When you live in an area where winters get awfully cold, you know how unpleasant it can be to wake up in the morning and step onto a cold floor. Of course, you can always wear slippers or socks, but you might think it would be nicer to find a way to prevent the floors from getting cold in the first place. This is one reason why radiant floor heating has started to become popular in recent years.
Radiant floor heating systems consist of mats with heated coils that are installed beneath your flooring. Not only does this make your floors nice and warm, it helps to heat the rest of the room, too. If you’re trying to sell a home, many home buyers will see heated flooring as being quite the luxury, even if it’s only installed in one room.
In addition to making your home feel very luxurious, radiant floor heating has a lot of other benefits to offer. Radiant floor heating can heat a room more evenly than a standard furnace so it’s possible you might actually feel more comfortable even with the temperature set at a lower level. Since radiant floor heating doesn’t work by pushing air through ducts and vents, you don’t have to worry about dust, dirt, and other debris getting into the air, which is great if you have problems with allergies. And since you don’t have to worry about blocking vents, you’ll be able to place your furniture anywhere you like.
The biggest drawbacks to using radiant floor heating are that it’s expensive to install and that installing it will involve tearing up your existing flooring. Since radiant floor heating can’t be installed without disturbing your existing flooring, it’s best to have it installed if you’re already planning on replacing your flooring. So not only do you have to consider the costs of having the heating system installed, which can be expensive on its own, you’ll also have to factor in the costs of replacing the flooring, too. If you ever have problems with your radiant floor heating system, it will be more difficult to repair since flooring will have to be removed again to access the necessary parts.
While radiant floor heating can give you more flexibility in terms of how you can arrange your furniture since you won’t have to worry about blocking vents, you have less flexibility in terms of flooring types and floor coverings if you want to get the most out of your radiant floor heating system. Ceramic tile flooring is ideal for radiant floor heating since it conducts heat very well, which is why radiant floor heating tends to be popular to use in bathrooms. You can also use vinyl, laminate, and carpeting. However, carpet can be difficult to use since thicker carpets and padding can insulate the room from the floor, making it less effective. If you’re considering radiant floor heating, tell the person you’re thinking of having install it what type of floor covering you’re planning on using. They may be able to make some adjustments to make the heating system more effective or let you know if there might be a better option.
