Electric Radiant Floor Warming: the Affordable Luxury

by: sakuraluna | Total views: 49 | Word Count: 856 | View PDF | Print View

 by: ARA Content

(ARA) - Mountain climbers have an old saying: "Don't
cheat your feet." A homeowner might consider this advice when building
or remodeling a bathroom or kitchen floor.

For floors, homeowners know that ceramic, slate or
marble tiles are attractive and durable alternatives to wood, carpet or
vinyl. They want the beauty of tile floors, but their feet tell them
they're cold.

While most people are comfortable with air temperatures
of 65 to 75 degrees, they tend to feel uncomfortable if there's more
than a 5-degree difference between the surface temperature (80 to 85
degrees) of the head and that of the feet. A bare foot gives an
immediate indication as to the comfort level of any floor. For this
reason alone, tile is often not the flooring of choice.

With a tiny amount of heat supplied by a human foot,
carpet fibers warm almost instantaneously to "foot" temperature, about
83 degrees. A ceramic tile can't compete in this race: its mass needs a
lot more heat for a longer amount of time. It would take approximately
30 minutes for a human foot to increase a 68-degree marble floor to
foot temperature!

Radiant floor warming systems solve this problem -- fast!

The most common radiant floor warming systems are either
hydronic (circulating hot water in tubes in the floor) or electric
(heating cables in the floor). Hydronic systems are more complicated,
requiring pumps and valves and modulators and so on, and, as a result,
are a lot more expensive to install than electric. Still, for whole
house heating solutions, hydronics are a good choice. By contrast,
electric systems are inexpensive enough for single room applications
and simple enough for do-it-yourselfers.

Suitable for new construction or remodeling
applications, electric floor warming systems include a network of
cables installed in the mortar just below the tiles. These cables
gently warm the tiles, operating on ordinary house current. While using
a professional electrician is advised for those not comfortable working
on electrical installations, these systems are generally easy to
install and will not compromise the integrity of the tile installation.

Designing a floor warming installation first requires a
determination of the area to be warmed. Calculating the total square
footage will require collecting information from the blueprints of the
room or actually measuring the area itself. It should be noted that
areas that are inaccessible or under vanities, cabinets, or plumbing
fixtures should not be included -- there's no need to heat floor area
that won't be walked on! When making the calculations it is advisable
to design a layout that considers actual use and traffic patterns in
the area to be warmed. Using care in measuring and calculating the area
will help ensure that the proper cable is selected for the
installation. Preformed mats can also be selected to simplify the
installation, but these are usually only suitable for rectangular
areas; odd shaped areas, such as "T's" or "L's" will often have cold
spots if heated by mats.

Easy Heat's Warm Tiles cables are available as an
off-the-shelf product in a growing number of distribution channels,
including retail. Easy Heat also provides mats in stock and custom
sizes. Thermostats are also available with setback features to ensure
that the cables are only heating the floor when the floor is being
used. Floor heating thermostats differ from room heating thermostats in
that they have a sensor that extends down into the floor to sense the
actual floor temperature, and to control the cables accordingly,
usually at about 85 degrees. Today, floor warming thermostats are
available with sophisticated programming features as well.

A complete system often can be installed using an
electric drill and other ordinary hand tools. The installation process
can be completed in three phases that will likely correspond with the
construction or remodeling phases of your home or building.

Phase one -- Electrical Rough-in

During the electrical rough-in, the electrical box for
the thermostat is installed, and the power supply cable pulled into it.
Conduit holes are drilled into the wall plate (a two-by-four on the
floor at the bottom of the wall) to enable the heating cable leads and
thermostat sensor to be pulled into the electrical box.

Phase two -- Install Cables

For new construction, the cables are installed only after
the drywall is finished and immediately prior to the tile installation.
The cables are provided with plastic strapping that is stapled to the
floor, and the heating cable is simply woven over the floor on the
strapping. The leads of the cable and the thermostat sensor are routed
through the conduit holes and up to the electrical box. A "scratch
coat" of mortar (just enough to cover the cables) is then applied and
allowed to dry, usually just a day. Then, the flooring can be completed
in the usual manner.

Phase three -- Thermostat and Power Connection

The last phase calls for the installation of the thermostat and connection to the power source.

For more information on electric radiant floor warming call (877) EASYHEAT, or go to www.warmtiles.com. Warm Tiles is a registered trademark of Easy Heat Inc.

About the Author

Courtesy of ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com; e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com

EDITOR'S NOTE: Using a thermostat, a typical floor warming system can be inexpensive to operate. A homeowner may visit the U.S. Department of Energy's own Energy Information Administration's web page at www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/epmt55p1.html to determine typical electrical usage. Using Easy Heat's Warm Tiles square foot operating cost, for 40 square feet, one finds: 8.08 cents USA 2002 estimated residential national average kilowatt-hour rate (as of Aug. 28, 2002 per the EIA Web site above) X 8 hours typical daily operating time, using Easy Heat's FTTK thermostat X 0.012 kilowatts used per square foot serviced by Easy Heat's Warm Tiles FT1039 (120 Volts AC) = 0.77568 cents or less than 1 cent per square foot per day, or about $10 per month of operation.

Rating: Not yet rated

Comments

Add Comment

Copy and Paste Article Code.

Remember: The article body, title, author bio and links may not be changed or removed. By publishing this article, you agree to all the terms in our Terms of Service.

More articles in this Category

1: A Brief Guide On How To Modify A Kitchen.
2: Choosing The Right Mattress For A Relaxing Sleep
3: A Guide To Hire General Contractors For Home Improvement
4: How to go about designing an office
5: Benefits of Central Air Conditioning Units