Radiant Floor Heating Over Concrete

Quite simply concrete floor radiant heat is a system of pex tubes that carry hot water throughout a concrete floor or slab.

Radiant floor heating over concrete.

Second what types of flooring can be applied over the radiant floor heating system. Radiant heat can be an electrical heating element embedded into a very thin concrete overlay then tiled carpeted or have wood flooring installed over it. Both provide heating in a room from the floor up for consistent efficient warmth. These wires cannot be cut in any way and only partially manipulated so size your mat to the floor it will.

The heat from the radiant heated floor rises to heat all surfaces in a room or home. The rest of the house has clay tile. Tubes that circulate hot water or electrical heating elements are installed in the concrete slab when it s poured turning the thermal mass of the concrete into an inconspicuous radiator of warm even heat. Run the floor s heating system for at least 4 days at 64 72 degrees acclimate flooring in the room it will be installed in for at least 48 hours once installation is finished do not change radiant heat for at least another 48 hours never raise the flooring surface temperature above 82 degrees.

Radiant heat warms a floor s surface through electric mats or water tubing installed on the surface of a concrete floor and encased in an additional thin layer of concrete or thinset. Very helpful information regarding flooring choices that go with radiant heat. Like sand concrete is an ideal carrier of radiant heat because of its inherent thermal mass. There are two types of radiant floor heating electric and water based systems.

Electric radiant heating systems use wires embedded in a mat laid right on your concrete. Radiant systems require layered flooring so that the tubing can be hidden under the top layer. However radiant heat systems can be embedded in concrete floor slabs as long as a subsequent top floor covering such as tile is added. We are considering a seamless epoxy floor surface to cover the floor heating system.

We have a radiant floor heating system with a concrete slab and need to replace the wall to wall carpet in the bedroom with laminate flooring. Warm water systems run hot water through pipes to create heat whereas electric underfloor heating heats wiring beneath the floor to generate heat. As warm water circulates through the tubing or as electricity warms the heating elements the concrete flooring turns into an efficient inconspicuous radiator. Typically radiant heating systems warm floors to temperatures of 75 to 80 degrees f.

The science behind radiant floor heating is quite simple.