Radiant Floor Heating Over Concrete Slab

While hot water and air based radiant.

Radiant floor heating over concrete slab.

What is radiant floor heating. Radiant heat can be an electrical heating element embedded into a very thin concrete overlay then tiled carpeted or have wood flooring installed over it. I don t particularly like them however because they re not very energy efficient. Quite simply concrete floor radiant heat is a system of pex tubes that carry hot water throughout a concrete floor or slab.

A slab on grade is defined as any concrete slab poured over excavated soil. While it was done as a new house was being built in my last house i poured a concrete floor on top of a wood framed floor system and could have put radiant heat in that as well. There are several manufacturers of electric radiant floor heating systems that can be placed directly on top of an existing concrete slab. Radiant heat warms a floor s surface through electric mats or water tubing installed on the surface of a concrete floor and encased in an additional thin layer of concrete or thinset.

The system works via pex pipe a small pump a water heater and a thermostat. From a radiant heating perspective it doesn t matter if the slab is actually at grade or is poured several feet below grade as part of a full foundation. This is about installing hydronic radiant floor heating in a slab floor system. Qualified system installer the company who designs the radiant floor heating system may also install the system.

Tubing the water will circulate in tubing running beneath the floor in the concrete under wood floors or on a sub floor of wood precast concrete or slab on grade concrete. You can step onto a warm and inviting floor even one built on a concrete slab by adding in floor heating. The heat from the radiant heated floor rises to heat all surfaces in a room or home. Check out our video how to install radiant floor heat tubing in a slab on grade and read this page for a.