Heating is an important part of any household, therefore, it is important to invest in systems that provide high-quality heating that lasts a long time. You must also look for heaters that are energy efficient so you can maintain comfortable warmth without worrying about your energy bills. 

Radiant heating is one such system that provides efficient heating, especially for larger spaces. If you want to learn more about this system, here is how radiant heating works and its benefits.

What Is Radiant Heating?

Most people are familiar with individual radiator units or large boilers that provide heating to their homes. However, radiant heating is often hidden from plain sight while still providing lasting heat. This system is typically found under your flooring to heat up large surface areas quickly

Radiant underfloor heating is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways of saving heat energy. Energy saving radiant heating turns your floor into a radiator. This heating system warms up the room from the ground up. 

Standard above-ground heating systems only warm up the air in the general vicinity of the heater; however, underfloor radiant heating produces radiant heat that evenly spreads throughout the room. Standard heaters create warmth that rises upwards towards the ceiling. 

With radiant underfloor heating, you get direct contact with warm air, and this creates a comfortable environment. Energy saving underfloor heating provides even heat distribution compared to standard heating methods. This quality makes radiant heaters more efficient as you don’t risk overheating and energy wastage. 

The best way to create an efficient underfloor heating system is by installing electric underfloor heating. Electric underfloor heating is placed as an ultra-thin heating wire installed on the floor level of your home. When the heating is turned on, the wire heats up, which provides radiant warmth from the floor. 

The heating cable is available in two different formats - mat and foil. To choose the format, you need to check the floor type.  There is another format called the membrane and lose wire system, which is different from the two common formats. 

Membrane and lose wire systems are ideal for homes that don’t want to renovate the structure to accommodate underfloor heating. Loose wire underfloor heating can be installed by a knowledgeable DIY person. However, the thermostat for controlling the underfloor heating requires an electrician. 

A qualified electrician is needed to make the electrical connections and accurately connect the thermostat to the underfloor heating unit. 

Aside from the standard underfloor heating, you can also opt for water-based underfloor heating. The warm water underfloor heating uses heat and circulates it through the pipes installed underneath the floor. 

You might need to take into account the room height before installing water-based underfloor heating as the pipes are usually laid in a structural sub-floor configuration. Water-based underfloor heating is unsuitable for newly developed properties and large renovation projects as it greatly affects the floor levels. 

How Does Radiant Heating Work?

If you are familiar with standard heating systems such as a radiator or boiler, you might be wondering how this system operates. Radiant heating is highly effective due to its simple and naturalistic warm up process. 

Radiant floor heaters require the installation of electric heating coils or water heated tubing under your home’s floor. 

The type of component depends on the kind of radiant heating system you use. In this system, the heat from the floor warms up everything it touches. This heat is then spread throughout the room from the ground up. 

When your system is operating, the radiant heat is transmitted through a series of electromagnetic waves. These waves are absorbed by anything that touches the heat and put out into a room. 

Think of radiant systems as getting heat energy from the sun. On a sunny day, if you step into a sun-heated room, you will be warmer even though the temperature in that room remains the same. 

Any object you place in this room will absorb heat energy from the sun, therefore, radiant heaters mimic the heating properties of natural sunlight. 

Like the sun, radiant heating systems can create heat energy without direct contact with the heat source. This type of heating can be beneficial in various properties including residential and industrial areas. 

Radiant heaters provide a more gradual warming effect instead of harsh heat. With this quality, you can enjoy excellent heating that is energy efficient.

What Are The Different Types Of Radiant Floor Heaters?

There are three different types of radiant floor heating and each comes with its own set of benefits. 

Choosing the right kind of radiant heater will help you make the most out of this system. Here are the three different types of radiant floor heating. 

Electric Radiant Heating

One of the most common types of radiant heaters is the electric radiant heating system. Electric radiant floor heaters use heat conducting plastic mats to provide effective warmth in a room. These plastic mats contain coils which are warmed by electricity to produce heat energy. 

The heating coils used in this system are different from those you might find in an electric stove or space heater. This component is made up of resistant wires, typically nichrome or copper, coated in a water resistant polymer. 

Nichrome is highly important in electric radiant floor heaters as it has a high electrical resistance which leads to higher heat production. The coils are arranged in a zig-zag pattern through the mat with the wiring for electricity. This system often has an appearance of a large electric blanket for easier and seamless installation under your flooring. 

When you want to install this radiant heating system, your contractor will roll out the electric radiant heating mat out and install the flooring material in place. 

Many consumers prefer to go with electric radiant heaters for individual rooms instead of their entire properties as this helps save on energy costs. However, if you want to use this system for your entire home, there are several ways you can use this heater without compromising its quality. 

One of the most convenient ways to save money with an electric radiant heater is by using it during off-peak energy consumption hours. Economical nighttime energy rates allow consumers to charge the heating coils overnight for less money. This charged-up heat energy can be used the following day to avoid high energy charges. 

Installing Electric Radiant Heating

The type of flooring also affects your floor heaters’ quality. Electric radiant heaters work best with ceramic tile flooring, however, they work just as well with any other type of flooring material including hardwood floor. 

The heating time is short as the heating coils are installed between the floor covering and the subfloor. In general, it takes about 30 minutes to an hour to heat your floor and then your room. 

To create an ideal heating environment, you should set your thermostat to turn up the heating an hour before you wake up to enjoy a cosy and comfortable environment as soon as you get out of bed.

For small rooms and bathrooms, you can conduct a DIY installation. However, you will need to consult a professional electrician to wire the heater to a thermostat. When it comes to installing the electrical heating mats, you will need to tear up your existing flooring. Due to this reason, the ideal time to install electrical radiant heating is during a renovation or when you are building your home. 

Once the flooring is removed, the electrical mat is installed on the subfloor and then tiles are placed over it. Once you have completed installed of the electric radiant heater, you never have to think about them again as they don’t require regular maintenance. 

Even though some electric radiant heaters might be costly, it is important to remember that they do not suffer from regular maintenance issues that most heating systems go through. 

If a problem does arise, homeowners can simply troubleshoot or fix most repairs easily. Always make sure to turn off the power before repairing or inspecting and radiant heater panel. 

Hydronic Radiant Floor Heating

Apart from electric heating, you can also opt for a hydronic floor heating system. Since there are high costs associated with electric radiant heating, you can choose the hydronic to enjoy bigger savings on energy consumption costs. This system is ideal if you are building a new home or renovating an older property. 

Installing hydronic heating in an existing home can often be time consuming and costly as you would have to tear up the flooring. Hydronic radiant floor heating systems pump hot water from a boiler through tubing under the floor. 

The tubing is placed in a pattern that increases the flow of water to produce better heating. In some hydronic systems, the flow of the hot water is controlled through each tubing loop with a zoning pump or valve. 

The thermostat also affects how the water flows through the tubing. Even though the upfront costs of a hydronic radiant heater are much higher than those of a standard boiler, hydronic systems are much more cost-effective. 

These heaters are more energy efficient and have a lifespan that outlasts a standard boiler system. Due to this reason, hydronic radiant systems become more cost-effective in the long run. 

One of the biggest advantages of a hydronic heating system is that you can choose between a variety of heat sources. The most common heat sources include:

• Gas-fired boiler
• Oil-fired boiler
• Gas, kerosene or solar water heaters

Deciding which heat source works best for you depends on how large your home is and how cold your region gets. If you have a larger home with high ceilings in a generally colder region it is best to go with a boiler system. 

On the other hand, if you have a smaller home in a warmer region, a regular water heating system will work perfectly fine. If you have decided on a gas-fired boiler system, there are certain factors you must consider. 

Before the flooring is constructed, make sure to consult a radiant heating specialist to learn how to best use your heating system. The specialist will also determine the type of installation for the hydronic radiant heating. The two most common types are wet or dry installations. 

The Manifold System In Hydronic Radiant Heating

Your water heater or boiler is connected to a manifold which is a system of individual pipes that carry water from a single source into various areas. 

With a manifold connection, you can heat multiple areas of your home individually with the help of a single programmable thermostat. This quality makes hydronic radiant heating more versatile than electric radiant systems. 

From the manifold, the hot water is driven through several tubes through the water pump. This water is re-circulated to provide a constant flow of heat to your room. The hydronic radiant heater uses specialised tubing that is non-toxic, leak-free, flexible and capable of handling high temperature levels. 

With this radiant heater, you don’t have to worry about repairs or replacement as the maintenance is minimal. You might need to conduct annual check-ups on the boiler but the water pumps are low-maintenance and last a long time. 

In case you experience a break in the system, it is recommended that you consult a professional as the repair process is complicated. One downside of hydronic installations is that a broken system can be costly to repair however, these heaters are designed to last a long time without any need for repairs. 

Air Heated Radiant Floors

This radiant heating system uses air to spread warmth throughout a house. The forced air released by the system transfers heat energy towards your room. 

However, this type of radiant heating is not as effective as other options as the heat dissipates quickly. Therefore, air heated radiant systems are rarely installed in properties. Since air does not retain large amounts of heat, this system will not provide adequate heating to your home. 

For residential properties, it is best to go with either an electric or hydronic heating system. Some air systems can be combined with a solar air heater to increase the heat energy output however, these only work well in the daytime. 

What Are Different Types Of Radiant Heat Installations?

Once you decide the type of radiant heating you want in your home, you can also choose between various installation options. Here are the different types of radiant heat installations. 

Wet Or Dry Installation

As mentioned before, hydronic radiant heating often uses a wet or dry installation, depending on the recommendations of your contractor. 

In a wet installation, a slab of concrete is placed to aid the radiant heating. Contractors either add a slab of concrete underneath the subfloor or add a thin sheet between the subfloor and the surface. 

In a dry installation, the hydronic tubing is added directly beneath the subfloor without any concrete on top. The flooring surface - tile, carpeting or hardwood, is placed on top of the subfloor to aboard heat directly from the tubing. 

In some dry installs, you might need to add reflective insulation under the tubes to direct the heat energy upwards. The concrete acts like a thermal mass to retain heat energy so you can keep enjoying your radiator heater even after it is switched off. 

Since concrete has a higher density and low conductivity than other materials, it is able to retain heat for a long time. However, due to the large thermal mass, hydronic systems with wet installation take longer to heat up and need to be run for a long time to reach an optimal temperature. 

Floor Covering Method

Ceramic tile is commonly used as a floor covering for radiant heating as it is highly effective at letting heat into the room. Ceramic tiles are also good conductors of heat and build thermal storage. 

Carpet tends to be thicker than other flooring materials which means it does not conduct heat as well as hardwood or tile flooring. If you have carpet and still want to install electric radiant heaters, consider the padding of your carpet. 

The right type of padding can greatly affect the amount of heat energy that enters your room. There are two common types of padding used on carpets - ribbed and slab. Slab-padded carpets have a flat surface area while the ribbed padding creates a grid-like pattern on the carpet. 

To get the most out of your electrical radiant floor heater, it is recommended that you choose a slab foam rubber padding for your carpeting. Since an electric radiant heating system is typically used for individual rooms, it can be controlled through manual switch operation or automatically through a thermostat. 

Other common floor coverings such as linoleum, wood and vinyl can also be used with reading heating but since they insulate the room, the efficiency of your radiant heat will decrease. If you have carpet flooring, make sure to use thin carpeting with dense padding. 

If some rooms in your home have a floor covering then you should install a separate tubing look. This added tubing will make your radiant heater more efficient and improve heat retention. 

It is important to carry out this step as the water traveling under the covered floor should be hotter to overcome the dense layer of floor covering. 

If your home has wood flooring, you should laminate this covering instead of opting for a solid wood surface. The lamination will reduce the possibility of the wood cracking and shrinking due to the drying effects of heat energy. 

Radiant Paneling Method

Ceiling and wall-mounted radiant panels are generally made of aluminium and these panels can be heated with electricity. You can also heat them up with tubing carrying hot water, however, this may raise some concerns about wall or ceiling leakage from the radiant system. 

In general, commercial radiant panels from home use electricity as their heating source. Just as with any other type of electric heat, radiant panels can be expensive to operate however, they provide supplementary heat in areas that don’t have any radiant heaters. 

This will allow you to extend the functionality of your heating and avoid spending extra on purchasing more heating systems. 

Radiant panels also have the fastest response time of any heating system and since the panels can be controlled individually in each room, the quick response quality also helps you save on energy costs in the long run. 

For example, if you enter a cold room, you simply have to increase the temperature settings and enjoy comfortable warmth within minutes. As with any heating system, make sure to set the thermostat at a minimum temperature to prevent the piping from freezing. 

Radiant heat panelling also operates on a close proximity basis, which means the closer you are to the panel, the more comfortable and warm you will feel. Due to this quality, wall installed radiant is more popular than ceiling installation as many consumers find overhead heating uncomfortable and ineffective.  

What Are The Benefits Of Radiant Heating?

Radiant heating is a great way to enjoy naturalistic warmth in your home while also enjoying low energy costs. However, if you are more familiar with traditional heating methods, you might not want to make the switch.

Radiant heating systems are a great investment with many excellent qualities. Here are some important benefits of radiant heating. 

Better Energy Efficiency

For any consumer, having an energy efficient heating system is crucial and radiant heaters are no different. These heating systems are highly efficient as they make good use of their heat energy. 

Radiant heating also helps you save on energy costs in the long run. Other heaters, such as forced air systems, need to be in operation constantly to keep the room warm. However, radiant heaters dissipate warmth slowly and use a convection method to keep the warm air circulating in your room. 

With insulation and high-quality flooring material, you can increase the heat retention of your radiant system. In addition, the way a radiant heater warms up a room also helps retain thermal energy. 

High Flexibility

Radiant floor heaters are highly flexible and can be installed on any type of property. You can also install them downstairs or upstairs, in new home builds, renovations or extensions. These heaters can be installed in one room or the entire property, the choices are endless. 

Invisible Design

Unlike radiators and central heating systems, radiant heaters are designed to be discreet. These heaters have an invisible hardware that does not bring down the aesthetic of your room. 

Radiant heaters also free up any space that would be taken by a radiator. With radiant heat, you can enjoy comfortable warmth while maintaining your stylish interior design.  

Easy And Safe To Use

Using radiant heating is uncomplicated as it can be turned on/off with a simple switch. Many radiant heaters come with an easy-to-read thermostat that gives clear temperature readings. 

Unlike radiators, you don’t have to worry about sharp edges or extremely hot surfaces that children could come into contact with. Even though radiant heaters provide heat from the ground up, your floor will never become too uncomfortable or hot to walk on. 

Smart Thermostat Compatibility

If you want even better functionality with your radiant heater, consider adding a smart thermostat. There are many models of radiant heating systems that are compatible with this feature to give you access to even more energy saving options. 

With a smart thermostat, you can set schedules, create timers or build heating zones for specific rooms. Smart thermostats also provide a much more accurate temperature reading, increasing the efficiency of your heater. 

Low Maintenance Option

Once you have installed your radiant heating system, you never have to worry about constant repairs or maintenance. In an electrical system, the wiring is embedded into your floor so you don’t have to worry about keeping them in good condition.

For hydronic radiant heating, all the piping is made from leak-free material to ensure smooth operation. With these qualities, you can enjoy peace of mind with high-quality heating. 

What Are The Best Areas To Install Radiant Heating?

Radiant heating systems allow you to control individual heat settings in any room. By only heating the space you are using, you can use heating more efficiently. Here are some of the best areas for radiant heating. 

Bathrooms

The bathroom is a great area to install a radiant floor heating system as you can avoid stepping onto a freezing surface. Many bathrooms often use tiling which can become extremely cold and uncomfortable to walk on in the winter. With the addition of dampness and humidity, this room requires efficient heating that lasts a long time. 

Radiant heating in the bathroom ensures that this area remains comfortably warm all year round. With radiant heating, you also don’t have to worry about mechanical parts being exposed to water and dampness creating an unsafe environment. 

Bedrooms

In the winter months, having a cosy and welcoming bedroom is important. With radiant floor heating systems, you can create a warm and toasty environment in your bedroom. 

Uneven temperature from inefficient heating can often disrupt your sleep. Radiant heaters will help you sleep comfortably in a cosy environment. 

Kitchens

Just like bathrooms, most kitchens also tend to have tile flooring which becomes extremely cold in the winter. Along with the humidity in this area, the kitchen can quickly become too cold and uncomfortable. To avoid these problems consider adding radiant heating in your kitchen.  

How To Make The Most Of Your Radiant Floor Heating

While most radiant heating systems work well on their own, there are several steps you can take to ensure excellent heating throughout your home. 

You can use these tips along with your radiant heating systems to create a welcoming and cosy environment during the harsh winter months. Here is how you can make the most of your radiant heating. 

Weatherise Your Home To Prevent Heat Energy From Escaping

Weatherisation is one of the most cost-effective ways of conserving heat energy in a home. This method is a great way to conserve warmth from radiant heating. 

Weatherisation keeps your home warm and comfortable even during severe winters. To weatherise your home, you can add insulation and seal up any air leaks in your home’s infrastructure. 

Weatherisation works well with any type of home, and you don’t need to improve any major structural components of your house to create a warm environment. This method cuts heating costs, and in some situations, you can avail of an even bigger energy cut. 

Generally, air infiltration creates drafts and lets in chilly air from near the windows and doors. If you have a basement, air filtration can bring up cold air in your room. 

If you do a home energy assessment, the auditor will locate any air leaks in your home. These air leaks might come from the window area, doors, chimneys, wiring, and light fixture locations. Once you find out the location of the air leaks, you must seal these areas to achieve proper insulation.

 During the winter months, one of the biggest culprits of a cold draft in homes is a cold roof. With proper insulation, you can prevent your roof from letting cold air into your home and disrupting the warmth. 

Add Insulation To Your Attic And Basement

Insulation is another method of keeping the house warm during the winter months while also enjoying the heat from radiant heating systems. Insulation will prevent warm air from leaving the house in the winter. 

Once you have adequately heated up your home in the morning, the insulation will lock in the warm air in your home during the night. With insulation, you won't have to keep your heater in operation for a long time, which will lead to major savings on your energy bill. 

Consider Solar Energy

Pair solar energy with your radiant heating system to save more on electricity costs. Solar energy is a great way to reduce the energy demand from your household. If you live in an area that gets a lot of sunlight, you should consider investing in solar energy.

Solar energy is cost-effective, and you can use solar power to run both electrical and hydronic heating systems in your home. With solar energy, you won’t have to worry about breaking your budget in order to heat up your household effectively. 

Improve Your Air Ducts To Conserve Heat Energy

Air ducts are one of the most important components in a household property because they carry the air from your home’s heater to each room. If the ducts are poorly sealed, poorly sized, or poorly insulated, they might contribute to higher energy bills. 

Make sure to replace any air ducts with vents that don’t move the air around adequately. Most people add hundreds of pounds a year to their electricity bills by letting air ducts leak air into lofts and crawl spaces. 

To avoid spending so much money, you should insulate or seal air ducts in rooms that are not inhabited by anyone in the house. 

Final Takeaway

Radiant heating is a great investment as it produces excellent heating without driving up your energy costs. With minimal maintenance, you can enjoy a warm and cosy home environment all year round. 

No matter which room you install these heaters in, radiant heating will always provide comfortable warmth that lasts a long time.