Feb 08 2010
Radiant Floor Heating Proffers Tip-Toe Comfort
Your partner got up in the middle of the night and now those frozen toes are attacking your personal space with the tenacity of a heat-seeking missile. Good for you, the new home will be sporting radiant floor heat – a dependable cure for meetings with cold toes at 2 in the morning or a midwinter chill that touches your bone marrow.
Under-floor heat has been employed since the Roman Empire when it existed in its heyday in communal constructions and the villas of the wealthy. Hot air was circulated under tile or brick, supplying a radiant heat – energy that transferred warmth through the flooring and on to colder objects like Roman reclining chairs, statues, marble-topped tables and cold centurions.
With the advent of resilient PEX piping in the United States in the 80’s, application has jumped as new products have been developed for the construction industry – among which have been hydronic arrangements to supply radiant floor heat. Unlike forced-air furnaces, modern-day hydronic floor systems utilising PEX plumbing products supply more consistent warmth to a room, are less drying, more economical and a whole lot quieter than aging furnaces or metal steam pipes.
PEX tubing is constructed of cross-linked polyethylene, which gives these space-age pipes endurance, chemical resistance, high mobility, a cost-effective installation profile and greater temperature range. This polyethylene tubing can be utilised for water as high as 200° Fahrenheit in heating arrangements.
There are different methods of putting in radiant floor heat. Some use electrical line voltage systems, but easy-to-use PEX piping products have made hydronic under-floor heat popular with both home constructors and home owners. Because the piping is so flexible, its coils can be employed in a sustained distance, eliminating the need for multiple joints and fittings.
Some radiant floor heat arrangements utilize oxygen-barrier PEX radiant hosing utilized in gypsum concrete. Others incorporate low-mass underlay – wood boards with recessed niches for flexible piping.
Each remodeling or new-construction design is best suited by one method or another, so investigate your hydronic floor heat choices fully. Do your preparation!