Why Radiant Heated Concrete Flooring is Awesome | The Floor Company
ETHAN@THEFLOORCOMPANY.CA | TEL: 613-866-7990
Serving Ottawa, Belleville, Peterborough and Renfrew

Blog

Our Thoughts, News & Updates about Concrete Flooring in Ottawa

Why Radiant Heated Concrete Flooring is Awesome

Radiant heat concrete floors-  ahhhhhhhhhhhh so comfortable. There is no exaggeration here. Radiant heat is the most comfortable heating system you’ll even encounter.

Radiant heat has been around for many years in other forms. Think back to those old school radiators along the exterior walls of heritage buildings, usually under the windows. These heating systems radiate outwards around themselves but create cold zones as they can only radiate so far.

With radiant pipes in the floor, heat rises from literately everywhere in your structure, creating a warm bubble for you to walk through regularly. Not only does it feel absolutely amazing on your feet but as the heat rises naturally it stays where you need it with no extra energy effort to do so.radiant heat concrete floor

Unlike forced air which blows hot air around that’s already starting to cool down since being created in the combustion process of the furnace, radiant heat doesn’t require blowers, vents, filters or any of the room that typical forced air systems require.

Besides being silent due to the lack of blowers as well as the lack of dust creation and distribution, radiant heat is constant. There’s no waiting for the next time the furnace will “kick in”. This is a huge benefit as you’ll always feel comfortable in what you’re wearing without feeling like you should have a sweater available to you in every room.

Of course with all advantages there are disadvantages. The initial cost for a radiant heat system in your home is higher for example. Also, if you need to change the temperature you can do so, however, due to the thermal staying power of concrete floors, it can take several hours for changes to take effect.

For those of us with many differing personal heat requirements due to a large family in the home, many zones can be installed with a radiant heat system. These zones allow for different temperatures to be set room by room or even within different quadrants of a given room. Keep in mind, these zones need to be created prior to pouring your concrete slab.

When hiring a contractor to install your radiant heat system and floor ask if they have experience with radiant systems or just with concrete slab installation? You don’t want to hire a concrete contractor for your radiant pipe install who says things like “Well, it doesn’t really matter how we do this as long as the pipes are covered!”? – we didn’t think so. 

There is a real technicality to selecting and installing the correct systems and tools in the correct manner.

Contact us today to discuss finishes available for radiant heat floors or if you should have any questions we can continue the conversation with you.

About the Author