Sure, remodeling a basement doesn't come first to mind. Basements are always colder than the upstairs because of direct exposure to the home's concrete slab. When you don't insulate that slab, the slab wants to pull all of the warmth out of the air. There is a solution.
Picture of a basement bathroom/toilet. A concrete slab will steal heat from your body. No matter what the ambient temperature is. The light colors indicate the heat that was left behind when someone got up.
Let’s be frank. Installing electric radiant floor heat in your basement is a luxury. Luxury products typically have a higher upfront cost and are expensive to maintain.
While electric radiant floor heat is more expensive on the front end, be assured that the investment in this luxury heating product gives a return on investment. You get your money’s worth because there is nothing to maintain.
Unlike a furnace, which needs interval servicing every season, electric radiant floor heat works season after season with no maintenance – ever. Gold Heat, a boutique manufacturer of custom electric radiant floor heat mats, finds that if anything goes out on a floor heat system, it will be the thermostat, not the heat mat.
“If anything goes wrong with an installed Gold Heat electric floor heat system is the age of the thermostat. It’s rare for the heat mat to fail.”
Brian Bishop, CEO of Gold Heat
All is quiet. Suddenly, the furnace kicks into operation.
Unlike a furnace, radiant floor heat is entirely silent. You never hear it turn on. You never hear it turn off. Radiant floor heat is silent because the system doesn’t use fans to blow warmed heat around.
That is because radiant floor heat doesn’t use a fan to deliver its heat. No fans mean no dust. No dust means no allergens. No allergens mean happiness!
Electric radiant floor heat in the basement is an excellent idea. This type of heating system will maintain a constant warm temperature, use less energy doing it and keep mold and mildew at bay.
Electric Floor Heat...It’s a physics thing
The science of radiant heat tells us that an electric radiant floor heat system uses light, not warm air, to spread across a basement evenly. Radiant floor heat is unlike forced-air Heating because you don’t have to be in the path of the “hot wind” to be warm.
In the image above, a person is standing atop natural stone tile. Notice the beams of light from the electric radiant floor heat mat shining up and upon her feet, ankles, and legs.
FUN FACT: The flooring material and the subfloor are like rocks in the hot sun. A rock exposed to direct sunlight retains the heat. When the sun goes down, the rock is still warm.
Much like why the flooring material and subfloor stay warm.
While the floor heat system is running, it is “charging” the flooring and subfloor material with warmth. This process keeps the floor emitting warm light even after turning down the thermostat.
A great feature of radiant heating is that it is compatible with almost all types of flooring materials. What's more, you can install electric floor heat on top of a finished concrete slab, as well.
Use electric radiant floor heat mats under:
Use electric radiant floor heat mats on top of:
All of these reasons are why an electric radiant floor heat system is quickly becoming the only way to heat your basement. Because a cold floor, no matter how warm the room is, is robbing heat from everything warm. Including you.