Warmzone Blog

There’s something that just about every homeowner in a snowy or cold area of the country fears.  Their home heating system going on the blink during a doozy of a winter storm (whether that’s ice, snow, or just plain cold cold cold weather). You know it’s going to happen at the worst possible time, after all, so why not beat it to the punch and upgrade your home heating systems to radiant heat.

To learn more about the heating systems that are available today, then keep on reading. A boiler works by heating hot water and then distributing it to radiators, baseboard units or radiant heat tubes that can be placed under the floor. Though not as popular as furnaces, a boiler heating system can be very efficient and makes an excellent choice if you do not need central air. Meanwhile, a furnace – powered by gas, electricity, oil or propane — uses a fan to drive hot air through your ductwork and into your home. The biggest issue with these types of forced air heating systems is their decreased efficiency.

Alternative heating systems are quickly becoming more common, including radiant baseboards, radiant floor heating systems and even radiant ceiling heaters. Many of these new heating systems are using electricity instead of natural gas or heating oil, which allows them to operate much more cleanly, and efficiently.

Heating Systems Tip: Radiant floor heating has always been considered a distinctive quality, so if you are building a new home or remodeling any of your floors, now is the time to add an under floor heating system for a new level of comfort and warmth.

You’ve been doing research, research, research because you’re looking to warm your floors with radiant heaters, but are finding it hard to narrow down what kind of radiant heaters to install. There are dozens of products available to purchase, and there are even more companies telling you that their product is the best.

Electric cable heating systems, often called line- or high-voltage systems, are gaining popularity and are ideal for heating smaller areas like bathrooms, kitchens, and sun rooms. These systems are comprised of a thermostat and a heating cable. These radiant heater systems are oftentimes less expensive, and give the ability to customize a layout that will heat every square inch of your floor.

Every available radiant heater cable system is equally effective, so when determining which system to purchase, you should look at the warranty of the product, along with the ease of installation. Some cables must be embedded in a separate layer of concrete or mortar, whereas other systems can simply be installed in the thinset. Most cable systems can only be installed under tile. However, on others, if the cable is embedded in mortar or concrete, any flooring can be installed on top of the concrete.

Radiant Heaters Tip: When heating smaller areas, it is nearly impossible to beat the simplicity and price of an electric cable radiant heating system.

Here we are in mid-January and it seems like springtime is miles off. But just because it’s wintertime doesn’t mean you can’t protect your garden or lawn. In the colder months, heating systems are the best option to melt the ice and to protect your landscaping. Heating systems like heated driveways do more than just melt snow and ice from driveways and sidewalks. They also help preserve your landscaping while avoiding the use of harmful salt and chemicals.

You don’t have to look hard to see that the potential damage done to lawns and landscaping by salt spread over asphalt and sidewalks to melt the ice is notable. The sodium chloride burns the plants and gets absorbed by the plants’ root systems. This just means you’ll have damage to repair in the springtime — so easily avoided with the use of heating systems.

The solution isn’t to use alternate “ice-melt” products, which don’t work as effectively as outdoor heating systems. You see, these systems don’t use any harmful chemicals, and they melt the ice so effectively that you don’t have to do any of the work.

Heating Systems Tip: These heating systems may be state-of-the-art technology but easy to install for any contractor or do-it-yourself expert.

And you thought your homework days were long over! But now you learn that choosing the best heating systems for a new home or to add supplemental heat to a cold spot in your home now takes a little homework. The radiant consultants and designers at Warmzone have been trained in all of the latest heating systems to properly assess your project and prescribe a system that will add value to your home within your budget.

While fire places and coal burning stoves become less popular, other alternative heating methods are quickly becoming more common. Traditional furnaces as a primary heating system are now being challenged from radiant baseboards, radiant floor heating systems and even radiant ceiling heaters. Many of these new heating systems are using electricity instead of natural gas or heating oil. Not only does this cut down on heating costs, but it is also more efficient and eco-friendly as well. Radiant heating systems are quickly replacing traditional furnaces.

The cold weather has arrived–with a vengeance. Did you start thinking about heating system solutions for the winter months or are you just going to spend the season shivering and wishing you’d planned ahead? Leaving decisions like this to the last moment (for example, when your furnace up and dies in the middle of a brutal Nor’easter) causes unnecessary stress, expense, and, most obviously, a freezing cold house.

Heating Systems Tip: The bottom line here is that whether you are building a new home from the ground up, preparing to replace your heating system, or renovating an older home, knowledge of available heating systems on the market today is helpful.

Maybe you’ve had it in the back of your mind that, someday, you’d like to upgrade the heating in your home, or at least in some areas of your home. After all, you might have spent all of the winter thus far avoiding your basement, a spare room, or a guest bath because it’s just too cold in those areas to spend very long. You never quite got around to the upgrades, because you might’ve assumed the cost would be too high to be worth it.

The reality is that it’s actually rather cost-effective to add heating to a small area, using a electric radiant heat system. Because electric radiant heat systems are easy to install and have a very low start-up cost, they offer more cost-savings than you might assume. An electric thermostat is all that is required and costs only about $100-$200.

Another advantage of electric radiant floor heating over a warm-water system is the floor build up or height. Floor build up can be from as little as 2mm. The electric cables are usually installed onto an insulation board or directly onto the subfloor or padding (under carpet or laminate), then the floor covering is placed directly over the heating system or thinset.

Electric Radiant Heat Tip: The typically speedy installation time of electric radiant floor heating is worth noting; it generally only takes one half-day to a day depending on thesize of the area in which to install the system.

What a shame it would be to hide those pretty floors.  Don’t cover your ceramic tile, marble, or stone floors with rugs—install radiant floor heating and show your floor’s beauty and allow them to give you the heat you want at the same time! The feeling of warmth under your feet when it’s cold and snowing outside is like no other.

You’ll also find that radiant floor heating also offers you complete control of temperature room by room in your house.  Not only that, its operation is completely quiet. Radiant floor heating has even heat distribution and will not effect the furniture placement as it uses no radiators or heat vents. It is easy to install, is very energy efficient.  There are also no filters to change or clean, which saves you additional time and money. There is also no dust or dirt forced into your air to breathe, which is extremely beneficial for those who suffer from allergies.

So how does radiant floor heating work?  It simply heats the floor with electrical resistance cables that are spread evenly and sandwiched between layers of durable fabric. All these options are easy to install yourself or can be quickly installed by your flooring installer. If you choose to install the system yourself, you will want to have a certified electrician hook up the controls to a programmable thermostat.

Radiant Floor Heating Tip:  Not only is radiant floor heating more comfortable, but the costs of operating radiant floor heating systems are nominal as compared to other heating options.