Is Radiant Floor Heating Right For Your Home?

When cold floors chill your feet you can never really feel warm. While furnaces may blow warm air into your home, if your floors are cold, its hard to warm up. If this is a problem you have or one of your pet peeves, radiant floor heating might be the right choice for you. Before deciding if radiant floor heating is the right decision for your home, consider these benefits and drawbacks.

Energy Efficiency

Radiant floor heating is actually very energy efficient as no heat is lost through leaky air ducts. With radiant floor heating, you can see immediate savings your hour home’s heating bill.

Installation Costs

While you will save money on your energy bill with this heating option, there is a significant upfront cost of installation of radiant floor heating. Labor costs can even make it more expensive as professional assistance is almost always required. Since radiant floor heating is installed under a subfloor, on top of a subfloor, in between two layers of subfloor (all considered “dry” mount installations), or embedded in a concrete slab (often known as a “wet” installation). As a result, new flooring is typically required which is an additional cost.

Even Heat But Cooler Heat

Forced air systems focus heated air at certain points of the room which creates warm zones. Radiant floor heating covers the entire floor which creates a more even heat. While the heat is steady and even, the surface of your floor is never hot. Most radiant heat systems operate between maximum temperatures of 75 to 85 degrees.

Green Options

There are very green options available of radiant floor heating. You can choose solar powered water heaters to run some of the radiant floor heating systems that are on the market.

Improves Home Value

Radiant floor heating systems are very popular and desirable. Especially when they are already installed and you don’t have to pay for the installation yourself. As a result, having this heating system can be a major selling point when it comes time to put your home on the market.

If you are considering which heating option is best for you and want to learn more about radiant floor heating, Contact BelAire Heating and Air Conditioning at http://www.belaire.com. They have offices serving West Michigan located in Portage, Grand Rapids and Three Rivers.