In-floor radiant heating efficient, easy to install
Q. I want to install electric in-floor radiant heating in several rooms. Can this type of heat be installed easily under carpet or hardwood? I know it is comfortable, but is it an efficient source of heat?
A. Any type of in-floor radiant heating is one of the most comfortable forms of heat for homes. The warm floor radiates heat to your body providing a similar feeling to standing in the sun on a cold day. Also, by keeping one's feet warm, the entire body feels warmer.
Most in-floor radiant heating is installed under ceramic tile or other masonry floor surface, but some types are designed for installation under low thermal mass flooring, such as carpeting, hardwood or laminate floating floors. When it is installed under these flooring materials, it provides quicker temperature response to changes in the thermostat setting.
Electric in-floor radiant heat is energy efficient. To determine if installing it will lower your utility bills depends upon the type of central heating system in your home and how you use the in-floor heating.
If you have a new efficient gas furnace, it will produce heat less expensively than the electric resistance heating from in-floor heating.
Overall energy savings from electric in-floor heating can still be realized because its radiant heat allows you to set the room temperature lower and still be comfortable. Also with electric in-floor heating, the temperature in each room is controlled by its own thermostat. This allows you to zone (different temperatures in different rooms) heat your house and save even more energy.
For rooms with carpeting, several companies offer radiant in-floor heating sheets or mats that are very thin. They use a mesh or foil material which is easy to install yourself. The manufacturers can help you determine how much heating and the size of the kit your room requires.
Heatizon uses a very safe low-voltage heating screen design which is easy to install. It is only one-eighth inch thick and is stapled in place on the floor. It has a 25-year warranty. A wafer-thin heating kit by Warmly Yours is designed to be placed between the carpeting and the pad.
Another design by Warmly Yours uses fiberglass-mesh embedded with heating cables which is ideal for under hardwood flooring. Check with the hardwood flooring manufacturer about the maximum allowable floor temperature to avoid overdrying the hardwood. This kit comes with its own sensitive thermostat for comfort and to protect the hardwood.
Most companies also offer the standard 120- or 240-volt heating cable.
This is often embedded in a thinset base and covered with ceramic tile for bathrooms. It provides very even and steady room temperatures.
The following companies offer electric infloor heating systems: Calorique, (800) 922-9276, www.calorique.com; Easy Heat, (800) 537-4732, www.easyheat.com; Heatizon, (888) 239-1232, www.heatizon.com; Orbit Mfg., (888) 895-0958, www.orbitmfg.com; Suntouch, (888) 432-8932, www.suntouch.net; and Warmly Yours, (800) 875-5285, www.warmlyyours.com.
Q. I have a hygrometer mounted on the wall in my living room and a humidity dial on furnace return duct humidifier. The wall hygrometer always reads a somewhat higher humidity level. Which is likely correct?
A. The accuracy of inexpensive hygrometers is not always good.
Even the one on your furnace may be off. The best way to set the humidity level is by comfort and the amount of condensation on windows.
The relative humidity near the furnace is often a little lower than in the rest of the house. This is because the air temperature around the furnace is warmer. For a given amount of moisture in the air, warmer air has a lower relative humidity.