Does your home’s master bath need a heated floor? The bathroom isn’t the largest room in the house – and it certainly isn’t a space your guests visit often. But this doesn’t mean you should ignore the bathroom or how it’s heated. Take a look at what you need to know about radiant heating and your bathroom’s floor.
What Is Radiant Heating?
This type of heating system uses convection to keep an interior space warm. Instead of forced air and vents or hot water and radiators, this HVAC option uses a series of tubing placed inside the floor, under the tile or other panels. As these tubes warm, heat transfers from the floor and circulates around the room as the air rises. This means the floor will stay warm – and so will the rest of the bathroom.
Is There Only One Type of Radiant Floor Heating?
You have multiple options for radiant floor heating. While each type works under the same general principle, you can select from air, electric, or hydronic (water) heating. An air-heated radiant floor is typically the least cost-effective strategy. Unlike some of the other methods, air is unable to hold larger amounts of heat. This decreases energy efficiency and raises the overall heating price.
Electric floors use heated cables instead of tubes filled with air or water. Even though electricity is a better heating method than air for a residential bathroom floor, this option can come with a hefty utility bill.
If you’re looking for an energy-efficient and cost-effective method, a water (also known as hydronic) system is your best bet. This type of radiant floor uses a boiler, pump, and water-filled tubes to heat the space.
When Should You Install a Radiant Bathroom Floor?
Again, this type of heating system goes under the visible part of the floor. This means you would have to remove tile or other flooring to install radiant heat in your bathroom. If you recently finished a major master bath renovation project, a new radiant heating floor installation could cost you unnecessary construction charges. But if you’re planning a bathroom remodel, now is the time to consider this heating option.
There are two primary radiant flooring installation methods – a wet or dry install. A wet installation requires the contractor to embed the heating tubes in a layer or slab of concrete. If the master bath doesn’t have a concrete slab (or you can’t reach it), it is sometimes possible to embed the tubes in gypsum, a poured concrete layer, or another similar type of building material that rests on top of the subfloor.
A dry installation uses air and a suspension method. Instead of embedding the tubes in a slab or piece of concrete, the contractor will install the tubes between two layers of subfloor or under the subfloor and between the home’s joists.
What Are the Benefits of Bathroom Floor Radiant Heating?
Now that you know the how’s of this type of system, it’s time to turn your attention to the why’s. If you’re still not sure whether radiant heating is right for your bathroom, consider the benefits. These include:
- Even heating. Unlike a vent or standing radiator, radiant heating tubes wind around the entire underside of the bathroom floor. This creates an even type of heat that will keep the entire master bath warm.
- Warm floor. Are you tired of the chilly tile floor you step onto after a nice warm bath or shower? You won’t have this problem with a radiant floor system.
- Quiet heating. If you don’t like the blowing sound of forced air heat, a radiant system is a quieter choice to explore. This quiet type of heater can add tranquility and turn your bathroom into a restful, spa-like space.
To learn more about radiant heating, the benefits, and your options, talk to a professional who specializes in this HVAC service.
Are you ready to upgrade the heating in your master bath? Contact Apollo Heating & Air for more information.
