#Radiant heat for basement install

The steel pipes can be replaced with newer, more durable PEX pipes.Īdditionally, the radiant heating in some Eichlers is quite inefficient, according to Palo Alto Online. This can be looked for thermal imaging, which checks for hot water leaks. Though most mid century radiant heating was done with long-lasting copper pipes, some used steel, which corrodes over time. If you find an Eichler (or another mid century home) with the original radiant flooring, what should you look out for? The first thing you should check on is the material of the pipes and tubes beneath the floor. This Eichler still has its original radiant heating! Courtesy of Zillow. They liked radiant heating because it was economical and efficient, and many modern-day Eichler lovers seek out homes with the original hydronic radiant flooring. Soon, developers like William Levitt and Joseph Eichler incorporated it into their developments in the 40s and 50s. This was thanks to people like Frank Lloyd Wright, who learned of radiant heating from visiting Japan. Radiant heating took off in the Eastern Hemisphere and was used throughout the millennia, but it wasn’t widely seen in the United States until the mid 20th century. Later, the ancient Romans did something similar with hypocausts, which were rooms filled with warm air placed under floors.

Though it may seem like a modern invention, radiant heating has prehistoric beginnings! Early radiant heating involved smoke directed into trenches under floors to heat living areas during the neoglacial and neolithic periods. A hypocaust in an ancient Roman villa in modern-day France. Radiant heating is now made in panels that can be retrofitted underneath existing flooring joists. And if you want radiant heating in your own home, you don’t need to tear up all your flooring to get it, provided you have a basement or crawl space.

It’s also an allergen-free way to bring some warmth, as it’s not blowing lots of dust into a room.

#Radiant heat for basement install

Radiant heating can be quite pricey to install- t he Radiant Floor Company estimates hydronic radiant heating costing $6 a square foot to install and electric radiant heating costing $1.75 a square foot. Thankfully, once radiant heating is installed, it rarely ever malfunctions (especially if it’s hydronic!), so you can be assured that it’s a low-maintenance investment in your home.Īdditionally, radiant heating is an efficient and environmentally friendly way to heat a space, as it uses less energy than traditional heating. Hydronic radiant heating getting installed. Electric radiant heating is expensive to maintain, so it’s normally only used to heat small spaces, like a kitchen floor, while hydronic radiant heating, though expensive to initially install, can be used to heat entire homes for a lower cost than forced-air heating. The heat from underneath the floor radiates upwards, warming the room from the ground up and losing less heat to drafty ceilings or roofs. There are two types: electric radiant heating, which uses electric wires to create heat, and hydronic radiant heating, which uses hot water (normally around 100-120 degrees Farhenheit) circulating through tubes to create heat. Radiant heating is a type of heating system that uses tubes or wires below the floor to warm a space. An older radiant heating system from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Richardson House.