If you’ve ever woken up feeling tired and you forgot to put on your slippers before stepping on the cold tiles in your bathroom, you may have found yourself wishing for a heated floor. These days thanks to some great innovations in heating technology, heated floors can become a wish come true! In fact, there are a number of ways to install a heated floor using three completely different methods. You can have electric wiring run under your floor tiles to create radiant heating under your floor. You can also use hot water and even hot air to achieve the same effect! The problem now isn’t getting the heated floor, its choosing which method will work best for your needs. To help you decide, take a look at the brief description of each type of radiant floor heating below.

Radiant Floor Hydronic Heating

One of the oldest methods of providing heat to a tile or concrete floor is by circulating hot water under the surface of the floor. In fact, wealthy ancient Romans used to heat the walls and floors of their villas using hot water that was circulated through pipes beneath the surface. These days the methods of installation and application of the heating is a little more advanced, but the essential principles remain the same. Before the concrete is poured, or floor is laid, durable piping is placed throughout the space of the room. These pipes are connected to the hot water system in the home, or a boiler where the water can circulate through and get heated up. Once it is heated, the warmth from the water travels through the concrete or floor tiles where it can be felt underfoot.

Radiant Floor Electric Heating

The electric floor heating method works in a very similar fashion as the hydronic heating, but is far more ideal for smaller bathrooms, or areas where space is an issue. Unlike the water pipes, the electrical wires only need to be connected to an electrical box installed on the wall. This box houses the control switches to the heated wires, which are installed on a pad underneath the floor tiles. With electrical heating, you can control the exact temperature of the floor heater, and can toggle the heating on or off depending on how often you want to use it. This method is far easier to install, and takes up a lot less space than either hydronic or air heating.

Radiant Floor Air Heating

Until recently, it was accepted that air heating for floors was inefficient and highly unreliable. In many cases where makeshift air heating for floors was constructed, many issues with water damage, and inefficient heating were common. That is until a Swedish company called Legalett created a viable system for air heated floors. This system uses non corrosive air tubes made from 2” thick PVC plastic to circulate super-heated air under a concrete floor. This system is closed looped, meaning there are no vents or ducts that can provide access to water or small animals. Each floor system is custom designed to deliver even heating to all areas of the room.

Each of these options has its benefits and drawbacks, but thanks to new innovations, each one is continuously improving to help keep your feet warm and happy on a cold concrete or tile floor. To find out which solution will work best in your home, be sure to contact the experts at Lillie Family Ltd. We are fully equipped and experienced to handle any installation you need us to, so don’t hesitate to get in touch and inquire about a quote today!