The Best Flooring for Radiant Heat

Kids love warm floors.

Many manufacturers are certifying that their floor coverings can be installed over under-floor radiant heating, but some materials are better suited than others for particular aspects of radiant heat. The three main advantages of radiant heat are a warm floor, radiant heat rather than convected heat like that from a forced air furnace, and efficient heating. Different floor coverings show these benefits to varying degrees.

Tile Floors

Tile floors without radiant heat are cold to the touch but with subfloor radiant heat installed, they perform extremely well with regard to all three radiant heat advantages. Since tiles conduct heat, they will warm up to a comfortable temperature and feel pleasantly warm to the touch. Since they are uniform and smooth, they are a good source of radiant heat and make the room's occupants feel comfortably warm. Since they are not good insulators, the heat produced under the floor is transmitted efficiently to the room. No other flooring performs as well with regard to these three radiant heat characteristics.

Wood Floors

Wood falls slightly below tile for conducting and radiating heat so that its performance for radiant heat floors is only adequate. It will feel warm, will supply some radiant heat and will heat the room adequately but not as well as tile. But radiant heat wood floors suffer from the drying out of the wood which is a major problem. Manufacturers suggest strategies such as laying the wood on the floor and turning on the heat before installing the wood, but problems are common. The ends of the planks near the walls tend to dry out more than the middle, leading to shrinking. If the heat is turned off during a humid summer, the wood might swell and buckle. Properly installed wood performs adequately in a very dry climate.

Laminate Flooring

Laminate flooring is synthetic flooring which varies widely in quality, thickness and installation recommendations. It must be certified for use with radiant floors, especially if they are electric. The manufacturer will provide detailed instructions for installing certified laminate flooring over radiant subfloor heating, and the recommendations of the floor heating manufacturer must be followed. Laminate does not conduct as well as tile, but will feel warm to the touch. Its heating performance both as a source of radiant heat and to heat the room is similar to that of wood.

Carpeting

Carpet is an insulator and will keep the heat generated under the floor from escaping readily. The subfloor temperature will therefore increase and the carpet may get quite hot. For this reason, radiant heating with thick carpeting is generally not recommended and even thinner carpeting must be certified for use with radiant heating. Carpeting with a pile less than 1/2 inch will not get too hot if installed in accordance with the carpet manufacturer's and radiant heat supplier's recommendations. A warm, fuzzy carpet feels very comfortable during the winter but, due to its insulating properties, its performance as a radiant heat source and for heating the room is inferior.

References

• Radiant-floor-heating.com: Hydronic Radiant Heating Floor Covering Options
• Warmzone: Welcome to Warmzone, The Experts in Tile Floor Heating.
• WoodFloorsOnline.com: Installing Hardwood Floors Over Radiant Heat Radiant Floor Heating
• Shaw Floors: Installing Laminate Flooring over Radiant Heated Sub Floors