With the St. Louis summer bringing heat and humidity, the dark mornings of winter seem like a rumor. But those dark, chilly mornings are set to return soon enough. You know that terrible feeling during winter months when you step into the bathroom to get ready for the day. It’s everything you can do to drag yourself in front of the mirror. Then, to add insult to injury, the floor is freezing cold. The chill travels up your leg and makes an already tough day even harder to face.
DH Custom Homes has recently installed a kind of heat that is sure to make those cold days more bearable – radiant floor heating. Though it has not been as widespread in new construction over the last decade, the technique of radiant heating is as old as the Romans who used to allow for the passage of hot air in crawl spaces and within walls. It created a consistent, widespread heat that is still valued today.
Some of our DH Custom Homes customers are doing as the Romans do. That is, they are using the radiant floor technology to keep comfortable this winter.
Here is why our homeowners are loving radiant heat:
- It’s silent. There is no noise as with forced air.
- No drafts. It is in the floor, so there is no vibration or static electricity.
- Better for allergies. It does not kick up dust or pollen that often are swirl around with forced air.
- Individualized temperature. You have the flexibility to zone the heat since radiant heat can work with other heat sources.
Currently, in a Clayton-area home renovation and addition, we worked with Sigman Heating & Air Conditioning to install the Viega ProRadiant Climate Panel under ceramic tile in the master bathroom. The homeowners loved the chance to add a subtle luxury to their home’s master bath and under the hardwood floors of the family room. Especially if you’re doing a renovation and remodel of a home that already has a boiler for radiant heat – as is the case of our Clayton renovation — it’s a great option. You won’t’ have to install a second system for forced-air. Plus, the radiant floor heating provides a heat source throughout the room whereas a radiator still causes areas of warmer and colder areas within the room. The Viega Climate Panel is much easier to install than previous radiant flooring systems since the wood paneling has the metal tubing (which carries the heated water) recessed into it. The new paneling helps to also prevent hot spots that also used to be an issue with radiant heat in the floor.
To learn more about the radiant heat product we installed, you can visit Viega’s website.
