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Does anyone have any experience with electric radiant heat? My wife and I are currently doing over our back family room (12x18') which sits on a slab. We will be tiling the room, so our concern is a real cold floor even with baseboard heat back there. I was reading online about electric radiant heat systems as a way to supplement existing heating systems. We currently have a monoflow hot water system (gas/baseboards). Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
It works ok as a supplement. Takes longer to get to temp as opposed to a liquid based radiant. It's cheap and easy to install. You must check ohms on the wiring as you install, the slightest nick while installing and it's junk. The manufacturer will give you a base ohm # to test against as you work. I've installed quite a bit of this stuff and it's pretty good overall. I say fo for it.
It works ok as a supplement. Takes longer to get to temp as opposed to a liquid based radiant. It's cheap and easy to install. You must check ohms on the wiring as you install, the slightest nick while installing and it's junk. The manufacturer will give you a base ohm # to test against as you work. I've installed quite a bit of this stuff and it's pretty good overall. I say fo for it.
Thanks for the feedback. Do you cover the entire floor space with the mats? If so, it looks like just the mats will cost over 2k for a 12x18' room. This SunTouch system at HD goes for $325 for a 12'x30" mat, so I would need 7 mats, taking me close to 2500k just in mats...a bit more than I anticipated. Here is that unit:
You don't necessarily have to cover all of the floor with the mats. Depends on the layout of the room. Shop online for the materials! There are many size options for the square footage required and definitely much better deals to be found online.
Thanks again. The guy who is doing the work in the backroom will be looking into running a hot water radiant tubing system with PEX and will let me know if that is more cost effective than electric. Our monoflow loop is accessible from this room, so maybe this would be the better option. Do you know if a room of this size should be on a dedicated zone?
We did our kitchen with electric radiant heat. The kitchen was extended and half of the kitchen is over an unheated crawl space. The kitchen is roughly 12 X 18. I purchased the materials from 'Warmly Yours". I think the materials (using the contractors pricing) was about $1,400. The electric mats do not get installed under the cabinets. There is no baseboard heat or radiators in the room, there is a 6' sliding glass door and three windows. The radiant heat keeps the room comfortable. It was the best solution to a room that was always cold.
I keep the thermostat at a constant 70 degrees because it takes so long to heat up the concrete mass and for it to cool down as well. There is no noise (like steam heat) and it takes up no floor space either. It is a pleasure walking into the room barefoot in the winter, when in the past it was unbearable.
We did our kitchen with electric radiant heat. The kitchen was extended and half of the kitchen is over an unheated crawl space. The kitchen is roughly 12 X 18. I purchased the materials from 'Warmly Yours". I think the materials (using the contractors pricing) was about $1,400. The electric mats do not get installed under the cabinets. There is no baseboard heat or radiators in the room, there is a 6' sliding glass door and three windows. The radiant heat keeps the room comfortable. It was the best solution to a room that was always cold.
I keep the thermostat at a constant 70 degrees because it takes so long to heat up the concrete mass and for it to cool down as well. There is no noise (like steam heat) and it takes up no floor space either. It is a pleasure walking into the room barefoot in the winter, when in the past it was unbearable.
It may be beneficial to add it as an additional zone. There are variables as to whether it would make sense or not so best bet is to discuss this with your plumber.
I think the best solution is to set up a true radiant heat loop off your existing boiler. Have done electric radiant in bathrooms and they seem to work well but would have reservations about using it for the size room you describe. Electric costs here are insane to say the least and the care needed to install them correctly I think should limit there uses to small area as supplemental heat.
Hydronic radiant heat is a great source of primary heat for a room. This how ever is not a simple or small job as there are alot of variables that need to be considered. A seperate zone must be used as radiant heat uses warm water not hot water that baseboard or radiators use.
I have installed radiant heat in more than half of my house now [under tile, wood flooring and concrete basement floor] and can say without a doubt it is fantastic and well worth the investment.
Does anyone have any experience with electric radiant heat? My wife and I are currently doing over our back family room (12x18') which sits on a slab. We will be tiling the room, so our concern is a real cold floor even with baseboard heat back there. I was reading online about electric radiant heat systems as a way to supplement existing heating systems. We currently have a monoflow hot water system (gas/baseboards). Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Why can't you go all gas?
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Radiant heat
