I am leaning toward a poured concrete subfloor in our new house. On top of this, we will have hardwood, cork, and stone/tile throughout the house. The wood areas will have scattered Persian carpets here and there. The house will be located in an area that also requires summer airconditioning. You can probably see where I am headed with this question.
I love the idea of radiant heat, and the manufacturers all say how well their systems work, but really, just how well would radiant heat work combined with my planned flooring materials? Any suggestions for how to make it work well?
Thanks
Replies
You may get some info by reading the discussion under the heading "Radiant tubing above or below floor?"--they answer your questions a bit. Others may see this and respond. I've heard that rugs and different things on the slab will insulate it and interfere a little with the radiant heat, but that eventually even the flooring/rugs sitting on the concrete will get up to temperature and not be so insulating.
Contractors well versed in designing hydronic radiant systems will need to run a load calculation to determine required water temperatures for each room/floor-finish. It's great that you already have a handle on things like throw rugs & they can be included when running the calcs.
You can search on heatinghelp.com and radiantpanelassociation.org for radiant contractors in your area.