One thing we love about building custom homes is that we have the opportunity to build homes that are not only beautiful and unique, but conscientious and sustainable as well. Our latest custom home project combines these elements expertly in many ways, but one element we’re particularly fond of is its use of Radiant Floor Heating.
For those of you not familiar with Radiant Floor Heating, it’s not a new concept. As early as 5,000 BC Koreans started using warm stones to try and heat things from the ground up. As with all things the idea spread and was adapted over time. Eventually gaining enough momentum to land itself in Europe where the ever clever Greeks picked it up and then later, the Romans.
Apparently when the Romans weren’t busy building empires and taking lots of group baths, they were very busy making home improvements. They realized things would be much cozier if they could heat up their cold stone floors from below, but how? Right under the floor is…well, the ground! So, never ones to be deterred by obstacles, they did the only logical thing and raised the floor up. They popped a couple of furnaces down there, vented it up through the ceiling to avoid smoking out the room and used the hot air and smoke to evenly and effectively warm their homes.
Today we get to skip the Roman pillar foundations and underground furnaces, and instead generate Radiant Floor Heating through either electricity or hot water that runs through tubes right beneath your floor. The electrical option is good if you just want to heat one room or a small area, however if you’d like to heat your whole house using Radiant Heat, a “hydronic” system (the one with the water and tubes) is definitely the more energy efficient (and money saving) option. It can easily be up to 30% more efficient than a forced air heating system, plus it’s much quieter and all the equipment is out of site. It also cuts down on moisture and helps maintain a household climate that doesn’t promote allergens or the growth of mold, bacteria, viruses, or dust mites, thus enriching your overall air quality.
That being said, renovating a house specifically to accommodate Radiant Floor Heating can get costly, especially if you haven’t done your homework and your contractor doesn’t know how to install it correctly. Luckily, you now know of one company you can trust with your custom build or Radiant Floor Heating install, (…us, obviously!) and now all that’s left is for you to decide what system works best for you (and we can probably help you figure that bit out too).
We’re so pleased with the progress on this custom home and we’re excited about sharing lesser know features and methods with you as we go along. If there’s anything you’d like to know more about, use our contact form and let us know! And stayed tuned for more updates!