According to the experts at the long-running PBS home improvement show This Old House, “the best heating system a house can have it the one you don’t realize is there.” And who is going to disagree with them? Forced air systems are loud and increase drafts. Baseboard heaters are dust and allergen magnets. And old-fashioned radiators take up valuable square footage. So, when it comes to energy efficiency, aesthetics and pure comfort, nothing beats a radiant floor heating system.
Radiant floor heating is the epitome of luxury and efficiency in your home. At PK Electric NYC, we go beyond just electrical services. We also specialize in lighting installation, ceiling fan installation, residential electrical repair, and equipment installations. Our team of expert residential electrical contractors and commercial electrical contracting services ensures that your radiant floor heating system is installed with precision and meets the highest standards of quality. Experience the perfect blend of comfort and energy efficiency with radiant floor heating, while our skilled professionals take care of all your electrical needs. Trust us to create a warm and inviting atmosphere in your home.
A NEW TREND BASED ON OLD TECHNOLOGY
Thanks to their exposure in five-star hotels, high end spas and tax incentives for green energy, radiant floor heating systems are trendier than ever. But as said in Ecclesiastes 1:9 “There is nothing new under the sun.”
Along with highways, aqueducts, sewers and the arch, the ancient Romans are credited with inventing central heating. Called “hypocausts,” Roman central heating worked by taking the heat from a central fire and distributing it through pipes or ducts under hollow floors. These systems, while efficient, were complicated to install, very intensive to maintain and were only possible due to something else the ancient Romans were also famous for – slave labor.
But while the Romans were taking credit for central heating (the probably stole the idea from the ancient Greeks), the practice of warming a home had been going on half-way across the globe in the far east for over 10,000 years. China had heated beds called Kangs and Koreans developed a heated floor system called Ondol, which means “warm stone.” These technologies were created and developed in Asia between 5,000 and 10,000 BC.
HOW IT WORKS
Radiant heating works by heating objects rather than air. By supplying heat directly under the floor, the systems depend mostly on radiant heat transfer – or the delivery of heat directly from the hot surface to the people and objects in the room via infrared radiation. In plain English, think of it as the effect you feel when you can feel the warmth of a hot stovetop element from across the room, or how you can feel warm in direct sunlight on a cold day.
Compare that with how a typical forced-air heating system. Air blows out at 120 degrees, rises to the top of the room where it quickly sheds heat, then drops back down as it cools. The air in the room becomes stratified: Your head is warm while your feet are freezing. Then there’s the problem of cycling. “You turn on the furnace, it quickly takes you to 68 or 70, and then shuts off,” says Richard Trethewey, heating expert of PBS’s This Old House. It’s a phenomenon he calls “the cold 70,” which is what you feel right after the hot air stops pumping from the registers.
Those temperature swings are absent with radiant floors, which may reach 85 degrees, tops, on a frigid day. The warm air still rises, but it does so evenly over the entire floor, so the coolest air stays up at the ceiling. So, unless you’re changing a lightbulb, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be consistently comfortable in a room warmed with radiant floor heat.
ADVANTAGES
Radiant heating has some major advantages over traditional systems. It is more efficient than baseboard heating and usually more effective than forced-air heating because there are no ducts for the heat to escape. It’s great for people who suffer from allergies because it doesn’t distribute allergens like forced air systems can’t or collect dust like baseboards.
Electric heated floors are super easy to maintain. And on the rare occurrence where they fail, they have the unique ability to show where there’s a break in the cable. A professional with a thermographic camera can scan the floor to locate and fix the problem. This way, only a small portion of the floor needs to be removed to fix the issue.
Best of all, electric floor heat is affordable. The good folks at familyhandyman.com say that by adding electric radiant heat to a typical bathroom when you’re installing a new floor only adds about $200-$300 to the overall cost of the project. It only costs about $0.12 per kWh to operate, on average, which equates to pennies per day. Used with a smart thermostat, you can set your floor only to turn on before you’re scheduled to come home and heat up a room in a fraction of the time of a traditional system. Best of all, it dramatically can increase the resale value of your home. And, as a green energy, you may be able to take advantages of tax incentives that have been extended into 2022.
HOW IT’S INSTALLED
Electric radiant floors consist of electrically conductive mats mounted on the subfloor below the floor. There are different systems depending on whether the floor that covers the cables is made of tile, hardwood or engineered.
The system can be fitted by an intrepid DIY person who understands (and has the patience for) flooring. Laying the heating mats on top of the subfloor is actually the easiest part of the job. However, just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should do that thing.
Your new radiant heated floor system is going to need its own dedicated circuit. All electrical work, including wiring and connecting the thermostat to the heating system, needs to be completed by a certified electrician.
PK & Altman Electric has installed radiant floor heating systems underneath hardwood, tiled and laminate floors throughout the New York City area. Working with your flooring company, we’ll be on hand for all phases of your installation, from helping you choose the ideal heating mats and thermostat to wiring the system to your home’s panel. And, as a licensed contractor approved by Con Edison, all work done by PK & Altman’s expert staff is guaranteed to meet New York City safety code standards.
Are you ready to step into the luxury, convenience and efficiency of an electric heated floor? From estimate to completion, our team of licensed electricians is on-hand to help you take your home’s comfort to the next level.
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