Living somewhere with cold winters makes reliable indoor heating essential. But what happens when your primary heating system isn’t enough to keep you warm?
You rely on supplemental heating systems to provide additional warmth.
In fact, it is for this reason that radiant floor heating has become a popular product for many homeowners.
Want to know why radiant floor heating is an effective supplement heating system?
Keep reading!
Using Radiant Floor Heating as a Supplement Heating System
Before using a radiant floor heating system as a supplemental heating source, you need to make sure that doing so — and installing a radiant floor — is your best option. To make that decision, consider the below factors:
The Climate
The climate you live in can significantly impact the effectiveness of your primary heating system. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, the colder the climate is, the more important it is to have a supplement heating source that adds warmth in your home.
If, however, you live in an area where your climate does not affect your primary heating system, you might not necessarily need radiant floor heating — though it could always be helpful.
(We’ll talk about this later.)
Insulation
The insulation of your home is also a factor you should consider. And here’s why:
If a building has insufficient insulation, adding radiant floor heating won’t necessarily solve the problem, but it will help provide supplemental heating — or could be used to create supplemental heating zones — in areas that get colder.
Room Position
Radiant floor heating can be installed almost anywhere, but it is important to consider the position and location of the room when installing a secondary heating source.
Interior rooms are easier to heat than rooms connected to exterior walls and closer to the cold air.
Flooring Material
Flooring material can impact the effectiveness of radiant floor heating systems. And although radiant heating systems are compatible with most materials, some offer more heat conductivity and transfer than others.
Advantages of Radiant Heating as Supplemental Heating
To give you an even better understanding of why you should use radiant heating as a supplement heating source, here are a few of the benefits:
- Energy Efficiency: This form of supplemental heating heats objects, not the air, wastes less energy than traditional forced air systems.
- Lessen the Load of Primary System: Having a consistent supplementary heating source means your primary system will not have to work as hard to keep the entire space heated, which allows homeowners to lower the thermostat a few degrees.
- Space Saving: Using an electric radiant heating system can also save you space within your home. You won’t have to rely on other secondary heating systems including, portable heaters, furnaces, or fireplaces
- Low Maintenance: Properly installed radiant heating systems can last 30 years or more with little to no maintenance requirements.
5 Tips For Using Radiant Heating As Supplemental Heating
To get the most out of radiant floor heating and other supplemental heating sources, there are a couple of things you should do:
1. Insulate Your Floors
Leaving floors uninsulated when installing radiant heating is asking for heat loss. Adding insulation, like rigid foam board, will help protect against heat loss and ensure more heat enters the room.
Not only will this help your primary heating system, but it will also help your secondary heating system operate more efficiently.
2. Adjust the Primary Heat Source
Once radiant heating is in place, you will want to adjust the thermostat by turning it down a few degrees because it will no longer have to compensate for cooler areas within the home.
Doing so may seem insignificant at first, but when you do it, you might see a difference in the cost of your utility bill.
3. Make Cooler Rooms Reach Room Temperature
Having radiant heating throughout the home will allow you to set all your spaces to room temperature.
This will help keep the whole home more consistently heated and ensure the primary system doesn’t have to try to compensate for temperature differences. In turn, it will help lower energy bills further.
4. Choose the Right Floor Covering
The right floor material can make all the difference in how well your radiant heating system heats. The flooring should be compatible with and able to withstand the temperatures of a radiant heating system. The flooring should, ideally, also offer good heat transfer.
5. Use a Smart Thermostat
Using a smart thermostat is one of the best things you can do when using radiant floor heating as a supplemental heating source — whether it’s for comfort or functionality.
The thermostat allows you to make the most of the system by setting schedules and zones, so rooms are only fully heated while in use. This is by far one of the best strategies to provide supplemental heating to other areas within a room.
Use Warmup Radiant Heating As Supplemental Heating
Radiant floor heating can be installed as supplemental heating throughout a home to help ensure that there is consistent, even heating.
This means that homeowners can rely less on their primary heating system, which allows them to lower their temperatures, resulting in money saved over time.
Contact Warmup today to learn more about our radiant heating systems and how to get the most out of them.