Have you ever gone on a ski vacation for the weekend and stayed at a little ski lodge? A lot of the times, they’ll have a huge fireplace in the main room with smaller bedrooms up in the loft area or second-story. But the problem is that when you’re in the main room with the roaring fire, you’re often overwhelmed by the heat and retreat to the bedroom, where it’s far chillier. You see, many vacation or weekend homes weren’t built with air conditioning ducts with which to deliver the heat to the different rooms of the house. However, there is a solution to adding heating to homes that have not been built for traditional forced air systems: radiant heaters.

As opposed to warm air systems (such as a forced air unit heaters), radiant heaters deliver the source of heat to the floor level, not the ceiling. Radiant heaters or radiant energy is the oldest form of heating used to provide comfort and is the basis for all heating systems.

Additionally, radiant heaters also offer more comfort than forced air heating by heating the atmosphere from the ground up. Since heat rises, the heat will be more evenly distributed, providing a much more comfortable atmosphere.

Radiant Heaters Tip: Radiant energy is totally pure radiation and is absorbed by an object without physical contact with the heat source or by heating the surrounding air, as is the case with convective, forced air systems.

If you’ve been researching home heating systems, chances are your head is spinning right about now.  It’s no wonder! The number of types of radiant heaters available for residences or businesses could make anyone dizzy in no time at all. There’s really a lot of selection for homeowners to choose from. Today we’ll discuss the electric cable heating system kind of radiant heaters. Electric cable heating systems are gaining popularity in as radiant heaters and are ideal for heating smaller areas (10-300 square feet) like bathrooms, kitchens, and sun rooms. These systems are comprised of a thermostat and a heating cable. On some systems, the cable is be shipped as a large spool of cable. These systems are oftentimes less expensive, and give you the ability to space the cable how you want and customize a layout that will heat every square inch of your floor. Other systems have the cable attached to a plastic mesh or tape to create a mat to maintain its proper spacing.

Every available cable system is equally effective, so when determining which radiant heater system to purchase, you should look at the warranty of the product, along with the ease of installation. Some cables must be embedded in a separate layer of concrete or mortar, whereas other systems can simply be installed in the thinset.

Radiant Heaters Tip: When heating smaller areas with a radiant heater, it is next to impossible to beat the simplicity and price of an electric cable heating system. 

Radiant heaters, as opposed to warm air systems (such as a forced air unit heaters), deliver the source of heat to the floor level, not the ceiling. And since warm air rises, heating the floors proves to be the most efficient means of heating living areas.

Radiant heaters or radiant energy is the oldest form of heating used to provide comfort and is the basis for all heating systems. Radiant energy is totally pure radiation and is absorbed by an object without physical contact with the heat source or by heating the surrounding air, as is the case with convective, forced air systems.

Under floor heaters were first used by the Romans. Initially the preserve of the rich, under floor heating became increasingly commonplace in public buildings and villas, particularly in the colder regions of the Roman Empire. The Roman system was based on hypocausts, comprising ducts that underlay the floor (itself built on raised brick piles) and flues that were built into walls. Hot air or steam from fires circulated up through this system, warming the floor and walls, with heat passing into the rooms.

More specifically, the floor was laid out as series of concrete slabs acting as radiant heaters supported by columns of layered tiles, with a furnace at the bottom of one exterior wall. By placing the fire here, the draught would take the radiant heat under the floor, and up through the walls to radiant heater chimneys located in the corners of the room.

Today we recognize the brilliance of the Romans and Koreans as early adopters of radiant heating, as the technology is still a desired method for delivering comfortable and efficient heat in our homes. Now we have radiant heaters using electric resistance cables that are constructed of highly rated materials and feature manufacturer warranties of up to 25 years.

About Warmzone
Warmzone provides consumers with energy-efficient, radiant heating solutions for homes and businesses. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Warmzone's electricians and radiant heat experts will help you determine the best radiant heating solution, ranging from electric heated floors to large commercial snow and ice melt projects. Send us a plan or drawings and we'll be happy to provide you with a FREE estimate and options for your roof heating and ice melting project.

For homeowners or renovators, it’s worth taking a look at several kinds of radiant heaters for residences or businesses. Today we’ll discuss the electric cable heating system kind of radiant heaters.

Electric cable heating systems, often called line- or high-voltage systems, are gaining popularity and are ideal for heating smaller areas like bathrooms, kitchens, and sun rooms. These systems are comprised of a thermostat and a heating cable. On some radiant heater systems, the cable will be shipped to you as a large spool of cable. These systems are oftentimes less expensive, and give you the ability to space the cable how you want and customize a layout that will heat every square inch of your floor. Other systems have the cable attached to a plastic mesh or tape to create a mat to maintain its proper spacing.

Every available radiant heater cable system is equally effective, so when determining which system to purchase, you should look at the warranty of the product, along with the ease of installation. Some cables must be embedded in a separate layer of concrete or mortar, whereas other systems can simply be installed in the thinset.

Most cable systems can only be installed under tile; on others, if the cable is embedded in mortar or concrete, any flooring can be installed on top of the concrete.

Radiant Heaters Tip: When heating smaller areas with a radiant heater, it is nearly impossible to beat the simplicity and price of an electric cable heating system. 

Danfoss offers a myriad of cables for all kinds of projects, but figuring out the differences can be pretty tricky. I won’t go into technical details here, rather go over some basic differences that will help you choose which cable to use for which project.

All of the Danfoss products give you the option of choosing between individual cable in lengths (it comes on a roll) or in woven mats, which has the cable rows pre-spaced and makes installation much quicker and easier. The only difficulty with the radiant mats is that it works best with rectangular areas; however, the mat can be cut to accommodate corners and custom layouts. (Just don't cut the heat cable!) If you have a complicated, odd shaped area to heat, you may be better off with installing the individual heating cable.

Radiant Heaters Tip: When heating smaller areas, it is nearly impossible to beat the simplicity and price of an electric cable radiant heating system.