We are building a new log house and are thinking about putting in radiant floor heating. According to the manufacturer of the system, it costs more to install but is supposed to save about 40% in energy usage. What are your findings?

GreenWorks hasn't done any studies ourselves to compare different heating options, but we do have some info you may find useful. Obviously anytime someone says you'll save X percent in energy usage or energy costs by using a certain system, it depends upon what they're comparing it to. Radiant floor heating may save 40% over traditional radiators or forced air systems, but those energy savings will probably be different when compared to a system that incorporates solar heating strategies.

That said, radiant floor heating definitely does save energy over traditional systems. This is due to two major contributing factors. First, because radiant floor heating systems are generally "more contained," they don't loose as much heat as the pipes travel through your home. That being the case, your boiler doesn't have to heat the water running through the system as hot as it typically would with other systems. Traditional systems usually require water heated between 130 and 160 degrees. Radiant floor heating usually runs between 85 and 140 degrees. That can add up to a 15 to 20% savings in energy usage right there.

Many people have also found that having radiant floor heating allows you to feel comfortable in a slightly-cooler room than one that uses air-blown heat or even baseboard radiators. When your feet and the ground beneath you are warm, the air temperature around you becomes isn't quite as important to your comfort level. While the exact science behind this isn't entirely understood (by me), apparently most people feel comfortable in a room heated to 65 degrees by radiant heat, while it may take setting the thermostat from 69 to 75 degrees to get the same comfort level using a forced air system. Go figure, right?

In addition to the energy-saving benefits, there are other reasons to select radiant floor heating as well… there's no dust blown through the air; you get even heating across the entire room; there's more wall space…

More information about radiant floor heating (and radiant floor cooling) can be found online at:
http://www.eren.doe.gov/consumerinfo/refbriefs/bc2.html

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