Warmzone Blog

Fall is fast approaching, and as a result many of us will be scrambling to get our yard work done before the winter hits.  During the fall, I often find myself working outside in the yard - sometimes when its raining or snowing.  Let me tell you, nothing beats coming in from the outdoors soaking wet, and stepping onto the heated tile in our bathroom.  So the first thing I do is turn on the radiant floor heating systems to warm up our floors. Nothing beats cozy feet when you step out of a hot shower.
Delivering heat by air makes it easy to escape and increase your overall heat loss. Conversely, through radiant floor heating, the evenly distributed radiant heat allows homeowners to turn down the thermostat two to four degrees. This can reduce energy costs by 10-40% and can be verified with your local utility company. This setback to your thermostat can happen because a radiant floor heats from the ground up and delivers the heat through objects not air. This makes the lowest three feet of your home the most comfortable where a forced air system loses its heat to the ceiling and is required to heat from the top down.
Interestingly enough, the installation of radiant floor heating is not a new development in the housing industry. Heated floors have been installed under bathroom and kitchen tile in the United States for the past decade and the warming products continue to gain popularity.
Radiant Floor Heating Tip: Many in the kitchen and bath industry expect radiant floor heating to continue to play a big role among homeowners who crave comfort features.

Odds are good that if you were to open up any home decorating magazine, you’ll find photo after photo of gorgeous hardwood, marble, and tiled floors. The floors look so beautiful in the photos, you probably find yourself thinking how nice those floors would look in your home, until you remember about how cold it can be to walk on such floors in the wintertime. But did you know that this is precisely why so many homeowners are choosing radiant floor heating systems to warm up their floors.
The installation of radiant floor heating is not new: heated floors have been installed under bathroom and kitchen tile in the United States for the past 10 years and the warming products continue to gain popularity. Many in the kitchen and bath industry expect radiant floor heating to continue to play a big role among homeowners who crave comfort features. The Environ II is constructed of an ultra thin heating wire that exists in four layers of foil, quickly and efficiently distributing heat. A 120-square-foot coverage would probably cost about 40 cents a day, on average.

Radiant Floor Heating Tip: In addition to providing warmth, these new floor heating mats are energy efficient. Because it is under the carpet or floating wood and over the foam pad, it provides additional insulation from the cold sub-floor.

Don’t cover your beautiful ceramic tile, marble, or stone floors with rugs—now you can 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.
Radiant 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.

All too often, we hear of people needing to upgrading the heating system for a small space in their older home, yet postponing the project over and over for fear of the cost. Older homes often times don’t have the necessary heating ducts needed to install a traditional forced air system, and installing these ducts is very expensive. However, there is a very cost effective and efficient solution to this problem.
It’s just situations like these that electric radiant heat systems are great, and very cost-effective, solutions for smaller spaces (1-5 rooms). You’ll be surprised to learn how easy to install they are, and also have a very low start-up cost. An electric thermostat is all that is required and costs only about $100-$200.
Another advantage of electric radiant heating over a traditional warm-water heating 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: Warm up times for electric radiant heat systems are generally a lot quicker than “wet” systems because the cables are installed directly below the finished flooring making it a direct acting heat source rather than a storage heater.

Just think of how many bedroom slippers are given as gifts each holiday season — probably enough to fill Yankee Stadium twice over. This year, though, we bet that many of those gift slippers will not be needed any more, with more homes installing radiant floor heating and keeping thousands of pairs of feet warm.
A comparison of radiant floor heating to forced air is a car that has heated seats and a forced air heater/furnace. The forced air in a car can dry you out and can become uncomfortable and is difficult to dial in because of the heat loss due to its air delivery. A heated seat will provide you with quick results and will remain warm long after it is reduced or turned completely off. The heated seat actually warms your body and the car seat, not the air. Forced air will over time will inefficiently heat objects but with the negative side effects of dry air, dust and pollen.
The silent operation of a radiant floor heating system free from drafts or flying dust particles is why these systems are becoming so popular. Many homeowners are searching for ways in which they can create a more comfortable, efficient, and healthier atmosphere in their homes. Radiant floor heating accomplishes each of those goals.
Radiant Floor Heating Tip: If you’ve never experienced the warmth and comfort of radiant floor heating, you’re definitely missing out on one of the finer things in life.

Many times, homeowners dream of the day that their homes can have beautiful ceramic tile, marble, or stone floors…and then they discover that the floors are so chilly to walk on, the homeowners end up having to cover them with rugs. We say instead, 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.
In addition, radiant floor heating also offers you complete control of temperature room by room in your house. Not only that, it’s 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.
Some of the other benefits of radiant floor heating are that it is completely quiet, that’s right absolutely no noise or blowing of dry air, It gives you complete control of temperature room by room in your house. 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.
Radiant Floor Heating Tip: A heated tile thermostat with an in-floor sensor can regulate the temperature on many radiant floor heating systems.