Radiant Floor Heat

[bustednutz]

My question is this: Is it worth it? I'm on a concrete slab and want to put it under 12mm thick laminate flooring. High vaulted ceilings in half of the house as well. I was going to put 100sq ft in the kitchen and approx 200sq feet throughout the living area as well. But at approx $400-$500 per 100 sq ft, I'm wondering if the benefits truly are worth it.
Please discuss.... Oh, and I was looking at the electric, not hydro.

 

[QuietPortage]

What is your electric cost per kWh?

What do you use for heat now?

 

[bustednutz]

Good question as I really don't know the cost per Kwh. My entire house is electric. No gas heat. Run off a heat pump setup. We had a brutal Feb. and my bill was approx $360. I used 3587 kwh in Feb. Bill was broken down into Fuel, Distribution, Generation, and Transmission. Plus the obligatory state fees and taxes.

 

[AZjeff]

I just spent a week with my sister in NW Pa with brutal temps. They have hydro in-floor in a slab and under standard joist/plywood/hardwood and it was awesome. If you keep your feet warm you stay warm. Can't speak to cost effectiveness but I'd do it in a minute.

 

[JHZR2]

There are lots of variables here.

Electric heat is the most inefficient means of heating. While a resistive heater dumps 100% of the electric energy into the air, you're paying for all the downstream losses. A reverse AC cycle is a bit better since they can have higher coefficients of performance. The kind you're looking at is purely resistive.

I wouldn't be using it for any practical amount of space. Our cousins have it in a bathroom, and it's nice there since they're in a slab and the tile floor can get cold. It's practical there because getting out of the shower means warm feet on cold tile.

But that's avery intermittent use and fairly small area. IMO it's too expensive to use otherwise. If you could install hydronic in floor radiant Id consider otherwise, since you could use the floor area as a giant radiator and heat with more cost effective natural gas. But even then Id think it carefully, since you're wasting a lot of energy heating the slab/dirt below it.

I think good slippers would be my selection. Ugg ones are pretty nice.

 

[QuietPortage]

^ That just about covers it.