Think of the sun warming the earth. Radiant heating works similarly. Instead of blasting hot air, it gently warms surfaces like floors, walls, and ceilings. These surfaces then radiate heat outward, creating a consistent, comfortable warmth that feels natural and enveloping. It’s like being wrapped in a blanket of warmth, without the stuffiness or noise of forced air.
When it comes to heating your home, the difference between forced air and radiant heat is night and day. On a typical day with a forced-air system, a furnace blasts hot air through ducts and vents to warm your living space. This method, however, is inherently flawed. Hot air rises. This results in a frustrating scenario: sweltering upstairs rooms while the downstairs remains stubbornly cold. Or in a room with high ceilings, the warmth can take a very long time to reach the occupants. To combat this uneven heating, you might open windows or doors upstairs, wasting energy and creating further temperature inconsistencies. The result? Drafts, cold spots, and an overall uncomfortable environment – not to mention the noise of the blowers kicking on and off throughout the day (and night).
Radiant heating, on the other hand, operates on a fundamentally different principle. It mimics the sun’s natural warmth, emitting infrared radiation that directly heats objects and surfaces – floors, walls, furniture – within a room. These surfaces in turn radiate heat, creating a consistent, even warmth that envelops the entire space. There are no drafts, no hot or cold spots, just a pervasive, comfortable and subtle warmth. Because radiant heating focuses on warming objects and people, it can operate at lower temperatures, leading to even greater energy savings.
Radiant floor heating: from the ground up
Forced air heating: from the top down
While there are exceptions, broadly speaking electric mats* are for smaller spaces like a kitchen or bathroom. These mats will warm the floor but the home will still require a primary heating source, like forced air heating. However, for whole-home comfort, hydronic systems (like Warmboard) are the superior option. By circulating warm water through underfloor tubing, they provide consistent, room-encompassing heat, not only warming the floors but heating your entire home.
Learn more about the differences between Hydronic and Electric Heating.
*In some regions, it can be very cost-prohibitive to operate, with monthly energy bills doubling or tripling just to heat a bathroom floor. Check local electricity rates when considering electric heating.
Traditional high-mass hydronic systems, relying on heated concrete to radiate warmth, excel at maintaining consistent temperatures. However, their slow response time often makes them impractical for homes requiring regular temperature adjustments. This is especially noticeable in the shoulder seasons where temperatures can swing wildly throughout the day. In contrast, low-mass systems offer significantly faster response times, allowing for more precise temperature control and efficient energy usage. Warmboard panels for example are coated with a thick aluminum surface
Learn more about High-Mass vs Low-Mass heating systems
Warmboard panel heating: fast response
High-mass concrete slab heating: slow response
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