10 Cool Benefits of Electric Radiant Floor Heat

5 minute read

Did you know that an electric radiant floor heat system can go into any living space or room, in all types of homes?

The 10 Cool Benefits of Electric Radiant Floor Heat

From a traditional home with a foundation to a mobile living situation (like an RV or tiny house), you'll find real value and comfort in having your general contractor or home builder install this multi-purpose, maintenance-free heating source into your dwelling.

1. Energy-Efficient

Electric radiant floor heat is energy-efficient, especially if you manage the system's operation with a Smart thermostat. Ask your builder to install a Smart floor heat thermostat to operate the heating system.

You will enjoy using a Smart floor heat thermostat

An impressive feature about a Smart floor heat thermostat is that you can program it to turn the heat up or down, depending on if you are home or away for an extended period.

What's more, you can do the programming from your phone! Know you will be away; set your floor heat on low. Are you coming home? Turn up the heat for a cozy welcome. Cold morning? Program your floor heat to turn up a half-hour before the alarm sounds.

Read my blog post about Smart thermostats that work with both Gold Heat and Black Gold.

2. It's a silent savior

A radiant floor heat system makes zero noise (if you don't count the click of the thermostat). Unlike forced-air systems, you don't hear the furnace firing up, turning on, then turning off during the day. All you get is a silent, cozy room.

GOOD TO KNOW

A mini-split will not operate if the outside temperature is continually below freezing. Unless the power goes out, radiant floor heat will continue to operate no matter how cold it gets outside.

3.  A clean heating source

Oh look, a dustmite and his family blowing around inside my house.

Do you suffer from allergies?  Ugh, I do.

Allergy sufferers and all-around dust-haters will appreciate radiant heat for not leaving traces of allergens. The reason for this is that radiant floor heat doesn't use any fans or ductwork to bring the heat. No fans or ductwork means that dustmites and other cooties aren't spreading throughout the house.

No cooties or chemicals

Electric floor heat technology doesn't use chemicals to keep the heat on your feet—just light beams of warmth emitted from the floor.

Many refrigerants damage our environment

An HVAC system and a mini split system both use refrigerant to absorb heat form outside, even in very cool weather, to bring heat inside the home.

In fact, one kilogram of the refrigerant R410a has the same greenhouse impact as two tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of running your car for six months. Source:  https://www.epa.gov/mvac/refrigerant-transition-environmental-impacts

4.  No duct loss

What the heck is duct loss?

Duct loss means a temperature difference between one room's vent and another room's vent. The farther a room's vent is from the heating source (in this case, your furnace), the cooler the heat will be when it gets to that far away room.

Example:  Your living room is probably a lot warmer than your bedrooms.

An electric floor heating system is more efficient than forced-air heating because it doesn't use ducts to deliver its heat.  Secondly, the heat source is always under your feet. You're walking, sitting, or lying on top of the heat source.

Did you know?

A furnace has to warm up to be able to blow 149-160° degrees of heat to raise the room air temperature.

Unless you have thermostats all around the house, the room with the thermostat will dictate your entire house's air temperature.  

What a heating duct looks like if it is not professionally cleaned on a regular basis.

What lives in ducts, filters, and fans?

Dust and allergens.

What a mini-split looks like if not cleaned on a regular basis.

What blows around if you aren't cleaning ducts, filters, and fans?

Dust and allergens.

Ewww!

Radiant floor heat solves that problem because the heat source is on the floor, not the ceiling.

Additionally, radiant floor heating elements, protected by the flooring material, radiate towards your body (not the ceiling). Sure, floor heat rises. However, radiant floor heat attacks whatever the floor can see with warmth while evenly heating the room.

FACT

Radiant floor heat does not require any maintenance.  Typically, at most, you will have to replace your thermostat.

4. Goodbye mold!

Electric radiant floor heat helps humidity levels in your home. 

5.  Operates on and off-grid

Radiant heat is a flexible heating source that operates on electricity or solar, on or off-grid.

6.  Scalable

You don't need as much floor heat film as you may think. Read this blog post about how much Black Gold floor heat film you only need.

Thinking about going tiny?  Think you don't have enough power to operate radiant floor heat? Read this blog post about power requirements for radiant floor heat for tiny houses.

7.  Looks great because you can't see it

Electric radiant floor heat operates under your flooring material. You never see or hear the heat source.

However, you sure can feel it!

Radiant floor heat is handy when you need just a little warmth and don't want to crank up the furnace.  

8.  Floor coverings

Radiant floor heating works with almost every floor type: laminate, tile, wood, concrete, stone, and carpet.

Since luxury vinyl plank flooring material is a typical choice for floor covering these days, read our post about how well Black Gold radiant floor heat film works with luxury vinyl plank.

Conversely, if tile flooring is in your remodeling or building plans, consider a custom Gold Heat electric radiant floor heat system.  A Gold Heat mat is custom-designed to fit your floorplan perfectly.  Every square inch of your home can be covered in luxurious comfort.

Did you know?

A cold floor will literally suck the heat from your body.

I use the word literally, literally.

Literally sucking the heat out of you

Look how much heat Maddie leaves behind when she rolls over.	Those roll marks stayed lit for over 5 minutes until the cold ground sucked the heat out of the carpet.	That's my handprint that was left when I took it off the paper towel.  See how the paper towel is dark purple (cold) and the heat left behind from my hand.
The floor and the toilet seat stole my body heat.  All that heat loss even though I was wearing pants and socks at the time.	Bare feet prints on my scale were lit for almost 7 minutes before the cold steel sucked away the heat.	Heat transferred from the footbed of my shoe, through the shoe's material.   If a cold floor wants your heat, it's going to steal it.

10.  One of the most therapeutic things you can do for your body

As a rheumatoid arthritis sufferer, I can tell you from personal experience that radiant underfloor heating affects how my body feels.

• When your feet are warm, your whole body warms up.
• When your body is warm, your joints and muscles become fluid.
• When your joints and muscles are fluid, you can get out of a chair without making 'the sound.'

Go ahead...treat yourself!

If you don't want to install electric floor heat throughout the entire house, at least treat yourself to a bit of luxury in your bathroom or master bedroom!

PS: Ways I use my floor heat for other things

• Yoga and before-bed stretching on a warm surface.
• Drying heavy shoes that would kill my dryer.
• Drying reusable grocery bags after I wash them.
• Defrosting meat and frozen desserts (no kidding).
• Plants! Plants love light rays.
• Mopping my floor – quick dry.
  
  

Gold Heat is here to help you!