Heated Floors

Heated floors do more than warm your soles. 

They provide radiant heat: a ground-up approach that reduces energy costs and creates a home climate centered on your comfort and needs. Here’s how: radiant heating systems transfer heat from the floor to you and objects you’re using like chairs, area rugs, carpet and doors. This direct approach is more efficient than forced air, radiator heating and other energy-intensive processes that require more time and resources to raise room air temperature.

Before you invest, investigate

Homeowners who make the investment understand how luxurious warm tiles can feel underfoot, especially on cold winter mornings. Up front costs are considerable and can vary depending on the system you choose, floor material, square footage and other factors. Heated flooring pays off over time. Radiant heat reduces energy costs, increases your home’s resale value and contributes to a healthier home environment.

Flexible floor heating for home remodeling and custom building

A heating system can be installed under any floor type, concrete to carpet, cedar to laminate. Some homeowners will integrate heated floors into a custom home design. Others will install a heated floor in an older home during a kitchen, bath or multi-room remodel. 

Radiant heating systems range in complexity and cost, from hydronic heat that warms large spaces to DIY electrical heating systems for smaller spaces. Hire an electrician to ensure your heating system is properly wired, connected to power sources and synced with your programmable or smart thermostat. 

The team at Endurance Build Remodel has installed heated floors in new construction and historic architecture. Schedule a consultation to discuss your options, floor to ceiling, and all spaces in between. Read on to learn more about current trends (and tread) in heated flooring.

Energy efficiency

Homeowners can choose from three types of radiant heating systems popular today: radiant air, electrical or hydronic. Each system has unique advantages but all three promote energy efficiency. Many homeowners find themselves setting their thermostats lower after they install heated floors.

• Radiant air systems use floor ducts to deliver warm air to and through a floor’s surface. Air doesn’t hold and transfer heat as well as hydronic or electrical radiant heating, making radiant-air heating less energy-efficient. 

• Electrical radiant systems use a network of electrical wires to conduct and transfer heat through a floor’s surface. This set-up is ideal for smaller areas like kitchens and bathrooms and is supplemented by primary HVAC in your home.

• Hydronic systems use a boiler to heat water. Warm or hot water is pumped through tubing under the floor’s surface. A hydronic system can be a home’s primary or only heating source. Up-front costs, from installation to equipment, are significant but hydronic systems can heat an entire home, and they earn high marks for energy efficiency. Gas, oil, wood or solar-powered boilers can heat water, making hydronic systems a good choice for homeowners living off the grid or in areas underserved by utility companies.

Warm, cozy and quiet

Imagine feeling warm and cozy in your home without the visual clutter of ducts, vents or bulky radiators. Forget the roar of forced air cycling on and off throughout the day (and night). You feel the warmth of radiant heat, but the mechanical processes (and gear) are behind the scenes—built under your floor and integrated into your home’s electrical system.

A healthier home

Conventional heating systems blow air throughout your home. Air particles carry unwanted passengers. Dust, dirt and germs don’t get a free ride with radiant heat. Heated cables, wires and water deliver warmth without circulating dirty or dusty air.

A smarter home

Back to energy efficiency. Radiant heating systems can sync perfectly with programmable and smart thermostats. This means you can set your floor heat to low or even “off” depending on the season, day or hour. 

• Programmable thermostats are like a home-security system for your HVAC. Sync your thermostat and your schedule to lower floor temps when you’re away (or asleep) and program the perfect temperature for your return home (or morning alarm).

• Smart thermostats integrate WiFi and traditional power sources so you can manage home HVAC settings from a smartphone.

• Some systems operate on their own thermostat. Even if they don’t “talk” to the rest of your home’s HVAC systems, radiant heating systems offers a range of easy-to-operate, energy-efficient choices. 

Flexibility by design

Radiant heating’s direct, comfort-based approach makes it an excellent choice for areas in the home where you spend a lot of time (or go barefoot!)—bedrooms, kitchens, family or living rooms. Builders and designers know to maintain two to four feet of space between radiant heat systems and cabinets, major appliances and other heat sources. Heated floors don’t go under refrigerators, for example.

• Zone your home by integrating radiant heat in high-use areas only or create radiant-heated zones in larger rooms. You can rely on a combination of forced air and radiant heat to achieve optimal comfort and cost savings.

There’s more ground to cover when it comes to heated floors and we’ll explore this innovation in a future blog. Until then, reach out anytime to ask about radiant heating, heated floor packages and products, and how they can fit into custom-home designs or remodeling projects.