In-Floor Heating near you

Hydronic in-floor heating circulates warm water through loops of flexible tubing. NRCan's gas heating guide describes these systems as narrow hot-water pipes embedded in the floor or laid in the joist space below, with water at approximately 40°C circulated slowly. Paired with a boiler or a heat pump, a hydronic floor can carry the whole heating load of a basement, an addition or a house, which is why it dominates when the floor is the primary heat.

Electric in-floor heating uses resistance cable or mats and needs no boiler, pump or piping, which makes it simple to add to a single room. Every bit of its heat is electric resistance heat, though, so it is usually chosen for comfort in bathrooms, kitchens and entrances rather than to heat an entire home. Some houses combine the two: hydronic loops for the main floors and a small electric floor where a loop would be awkward to run.

The right method depends on whether the floor is being built or already exists, and on how much height and weight it can take.

Heat flows toward cold in every direction, and the ground under a slab stays cold all winter. Without insulation beneath it, a heated slab warms the soil as well as the room and takes longer to respond. Natural Resources Canada notes that ordinary basement slabs are seldom insulated because most basement heat escapes through the upper part of the foundation walls, but a heated slab is a different case: insulation under it and along its edges keeps the heat moving up into the room.

NRCan also calls installing or replacing a concrete slab an excellent opportunity to put in in-floor heating or to make the slab radiant-ready, with the insulation and heating lines placed before the pour so radiant heat can be connected later, and it advises consulting a heating contractor experienced in hydronic in-floor heating. In an under-subfloor retrofit, insulation in the joist bays below the tubing does the same job, steering heat up instead of into the basement ceiling.

Every layer above the tubing or cable acts like a blanket. Tile, stone and polished concrete let heat through easily, wood, laminate and vinyl slow it somewhat, and carpet with thick underpad slows it most; NRCan's heating guides warn that thick carpet can reduce a radiant floor's effectiveness by acting as insulation.

The more resistant the covering, the warmer the water, or the more cable, needed to deliver the same heat, and each covering also has a maximum surface temperature set by its maker. That is why the designer needs the finished floor for every room before sizing the loops, and why swapping tile for carpet years later can leave a room short of heat. Large rugs and furniture sitting flat on the floor have the same effect on a smaller scale.

A thick concrete slab stores a lot of heat. It is slow to warm up and keeps releasing heat well after the thermostat is satisfied, which evens out temperatures but makes the system sluggish when afternoon sun pours in or a cold front arrives.

Thin toppings, panel systems and electric cable under tile respond much faster because there is less mass to heat. Match the controls to the floor: a slab does best with steady settings and outdoor reset, while low-mass floors and electric systems can follow a daily schedule without leaving you waiting for warmth.

Heated floors run much cooler than radiators: NRCan gives approximately 40°C for the water in a radiant floor, while conventional hydronic systems have usually kept the boiler at 82°C. When a floor shares a boiler with radiators, a mixing valve or injection pump blends the water down before it enters the loops, and a manifold divides the flow among the loops, each with its own balancing valve.

Thermostats for in-floor heat often read both room air and a sensor in the floor, so they can keep the room comfortable while respecting the covering's surface limit. An outdoor reset control raises and lowers the water temperature with the weather, which suits slow slabs. Hydronic systems need the heating contractor to check the loops, pump, mixing valve and heat source on the schedule the equipment calls for.

Electric in-floor heating is permanent wiring. A flooring installer may lay the cable, but connecting it to the panel and thermostat is work for a licensed electrician. In Ontario, the Electrical Safety Authority says almost all electrical work must be reported through a notification filed before the work starts, and that an installation must be inspected before it is concealed, which for a heated floor means before the covering goes down. In Quebec, the CMEQ says only an electrical contractor may do electrical work for others.

Hydronic floors belong to a heating contractor, who designs the loops, pressure-tests the tubing before it is buried and connects the heat source. In Ontario, any gas or oil appliance is connected by a TSSA-registered fuels contractor; in Quebec, heating contractors hold an RBQ licence and gas work goes to a CMMTQ member. A new slab or structural change can also need a municipal building permit.