The easiest way to explain the effect of radiant heat is to understand the feeling of warmth on your body from the sun on a cold day.
Even when the air temperature is clearly below freezing, you feel warm and comfortable when you are in direct sunshine. When you are out of the sun however, the feeling of warmth disappears, as the driver of the main temperature and sensation is the freezing air temperature.
This is exactly the way you experience radiant heat created by underfloor heating. The internal air temperature for a radiant heated building may be considerably lower than for a building heated via air convection, while achieving the same level of body comfort so it will make you feel warm without contributing to a stuffy atmosphere.
We have listed in this article some of the most popular reasons why people choose to heat their homes using radiant heat.
USING RADIANT UNDERFLOOR HEATING IS WELL SUITED FOR LOW ENERGY HOUSES
Radiant heat warms humans and objects rather than the air, ceiling and walls, making it very energy efficient. The comfort temperature levels when using radiant heat are on average 5.6 degrees lower than any other form of heating (source: the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers Radiant Heating Report ASHRAE – 55-92 2003) making the system more efficient to run as the room does not have to be heated to as high temperature as it needs to be with convectional heating systems.
ZONING FOR CONVECTION SYSTEMS DIFFICULT
Zoning which means having an individual thermostatic control for every room of a house is key in saving energy. It allows you to set different temperature settings for each room with no wasted energy by overheating a space that is not in use. This level of control is hard to achieve with a conventional system.
USING RADIANT UNDERFLOOR HEATING IS CLEAN – NO FUMES OR DUST MOVEMENT
There is minimal air movement associated with the system, meaning that there is less dust than with conventional heating systems circulating in the air.
USING RADIANT UNDERFLOOR HEATING SYSTEM HELPS TO MAINTAIN NATURAL HUMIDITY
Radiant heat does not require room humidification as air moisture content is generally adequate if the air is not dried out by combustion or by increased infiltration of cold, dry outside air.
ZERO TO LOW MAINTENANCE
Electric underfloor heating is a maintenance free system and a warm water based underfloor heating will only require low maintenance making the system a convenient long term heating solution.
Learn more about underfloor heating in your home or try our Underfloor Heating Product Selector to find a product suitable for your project.
