Installing Radiant Floor Heating In Old Home

Controlled by their own thermostat these electric floor heating systems don t replace your main heating unit they augment it.

Installing radiant floor heating in old home.

If you re installing radiant floor heat in an existing room you ll need a dedicated 15 to 20 amp gfci protected circuit to power the system and an excuse to lay a new tile floor. According to the this old house website the retrofit costs about 700 for a bathroom including the tile. It is a flexible system good for old house rehabs when the flooring is accessible from underneath or can be replaced. Copper within con crete is highly susceptible to corrosion and a lifespan of 50 years for a radiant floor was considered exceptional.

Homeowners may also assume that because a radiant floor heating system can be viewed and financed as a home improvement its installation will immediately raise their home s value. This in floor heating system consists of one thin continuous cable heating element woven into a mat that you install under the tile. It supplies heat only not air conditioning electric under floor radiant systems like those made by thermofloor and schluter ditra heat are also easy to install under new finish floors of wood or tile. Radiant heat systems are easily hidden under a tile floor.

These heated floors are a project best done when overhauling or changing the floor covering of an existing room or when adding a new room. Though installing a radiant floor heating system can run up to 50 percent more than for example conventional forced air heat it saves 30 percent in energy costs eventually paying for itself. But they all suffered from one primary problem longevity. No evidence exists suggesting that in floor heating either positively or negatively affects property values.

Many radiant floors most using copper tubing buried within concrete slabs were installed and used success fully in the 1960 s and 70 s. Its success with carpeted floors depends on the length of the weave thick carpets or those with thick pads won t work well as heat generated by the system will stay trapped in the floor.