Radiant Floor Heat Electric Vs Hot Water

They both heat hot water this is true but their function is different.

Radiant floor heat electric vs hot water.

Electric floor heaters are available as either a heated mat or heating cable based system and both convert electric energy into radiant warmth. Water radiant heat by brian whitehurst 11 26 2012 radiant heating is becoming more and more popular and the benefits are becoming more widespread. Boiler many people use these terms interchangeably but the reality is that they are very different. Hot water heater a hot water heater is used to give you domestic hot water for your appliances like dishwashers and washing machines as well as fixtures like showers and sinks.

You can either use plastic tubing with hot water hydronic or electric cables. Electric radiant heat electric radiant heat is a cable or film that generates warmth by alternating currents running in a mat or cable system. If you want to heat 200 sq. As a result electric in floor heating.

If your home is already heated by hot water radiators or baseboard units there s a good chance that your existing boiler can handle the hydronic system as well. The heat source for a hydronic system can be a boiler or a standard water heater. Learning the pros and cons. Or more of floor a hydronic system may cost less to install than electric heat.

Heating mats use ultra thin electric heating wires pre attached to a ready sized mat. For some people they ve made the decision to switch to. The mat is powered by electricity 120v or 240v which is the same cost as hydronic. Radiant systems can also usually be run at six to eight degrees cooler than forced air as hot air rises and the latter usually pushes the hot air in at the top of the room reducing its effectiveness.

To summarize unlike traditional radiators which can make a room feel chilly at times and too hot at other times underfloor heating does not overheat instead it achieves the desired temperature set by you using an on the wall thermostat. From an architectural point of view electric radiant heat systems have the least impact since heating cable thickness is only 1 8 compared to 5 8 outside diameter of 1 2 pex tubing. Both offer the same end result a room that s evenly heated from the floor up but each operates in a very different way.