In Floor Heat For Concrete

When the concrete floor is heated the heat rises warming everything in the room.

In floor heat for concrete.

Typically radiant heating systems warm floors to temperatures of 75 to 80 degrees f. While it was done as a new house was being built in my last house i poured a concrete floor on top of a wood framed floor system and could have put radiant heat in that as well. Remember that your slab will be about 75 degrees f. By contrast according to roddy scheer and doug moss of scientific american the uniform heat distribution over the entire surface of a floor heats the lower half of the room enveloping inhabitants in warmth at a lower overall temperature in some cases up to 5 degrees fahrenheit cooler than a conventional heating system.

This article explains how to avoid some fatal mistakes when installing radiant heat in a concrete floor slab by describing an incompetent radiant heat floor installation along with an explanation of why things went wrong and how to avoid these errors. Most of the heat rises to the ceiling. Find concrete floor contractorsto install radiant heating. The workers in the photograph at page top where our concrete slab.

The system works via pex pipe a small pump a water heater and a thermostat. Make sure your concrete has completely cured before you lay down your in floor heating mat. Radiant heating system design or installation mistakes that must be avoided. Mainly heated slabs radiate outward rather than downward so insulation on the edges of the slab is most important.

Like sand concrete is an ideal carrier of radiant heat because of its inherent thermal mass. Plain concrete slabs have served as the flooring material for basements garages patios and utility areas for many years but concrete is now also a viable material in home interiors where it can be polished etched or stained to serve as the finished flooring surface if you are used to thinking of concrete as a utilitarian surface suitable only for utilitarian surfaces the many virtues. As warm water circulates through the tubing or as electricity warms the heating elements the concrete flooring turns into an efficient inconspicuous radiator. 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.

Due to it s density and low conductivity concrete retains heat very well. The insulation phase is crucial for a radiant floor. Any cooler surface in contact with the slab will try to steal its heat. Fill any cracks in the concrete and use self leveling compounds if necessary to ensure the concrete is.

The science behind radiant floor heating is quite simple.