You turn on your furnace, it heats to the designated temperature, then it shuts off. This explains why your toes could still be cold while your head is warm. Air blows from registers at a temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, where it rises to the top of the room, then drops back down as it cools. Compare this to conventional forced-air heat, which is what most American homes have. You stay warm, because these objects have their own heat and aren’t taking yours. As mentioned above, the heat waves rise and warm the objects they strike. In radiant floor heating, warmth comes from hot-water tubes or electric wires buried beneath the floor. Call Alpine Aire to speak with a knowledgeable technician about this heating choice for your home. However, technology has brought PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) tubing onto the scene, eradicating the need for metal and corroding piping, making radiant floor heating an efficient and favorable choice for heating homes. It fell out of use during that time due to the copper-pipe corrosion and the cost of breaking through floors for replacement. The ancients used it in their homes and bath houses, heating their marble and tile floors, while Frank Lloyd Wright used copper piping in his homes, with a few postwar subdivisions implementing it as well. Subfloor heating has been around from the ancient Romans and Turks to Frank Lloyd Wright. There are a number of homes in the Wenatchee, WA, area enjoying the benefits of radiant floor heating. Even though the air temperature remains the same, these objects are warmed and, therefore, not stealing heat from your body. As the waves of thermal radiation rise from below, they warm any objects they touch in the room, which then in turn radiate that heat. Radiant floor heating has the feel of standing in a window on a sunny cold day with the sun warming you, without the sun needing to warm the outside air. It’s not drafty, without duct work, registers, and returns involved. Since the heat actually emanates from the floor, it is efficient and quiet, without blowing allergens throughout a home’s air. However, air-heating is not very cost-effective and therefore not popular in residential areas.Radiant floor heating can be called the silent hero of home heating. The last type of radiant heat system is air-heated, in which a furnace pumps hot air throughout the floors, similar to a hydronic system. Hydronic radiant heat is considered both the most popular and cost-effective of the different types. Hydronic systems, which are attached either in concrete under the house or the underside of the sub-floor, consist of tubing that pumps heated water through a boiler. Heat is generated through electrical resistance and is most efficient under ceramic tile or other floorings that easily allow heat to seep upwards. Radiant floor heating has several different types but depends heavily on the process of convection to warm the surfaces in your home.Įlectric radiant heat systems consist of electric cables attached to the underside of the sub-floor. Radiant heating supplies heat directly to the floor and sometimes the walls. Heat is not distributed throughout your space evenly and therefore results in constant toggling of the thermostat, causing energy to be consumed far more than necessary. Lastly, the biggest con associated with forced air is the inefficiency. Because the air is directly heated, it takes very little time to flow throughout your home. The biggest pro of a forced air system is the quick heating time. Some other cons of radiant heating include: The main con associated with radiant heating is the installation cost, which as stated above can be quite pricey. However, radiant heating isn’t a perfect solution. The main pro for radiant heating is its efficiency in using energy.īecause radiant heating systems only need to be heated to around 84 degrees to run, less energy is consumed, and therefore, bills are lower. Perhaps you don’t have the initial budget for radiant heat, or you aren’t interested in a sub-floor installation.īelow are the various pros and cons of the two systems to assist in your decision-making process.Ī professional HVAC technician will be able to answer any questions you might have as well. While radiant heat is overall more efficient, there are reasons why one might choose to go with forced air instead. One way to decide whether radiant heat or forced air is better for you is by analyzing the pros and cons of each system. What Are the Pros and Cons of Radiant Heat and Forced Air?
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