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Installing radiant floor heating in Seattle is rapidly becoming a common occurrence, but why?
If you are a Seattleite, you already know how crucial it is to keep your home well-heated in order to fend off the damp, biting Seattle winter. Coming home to a cold house, inconsistently heated rooms, and outrageous energy bills are things to which Seattle residents have grown accustomed.
Fortunately, there is a better way! Radiant floor heating can heat more evenly and efficiently than traditional forced air heating systems. Combined with smart thermostats, underfloor heating can use up to 40% less energy and save customers up to 25% on their energy bills.
Read on to find out more about the advantages of radiant floor heating over traditional forced air systems.
7 Benefits of Radiant Floor Heating Over Forced Air for Seattle Homes
1. Space Saving and Discreet
Electric underfloor heating systems are installed between your house’s subfloor and finish flooring. Unlike forced air heating systems, radiant floors do not rely on vents or radiators to produce heat; the floor itself is the heat source.
Underfloor heating systems will not decrease your home’s living space. With products like Warmup’s StickyMat systems that use an ultra-thin ⅛” heating wire, the height of your floor will not be impacted by your heat source.
2. Cost-Saving
Installing radiant floor heating in Seattle homes is a great way to save on your energy bill.
The wet, dreary cold of the Washington coast causes most people to have the heat in their homes on all winter, if not most of spring and fall, as well. Using radiant heat to warm the space, rather than forced air, underfloor heating technology can generate the same feeling of warmth as forced air systems at a lower temperature, using up to 40% less energy.
Pairing your radiant floor heat with a smart thermostat, like Warmup’s 6iE Smart wifi Thermostat, allows you to use features like weather-based Early Start to activate your heat based on your local weather forecast. SmartGeo technology allows your thermostat to turn the heat down while you’re away, and turn the heat up when you’re on your way home. These features can save you up to 25% on your energy bills.
3. Quiet Operation
Unlike forced air systems which use noisy fans to blow heated air throughout your house, radiant floor heating systems are completely silent.
4. Consistent, Reliable Temperatures
Forced air heating systems blow warm air out of vents dispersed throughout your living area. This creates considerably warmer spaces near the vents, while areas further from the vents remain noticeably cooler.
Radiant heating systems heat your entire floor, to warm your living space evenly and consistently from the bottom up. This consistent warmth makes radiant floor heating in Seattle homes a preferred option on those teeth-chatteringly cold days.
5. No Ductwork Needed
Forced air heating systems require large ducts inside your walls and ceilings. Sometimes the ductwork is too big for standard 2×4 walls and needs to be housed by 2×6 or even 2×8 walls. Increasing the size of your framing can significantly reduce the living space in your remodel or new construction project.
If the path your ducting needs to travel is blocked by structural framing members, plumbing, or wires, you may need to run your ductwork outside your wall or ceiling and build an additional chase to surround it. Chases are common, but they can be unsightly and take up valuable living space.
6. Fewer Allergen Issues
Forced air heating systems are blowing more than heat throughout your house; they’re blowing dust and other allergens too.
Unlike forced air, radiant heat does not rely on fans or moving air. By generating heat with an ultra-thin heating wire underneath your floor, radiant heating does not stir, circulate, or spread any allergens through your house. This makes radiant floor heating an excellent option for people in Seattle with allergen sensitivities.
7. Smart Thermostat Integration
With products like the 6iE Smart wifi Thermostat, Seattle residents can intelligently and intuitively heat their homes, and save up to 25% on their energy bill!
Don’t want to blast the heat while you’re running errands, but want to avoid coming home to a cold house? No problem; SmartGeo technology turns the heat down while you’re away and turns it back up when you’re heading home.
Don’t want to heat your whole house when you’re only in one room? Need to be able to control your heat using your phone? The MyHeating App makes it a breeze to do all that and more right from the palm of your hand.
The Best Time to Install Radiant Floor Heating in Seattle
Although you can do it any time of year, the best time to install radiant floor heating in Seattle is during the summer. By finishing your home heating projects during the summer, you can ensure that you will be able to enjoy the luxury of your new radiant floor heat when the seasons change.
Types of Radiant Heating Systems
Hydronic
Hydronic radiant floor heating is a style of underfloor heating that pumps heated water through tubes installed in the subfloor. While hydronic radiant floor heating provides the same even, consistent heat as its electric counterpart, it does have some drawbacks.
Hydronic floor heat uses water, so it presents more opportunities for disaster to strike. It is common for flooring contractors or finish carpenters to accidentally shoot a nail through the tube. A pierced line will cause water damage to not only the flooring, but also the ceiling below if it is above a finished living space.
Caution is strongly advised on all projects when working around hydronic radiant floor heating.
Electric
Electric radiant systems heat the floor using an ultra-thin wire. Many electric radiant systems are easy to install and only require you to stick a mat to the floor with adhesive.
Warmup’s electric radiant systems are easy to install and protected by their SafetyNet installation guarantee, to protect against accidental damage during installation. Combined with 24/7 customer service, installing radiant floor heating in Seattle has never come with greater peace of mind.
Choose Warmup Radiant Heating for a More Comfortable Home
Combining consistent heating with easy installation and significant cost-savings, there’s never been a better time to install radiant floor heating in Seattle. Don’t spend another winter huddled next to your heating vent; discover the luxury and comfort of an evenly heated home while saving money on your energy bill.
With over 2.5 million systems sold worldwide, Warmup is the world’s best-selling floor heating brand. Providing cutting-edge technology, industry-leading warranties, and twenty-four-hour customer service, Warmup can help turn your cold Seattle residence into the cozy home of your dreams.
Visit our website, or contact us today for more information.