Many
homeowners love the look of tile, wood, or floating
woods but dread stepping
out of their soothing shower
onto cold tile, especially during those frigid winter
months. And many love tile or wood in their kitchens
and living areas but worry about their little ones
playing and pitter-pattering on cold floors. That’s
why so many are opting for electric radiant floor heating
systems to warm up their floors.
The installation of electric radiant floor heating is
not new: heated floors have been installed under bathroom
and kitchen tile in the United States for the past 10
years and the warming products continue to gain popularity.
Many in the kitchen and bath industry expect radiant
floors to continue to play a big role among homeowners
who crave comfort features.
Joan McCloskey, editorial
marketing director for Better Homes and Gardens magazine,
told homebuilders at the
2003 International Builders Show that warm floors in
the bathroom is on the list of must-have comforts. “Our
bathrooms set the mood for the day and homeowners want
it light, comfortable, and cheerful,” she said. “Toys
in this room and the master include heated floors, little
refrigerators, steam showers with multiple shower heads,
soaking tubs, towel warmers, fireplaces, and coffee nooks.”
These thin electric floor
heating mats have been very popular in bathrooms and
kitchens for a long time. However,
the installation of these systems under carpet and floating
wood was not practical because they needed to be embedded
in a layer of thin-set cement, which you normally don’t
use when you install a new carpet or floating wood floor.
As a result, very few people would opt for a heated floor
under carpet or floating wood. Up until now: Underwriters
Laboratory has given the thumbs up to Warmly Yours’ Environ
II system, a radiant heating system that can be directly
installed under carpets and floating wood floors, without
cement.
It is the first time that
UL tested and approved a floor warming mat to be installed
directly between the pad
and the carpet or floating wood. “It’s very
easy to install,” said Julia Stalfort from www.WarmlyYours.com “You
can do it yourself: all you need to do is tape the Environ
II system on the underlayment pad then lay the floating
wood or carpet over it. It takes a few seconds and your
carpet or floating wood is warm.” The heating mat
is hardwired to a thermostat with an in-floor temperature
sensor taped to the heating mat. The thermostat needs
to be wired to a regular 110-volt circuit by an electrician.
In addition to providing warmth, these new floor heating
mats are energy efficient. Because it is under the carpet
or floating wood and over the foam pad, it provides additional
insulation from the cold sub-floor. The Environ II is
constructed of an ultra thin heating wire that exists
in four layers of foil, quickly and efficiently distributing
heat. A 120-square-foot coverage would probably cost
about 40 cents a day, on average.
