To keep a family dwelling warm long ago, the members were required to spend hours and hours cutting down trees and chopping the wood into small enough pieces to fit into a heating stove that was often located in the middle of the room. The only spot in the dwelling that stayed warm was the circular area right around the stove. Well, long gone are those days of back-breaking labour to help the family stay warm. With the invention of radiant in-floor heating, every square inch of a home can be kept comfortably warm through even the coldest winter.
Upon learning about this style of heat, many people ask, “How does in-floor heating work?” Surprisingly, the concept of in-floor heating is not a new one. Only the methods have changed. When archaeologists made digs in the Aleutians of Alaska and in Asia, they discovered trenches that had been dug in the ground under dwellings to allow smoke from fires to tunnel beneath stones that were placed over the trenches. Heat from the stones then radiated into the living quarters to provide warmth.
With modern applications of radiant in-floor heating, objects are warmed as well. When merely the surrounding air is warmed, as is the case with regular heating systems, the heat is quickly lost. Today’s in-floor heating technology allows for cables to be installed below the floor covering. These cables can even come pre-spaced within a thin fiberglass mesh for ease of installation. The waterproof, fully grounded system can be placed under ceramic or stone tile and under laminate or floating wood flooring. Even certain types of vinyl floors and carpet will work. Additionally, hydronic systems are also popular because they pump heated water through tubing laid under the floor.
Maintenance for in-floor heating is usually required less often than maintenance of traditional forced-air heating systems. The average cost of the installation and running of this type of radiant heat system is dependent on locale, climate, and size of the structure. The ideal time to consider installing in-floor heating is during the construction phase of a new home. To sum it up, when anyone asks, “How does in-floor heating work?” the answer should be simple. It works very well.
For more information on in-floor radiant heating, call the experts at Langton Heating and Air Conditioning in Hamilton at (905) 312-9644.