Is radiant heating the right choice for your basement? Whether you have a finished basement or not, an unheated space can lead to problems in the winter. If your home’s central system doesn’t extend to the lower level, take a look at what you need to know about the basement, HVAC options, and radiant heating.
Does A Basement Need a Heating System?
Your basement might feel like the coldest space in your home. Heated air expands. This makes it less dense than colder air. This lighter, warmer air rises away from your basement – leaving this area cold and uncomfortable.
Along with the physics of warm and cool air, a lack of heating vents or radiators, poor insulation, dryer and other appliance vents, solar heat gain issues in the higher levels of your home, and humidity levels can leave your basement feeling colder than the rest of your home’s interior.
Without a basement-level heater, the cold air could make a finished space unusable. But does this mean you can leave an unfinished basement without heat? Even though your family may not spend a significant amount of time in your unfinished basement, this area does need a heating source. Frigid winter temperatures could negatively affect appliances in your basement or allow exposed pipes to freeze.
Which Type of Heater Should You Choose for a Basement?
If you already have air ducts and vents in the basement, you may want to extend a forced air central heating system to the area. But if your basement is ductless or you do not have an existing forced air system, consider other options.
Is Radiant Heating One of Your Options?
Yes, radiant floor heating is one of your basement-level HVAC options. Before you explore this basement heating alternative, you may need to learn more about what it is, how it works, and its benefits.
Instead of ducts and vents, radiant systems use heat transfer to warm an interior space. These systems use convection to circulate air around a room. The primary types of radiant floor heaters (radiant systems woven into the subfloor level of the room) are air electric and water, or hydronic, systems.
Do Radiant Floor Heaters Only Heat the Basement Floor?
Even though the word floor is in the name, these systems heat more than just the lower surface of a room. The heating elements are inside of the floor. But the heat will not stay trapped at this level. Instead, the system produces thermal radiation. This diffuses upwards and, through convection, heats the basement area. This allows you to heat your entire basement and not just a cold slab concrete, tile, or wood floor.
How Can a Homeowner Install Basement Level Radiant Floor Heating?
A homeowner should not install their own radiant floor heating system. Unless you have extensive knowledge of this type of system and experience with installation, leave this job to a professional.
The HVAC contractor you choose should specialize in radiant heating and employ technicians who know how to correctly place this type of system. Some types of radiant floor heaters go underneath concrete slab flooring. This process is known as a wet installation.
If the contractor does not feel this is the best option, your home will need a dry installation. Unlike a wet installation, the dry process uses plywood or another subfloor material instead of concrete. Think of the radiant tubing as the center of a subfloor and visible floor sandwich.
Do you want to learn more about basement heating options and radiant floor systems? Contact Apollo Heating, Air & Plumbing today for more information on residential services.
