Electric in Floor Heating - Is it Better Than Hydronic Heating?

There have been various methods and means of heating, along with several electric in floor heating options. The demand for this type of radiant heating has been growing since it started back in the fifties. It has for sure really taken off in the past 20 years, although, when most people see in floor heating, they see Radiant Floor Heat Systems, which uses miles of hot water pipes which are put in beneath the floor.

With this method of in floor heating, although especially best-selling, has its own challenges when it comes to Installing Radiant Floor Heat, which could be a tenacious and expensive experience. But there's a cure for this, and that comes in the form of electric in floor heating. Easy to use in specific rooms, patios and even driveways to melt away snow, the real advantage to electric floor heating is its ease of installation, which makes it a very viable option to the hydronic version.

Electric in floor heating has the same fundamental principles that are used in hydronic heating, which is that warm air heats the floor surface, which successively heats the furnishings and the people in the room, without needing to warm up air at a source, and then blow it throughout the home. Where it really shines is in the cost. A rough estimate for a typical bathroom is about $500 for the electric, whereas hydronic heating may be double that.

The actual heating system for electric is also a good deal simpler to put in, as it's simply a thin pad which is installed on the subfloor just under the finish flooring. As likened to the hydronic system where pipes have to be placed into concrete, and then you install the finish flooring on top of the concrete, electric for sure pulls ahead in terms of convenience.

But the cheaper cost of installing electric in floor heating, you do lose out on in the long run as it will cost you more to operate. A hydronic system in concrete will keep their heat for a longer time than the electric in floor heating pads, and using hot water is likewise more cost-effective than using electric by itself. If you simply only need to have a certain spot heated you can look at some Heated Floor Mats as a good low cost option.

One you've taken everything into consideration, it's wise to consider all the pros and cons of each system, prior to choosing which one would be better for you. For instance, if your thinking about installing a heating system in a specific room that's not used very often, you feel the warmth from an electric system sooner than having to wait for the hot water system to heat up, another thing to consider is turning off the system. The electric heating cools fast whereas the hot water system can take a day or more to cool.