*BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating Inc. no longer offers radiant heating services. Check out our other heating services to find the perfect fit for your heating needs.
Radiant floor heating is a wonderful option for heating your home. Though it has been rather slow to gain widespread use in the U.S., radiant heating is becoming more and more popular as it is brought to the attention of homeowners. Since it isn’t as well-known as other, more traditional systems like furnaces, a lot of people remain ignorant of how radiant heating actually works. Let us explain the way radiant floor heating is installed, how it works, and why you should care.
INSTALLATION
The installation of radiant floor heating begins with inserting water pipes into the subfloor of each room that needs heat. This network of water pipes is then connected to a central boiler. Occasionally, the pipes in each room will terminate in terminals, like iron radiators or baseboard heaters.
The big consideration when installing a radiant heating system is what kind of flooring would work best with it. Generally, stone, concrete, or ceramic tile is the most compatible with radiant heating systems. Hardwood and vinyl floors can work as well, as long as they are properly conditioned for it.
OPERATION
When the heat is turned on, the boiler heats and distributes water throughout the house. As the water flows through the pipe network, the heat radiates through the pipes and out into the room. The heat is transmitted between solid objects, often beginning with the floor and spreading upwards into furniture and other objects.
ADVANTAGES
Radiant floor heating has a great many advantages, compared to forced air heating systems. Water is a much better thermal conductor than air is. A room heated by a water-based system, like radiant floor heating, heats up faster and stays warm longer after the system turns off. Radiant floor heating also avoids one of the biggest pitfalls of forced air systems: duct leaks.
The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that forced air systems lose as much as 30% of their heat on average to duct leaks. Since radiant systems don’t use ducts, they deliver almost all of their heat to the desired destination.
If you’d like to install a radiant floor heating system, call BZ Dependable Plumbing & Heating, Inc. We provide heating services in Westwood.
