Are Floor Heating Systems Like Walking On Sunshine?

Are floor heating systems like walking on sunshine? Well, at least there's no more walking on cold floors in the morning!

I used to love walking on hot concrete next to swimming pools as a child. The heat would rise up through my feet and warm up my whole body after a dip in the pool. I loved the way my feet could help me feel warm all over.

However, the opposite was to be true when I walked around my house in the winter. The cold would rise up my feet even on short visits to the bathroom.

I used to think cold floors were just a fact of life. Cold winters = cold feet = cold body.

Then last October, I bought a home that had an under-floor heating system already installed in it. Wow! Now cold winters = warm feet = warm body!

For me, the best part is that I can run to the bathroom in the night without looking for my slippers! I think that in-floor heating systems are the closest thing we're going to get to walking on sunshine.

How To Install Floor Heating Systems In Your Existing Home

What do you do if you want the same thing for yourself? How do you go about getting a floor heating system installed in your existing home?

Well, you can get an electric floor heating system installed in an small size bathroom for around $500 - $1000. A slimline model will only raise your floor by 1/8". You can have a system installed under your existing tiles or floating floorboards.

You can also go the DIY route - there are plenty of kits available.

How To Install Floor Heating Systems In Your New Home

If you're building a home from scratch, you have a couple of choices. You can get an electric (radiant) in floor heating system, or you can get a hydronic floor heating system. I'll explain both.

Electric floor heating systems are much cheaper to install than hydronic systems. Hydronic floor heating systems involve a network of pipes under the floor which carry boiling water and thus send heat up through your floor, heating your entire house. You need to install a new boiler, which is part of the added cost.

Hydronic systems are only recommended for new homes and for cold climates where you need to heat all day long for large parts of the year.

In a nutshell, the difference is that electric in-floor heating systems are better if you are using them only to warm your feet, and not the whole house.

Hydronic in-floor heating systems are better if you are using them to heat your whole house, not only your feet. Hydronic systems (which can cost more than ten times the price of electric systems) are also only worth the added cost if your house has six rooms or more and is located in a cold climate. The added cost of hydronic systems is partly because they require a boiler to be installed, whereas electric systems do not.