![]() In-floor radiant heat is produced either with a hydronic system that pumps hot water through plastic tubing or with an electric system, where the heat is created with cables, similar to a heating pad. Plus, you’ve probably noticed that when your feet are warm, you tend to feel warm all over. Infrared radiation warms objects and people, not just the air, so it’s more efficient at bringing surfaces like the floor closer to what your body perceives as the temperature sweet spot: around 70 degrees F. Radiant heating works great with ceramic tile flooring, but not as well with other types of flooring.Step outside into full sun on a cold winter day, and you’ll feel warm even when the air is chilly-that’s radiant heat. But that's not the ideal choice.įor those who want to install an air barrier under the joists, rigid foam foil-faced polyiso with taped seams is a better option and foremost, consider a higher amount of insulation (the double or more), especially in colder climates, above unheated basements or crawlspaces. Some people and builders use to install 3 inches (75 mm) of fiberglass of insulation between the joists and stapled plastic (polyethylene) to cover the insulation. In thin-slab and plate-type systems (wood-frame floors), also consider using rigid foam insulation. Insulation of Thin-slab and plate-type radiant floor heating systems (Wood-frame floors) XPS is widely used, but you can aksi use other high density foams. The ideal varies with climate, but some energy experts recommend up to 4”/100 mm in cold climates. In the slab-on-grade system the sub-slab insulation is typically provided by extruded-polystyrene, and involves not only the areas under the slab but also any exposed edge.īuilders and manufacturers often recommend 1”/25 mm of XPS insulation, which is too little. ![]() Whether the radiant floor heating system is electric or hydronic, you should install enough insulation beneath it, and block as much as possible heat loss through the adjacent walls. The role of insulation in a radiant floor heating is obvious: to reduce "back losses", that is, the heat that goes in the wrong directions.Įven reasonably insulated floors can lose significants amounts of heat to the ground or to basements and crawlspaces. Insulation to control back losses in slab-on-Grade floor heating The tubing circuits and the manifold stations, where each tubing circuit begins and ends, should be properly designed, ideally on a room-by-room basis. Whatever your choice, proper planning and attention to details are crucial. Though simple in their basics, the success of any radiant heating system relies heavily on details. radiant floor heating sucess depends on Insulation and other detailsĬopper tubing is a thing of the past, and a poor choice compared to new PEX (polyethylene), PEX composite and polybutylene tubing. Prices per square foot are somewhere between those of slab-on-grade and plate-type radiant floor (often above $5 per square foot). Poured gypsum-based underlayments are a very common option. The most common approach to install this system is to fasten tubing to the subfloor and to cover it with a thin layer (up to 1,5 inches/2,5 cm) of poured underlayment. This system requires a closer network of tubing and higher water temperatures than slab-type systems.ģ) Thin-slab radiant floor-heating systems are a good alternative to the more common slab-on-grade systems in wood frame floors. These systems rely on aluminum plates to transfer heat into the floor the plates (and the tubing) can be installed below (the more common option) or above plywood subflooring. In fact, modern hot water radiant heating systems can be of three types: the common and traditional 1) slab-on-grade system, based on thick concrete slabs, but also the 2) thin-slab system and the 3) plate-type system (based on heat-transfer aluminum plates).Īll rely on tubing circuits laid underneath the floor covering and all receive hot water from a boiler, which circulates through the tubing circuits before returning to the boiler to reheat.ġ) The slab-on-grade floor system is the most common and the most economical radiant heating system whenever a concrete is already planned, the cost of floor heating is basically the cost of installing the tubing in the concrete slab and, of course, the cost of slab insulation (insulation is critical for the performance of the system, including electric radiant systems).Ģ) Plate-type radiant heating is the best choice for retrofit situations. Three types of Hot-water radiant floor heating But radiant floor heating can also involve thin slabs and metal plates for wood floors. Hydronic (hot water) radiant floor heating is mostly associated to thick concrete slabs.
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