Radiant Under Floor Heating 101
Elevating the heating in your space doesn’t only mean adding a fireplace or more space heaters. Heating is considered a priority at home in the UK, where coats and mufflers are almost part of the fashion trends year in and year out. Radiant Floor Heating, is well, another innovative way to do it. This heating method works in an unusual way but is highly efficient. As opposed to forced air coming out of one small vent and trying to heat a huge area, Radiant floor heating is a brilliantly efficient heat-distribution system that makes use of the whole floor to heat your space.
Goodbye Old School Heating
Radiant floor heating – how exactly does it work? Providing warmth for a house from underneath the floors, is what this innovation in home heating does. It’s an efficient method of heating that works in a curious way — hydronics or water going through tubing in the floor. The water in the tubing radiates the heat into the structure, which makes it an efficient and cost-effective way to heat a house. Thanks to flexible plastic tubing called PEX (polyurethane), which is durable tubing that has a lifespan of more than 100 years, Hydronics is fast becoming more popular in residential homes. Serpentine underneath the floor while it uses the whole floor as a heat-distribution system, is what it does.
The reason why new homeowners like this radiant heating system is its comfort and efficiency. It’s an extremely effective method because the whole floor is used. Some homeowners prefer it because of it’s aesthetic quality as well. No vents or radiators are in sight as the heating system remains hidden beneath the floor. This is a huge advantage when it comes to interior design.
Typically, the types of Radiant Flooring Systems that can be applied are three. First, you have the Radiant Air Floors, which do not hold a large amount of heat, and for this reason they are used mainly in commercial buildings. Secondly, the electrical Radiant Floors, on the other hand, do a great job of heating any kind of home, but they’re extremely expensive. Lastly, the Hydronic or Liquid Floors, often cost less and are therefore used more often in residential construction.
Heating It Like the Jetsons
That a radiant floor heating system, is different from a traditional centralized heating system and you may need to hire experts with experience in this area, is something to be aware of when installing this one.
It’s helpful to break it down into two main categories, which are wet or dry – when deciding which is best for your needs. Most commonly used in the ground floor and there are five steps to the wet installation type on the ground level:
1. Heat the area to be excavated. This will be the sub-base.
2. A layer of insulation is to be added to create a base over which the rest of the floor system will lay.
3. Rebar needs to be added to the space. This will add strength to the floor system.
4. Tie the plastic tubing, after adding it, to the rebar for support.
5. Using concrete, create a slab foundation for the floor.
On the other hand, Dry Installation is most often used when installing a radiant floor heating system on the upper floors, or already laid concrete surfaces. Suspending underneath the subfloor, between the joists, the tubing or a mat with the tubes already in place – is the way this is usually done.
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