What comes to mind when you think of in-floor heat? Oftentimes, we hear that it sounds nice but it is probably very expensive, not energy efficient and unnecessary because it only warms your feet. So, this month we are breaking down all the misconceptions and telling you some facts about in-floor heat that just might surprise you!
It can be a primary heat source
It doesn’t just warm your feet. In-floor heat uses radiant heat to heat objects in the room as opposed to a forced air system which heats the air. This means that the heat will radiate through the entire space heating it like a forced air system would. Therefore, you can use in-floor heat in place of your furnace sometimes and, depending on how many rooms in-floor heat is installed in, you could be using your furnace significantly less.
You can put it under almost any flooring…yes even carpet!
In-floor heat can be installed under tile, stone, concrete, laminate, floating floors and carpet. The only catch is that it does need to go underneath your flooring meaning the only way to install this is if you are installing a new floor. This can be installed in retrofit as well as new construction applications so long as the floor is being replaced.
There are also outdoor heating solutions but, in this blog post, we are focusing on indoor heating solutions. If you are interested in outdoor solutions, click here for our blog post dedicated to that!
It does certain things better than forced air
In-floor heat is quiet, non-allergenic and energy efficient. As opposed to a furnace which you can hear kick on, in-floor heat is very quiet. It also doesn’t blow dust or other particles around like a furnace does when the heat comes out of your vents. Electric floor-heating systems are also at least 25 percent more efficient than forced-air systems. Since they don’t allow the heat they give off anywhere to escape, almost all of the heat that an in-floor heating system gives off is retained. And the heat very uniform. With a forced air system, the heat comes into the rooms only where the vents are located which tends to leave cold spots. In-floor heating systems provide uniform heat throughout a space.
It requires no maintenance
Since the installation of in-floor heat, requires you to completely replace your flooring, it is understandable that a concern would be what kind of maintenance is required. But the good news is that once the product is installed and the flooring is laid, you don’t have to do any maintenance. And most of the time, in-floor heat comes with an extended warranty.
It is easy to control
In-floor heat is controlled via a thermostat on your wall just like any furnace would be. It also has the option to be controlled via an app on your smart device or set to a schedule if you’d like but it can also just be controlled by the thermostat if that is your preference. The ability to control it so easily means that you can turn it off or down whenever you’d like so it doesn’t run 24/7 unless you want it to.
If you have any questions or comments, contact Sasha at sasha@inthelitellc.com. As always, we hope we’ve made your day brighter!