Electric Radiant Floor Heat

Many visitors to Alternative-Heating-Info.com are confused about the options for electric radiant floor heat. The following post should help you understand the different products and uses.

In a hydronic system, water is heated by a boiler or water heater and circulated through flexible tubes buried in the floor. The floor absorbs this energy, then gives it off as radiant heat, which warms people and objects in the room.

Electric radiant floor heat works the same way, but instead of tubes, electric heating elements are embedded in a thin layer of mortar or adhesive and installed over the sub floor.

Electric systems are easier and less expensive to install than their hydronic counterparts. They’re also less expensive to zone. They can be used to heat a whole house or to provide spot comfort in kitchens and baths.

Electric Radiant Floor Heat Systems

Electric radiant elements can consist of cables coated with electrical insulation, or fabric mats with the cables woven into them. Depending on their purpose, insulated cables use anywhere from 8 to 15 watts of electricity per square foot of floor area.

The free form cables being manufactured by Warmup are no thicker than the layer of tile adhesive you apply to the sub floor. This adds as little as 1/8 inch to the floor height.

Radiant heating mats by Quickmat resemble electric blankets and consist of loops of cable embedded in a substrate, which is often a mesh fabric. The loops use approximately 12 watts per square foot and are spaced closer together than embedded cables.

Pricing

I recently solicited online bids for a 7’ x 10’ bath and 10’ x 17’ kitchen from Quickmat, and was quoted $399 for the bath and $799 for the kitchen. The price included a $2 discount off the regular $8/sq ft price.

Warmup, the manufacturer of free form radiant heating elements, came in at $500 for the bathroom and $1255 for the kitchen.

Under Carpet Heating

Electric radiant mats manufactured by WarmlyYours are designed to be installed directly between the carpet and pad or under floating wood floors.

Custom Radiant Heat Systems

Mats come in a range of standard sizes. Nuheat is the only electric radiant floor heat system to give you the option to have custom mats made specifically for rooms with angles or curves.

ELECTRIC radiant floor heat and UNDERFLOOR radiant heat are not the same thing. Underfloor radiant heat refers to the hydronic tubing installed under the subfloor between floor joists in the basement.