Another option for radiant floor heating that is energy efficient are systems that circulate hot water through small tubes under the floor.
Hydronic radiant floor heating in concrete slab.
Home products hydronic systems concrete.
Sometimes the tubing and reinforcing mesh it is attached to gets lifted into the thickness of the slab as the concrete is placed.
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.
Other times the masons trample over the tubing and mesh as if it is not even there.
The most cost effective system for medium to larger homes is hydronic since the amount of power it would take to heat a whole home with electric would be substantial.
These radiant floor heating systems can also be installed on top of a slab before the flooring goes down.
Anyone who has installed hydronic floor heating has likely watched as his or her neatly placed tubing circuits get buried in concrete.
For concrete floor radiant heating systems the warm water tubing or electric heating elements can either be embedded within the slab on grade anywhere from the bottom of the slab to within 2 inches of the surface depending on the design and installation technique or fastened to the top of a concrete subfloor and then covered with an overlay.
This is the best choice for new construction and areas receiving new slabs.
This is about installing hydronic radiant floor heating in a slab floor system.
There s two basic types of concrete floor heating hydronic and electric.
Due to it s density and low conductivity concrete retains heat very well.