Floor Heating Introduction

Home Owners' Popular Choice

The number one reason consumers choose HeatLink hydronic radiant floor heating is comfort. The system eliminates chilly drafts. There's no need for fans to move air around.

In today's new home designs, hydronic radiant floor heating makes even more sense. Rooms (bathrooms included) are larger, with higher ceilings and lots of tile and other cold surfaces. With forced-air and radiator heating, these spaces generally feel cold. That's not a problem with radiant floor heating; even the hard surfaces will feel warm to the touch.

The system allows great flexibility when it comes to furniture arrangement, too. With forced-air or radiators, occupants must strategically place their furniture to accommodate grills or radiators. With radiant floor heating, furniture can go anywhere because there are no grills or radiators.

The Basics

At its most basic, hydronic radiant floor heating involves heating a structure by pumping warm water though specially designed tubing laid under or within the floor. The heat in these tubes radiates to the surface and rises evenly throughout the room above. The surface itself stays comfortably warm to the touch. This tremendously efficient heat transfer results in even and consistent heating.

Warm air rises, of course, and collects near the ceiling. In a home heated by convection, ceilings are always warmer than floors. With radiant floor heat, the opposite is true. The floor is warm, and so is the air up to the height sensed by the occupants. Thus, people within the space feel much more comfortable at lower temperature settings because the heat is coming from the floor.

HeatLink PEX tubing which delivers the heat is laid on the subfloor and covered with a flowable lightweight concrete. It can also be installed in the lower level concrete floor, or underneath the joist space-which is called a 'dry' or 'staple-up' installation.

The system allows any floor surface to be placed above it, including carpeting, ceramic tile, vinyl flooring, and wood.

Comfortable & Efficient

The surface temperature of the floor is designed to be no higher than 88 degrees F (31 degrees C), so it's always comfortable to walk on. HeatLink operates at the lowest possible water temperature to heat the structure. This level provides the most efficient transfer of energy. There are no wide temperature variations that you experience with forced air or radiator systems. It's also quiet! There are no noisy fans or radiator expansion noises to contend with, just quiet comfort. Energy efficiency is one of the system's strong points because the system delivers heat where it's needed, with little waste. A thermostat can be put in every room of the house, and unoccupied rooms can be set back to save energy.