” Lord says. “Some people just don’t want to pay the price. It’s like color television [used to be ], people have to get used to it; but once they try it, they want it.” HOW IS IT INSTALLED ? Individual manufacturers of electric radiant heating systems should be contacted for specific installation instructions, but here are some basic guidelines from Nuheat: 1. The first step is to draw a sketch of the room locating doorways, toilet, tub, sink, cabinets, and power locations. Measurements of the perimeter of the room and length and width should be noted. The drawing is then faxed to the manufacturer for review and manufacture. Mats of many sizes are carried in stock at local distributors, or they can be custom made.
2. After receiving the radiant heat mat, dry fit it to the room, making sure it provides proper coverage. Then clean the subfloor of any debris, making it ready for installation. Check insulation and resistance with an ohmmeter per the manufacturer’s instruction, to ensure that the mat is working properly, before proceeding with installation.
3. Next, prepare thin set and apply with a square notch trowel to the area being covered with the radiant floor-heating mat. Place mat on fresh thin set and press entire surface with a rubber grout, making sure that there is 100 percent contact between the heating mat, the thin set and the sub-floor. Conduct insulation and resistance tests.
4. If installing a floor-sensing thermostat, the probe is installed at this point, placing it in between two of the mat wires about 12 inches onto the mat and taping it into place. It’s recommended that an electrician install the circuits and thermostat per manufacturer’s instructions. Allow the thin set and radiant floor mat to dry overnight before proceeding with tile installation.
Nuheat offers a 25-year warranty on warm tile floors and 10 years on warm laminate and engineered wood flooring.
For more information about radiant floor heating systems see www. radiantpanelassociation. org. For information about Nuheat go to www. nuheat. com. Coming next week: Weighing in on the subject of scales.
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