![]() The final consideration was having to minimize rugs. My CZ6 mountain town is full of multi-million dollar homes that run their floor heat AND air conditioning in winter because when the sun is not out you need a lot of heat, and the minute the sun comes out the homes overheat. I was going to use warmboard to help improve that, but it was still potentially an issue. But the other issue is the slow reaction time. I originally planned for radiant heat in my highly efficient home (not quite passive house but close.) I read all the articles about how low the water temp would be and that you wouldn't feel warmth. 6 ACH50 structure in Boulder, CO with R35 walls, R50 roof, R30 crawl space walls, and R20 under the slab in the crawl. On really cold days, the delta can hit 8-9F (again because we predominantly heat the building via the subset of floor area where we want a noticeably warm floor) which is "toasty". With a 2-3F delta, they are pleasantly warm. On the contrary, just having our slate tile floors at room temperature means the floors do not feel cold even if you are barefoot. But what does that mean for building occupants? For those that have never lived in such a building, there is an assumption that the floor temp delta is "imperceptible". "The point others have made about in floor radiant is the floor temperature will not be much greater than the thermostat setpoint." So I interpreted it as a contrasting data point fully consistent with your statement that "floor heat is not appropriate for a highly efficient home". It is an example of a "classic" application of radiant floor heating in a building with high heat loss. The Colorado home you describe cannot be called a high efficiency building. Seems reply depth is limited in GBA, so I have to reply to myself. The floors in the rest of the house are also never cold so we walk around barefoot year round without even thinking about needing something on our feet to be comfortable. This means the bathroom floors are always pleasantly warm. Like at least one other GBA member, our house is micro zoned and we basically heat our house in the winter mostly through the bathroom floors (bathroom T-stats at 70F, the rest of the house at 66-68F). The assertion that during the heating season "the floors are never warm under foot" is also a gross oversimplification of how these systems perform and can be configured. ![]() There are lots of design, execution, and financial reasons to not do this, but my own house is proof that radiant floor systems can work well in tight, well insulated buildings, while providing amazing comfort. I really wish that the folks saying things like radiant floors are "not appropriate for a highly efficient home" had actual experience living in homes of this type. The system consists of a thermostat with a floor sensor, so you… You may have seen their electric ThermoTile mats, which glue onto the subfloor with thin-set, and then ceramic tile lays directly over the top. They are categorized by flooring types that include tile, stone, wood, laminate, vinyl, carpet, and concrete. ThermoSoft specializes in in-floor heating and offers both mat and loose-cable systems. The mats make installation easier because the wires come spaced and arranged. The company sells the elements as mats or loose cable. ThermoTile mats are the main heating component of ThermoSoft’s in-floor heating system for tile, stone, and other floor coverings. These heated floors serve their purpose sporadically and are designed to warm up quickly without consuming too much energy. Radiant floors for underfoot spot-warming in areas like bathrooms generally function as a supplemental heat source and have an advantage. Namely, to warm a room, they must remain on continuously. However, hydronic systems are expensive to install.Īll radiant-heating systems have one characteristic in common. People with allergies sometimes prefer radiant heat because it doesn’t distribute allergens like forced-air systems do. Hydronic, or water-based, radiant floor systems use the least electricity and can be combined with solar panels and ground-source heat pumps for maximum energy efficiency. Overall, it is more efficient than baseboard heating, and it can be more efficient than forced-air heating in smaller areas with conventional ceiling heights. In general, radiant-floor heating offers some advantages. Here’s a look at the best options for warm bathroom floors and how much energy this comfort requires. For this reason, radiant heating under bathroom floors has become a popular upgrade. Among its cons is the fact that many people find tile cold. Ceramic tile is a desirable choice for bathroom floors because it is durable.
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