What kind of floors work with radiant heating?

Ever felt warm flooring under your feet? In addition to feeling warm and wonderful, radiant heating also is an excellent source of heating for rooms where traditional ducting cannot be run—or where you don’t want to deal with the inconvenience of a duct.

Radiant heating is more energy efficient than baseboard heating, and doesn’t lose energy through heat loss like forced air systems. For people who suffer from allergies, radiant heating is a welcome alternate heating source because it doesn’t circulate allergens like traditional forced air systems.

Whether you’re building or retrofitting a home to take advantage of this even-heating, energy efficient and allergy-friendly form of warmth, you need to choose what kind of flooring to lay over the radiant heating. Fortunately, you have great options that come in a variety of textures and colors, thanks to advances in flooring and subflooring technologies:

1.Carpet. That soft and cozy flooring not cozy enough? When installing carpet over radiant heating, don’t mess around. Talk to the experts to make sure that you use the right pad and carpeting so you can take full advantage of the heating potential of your radiant heating system.

2.Laminate. Think beyond laminate wood flooring. Laminate flooring comes in a variety of styles, and can have the look of stone, tile or even concrete. Whatever the look, laminate flooring is a floating floor, meaning it can be installed over a radiant heating system. Laminate is also extremely durable, and can handle any active household’s wear and tear (that means you, kids and pets!).

3. Tile—any kind! If you are laying a tile that can be cold to your toes, such as porcelain tile, radiant flooring is your answer. Tile conducts heat naturally, leaving you with an even heat that is easy-to-clean and mildew resistant. Tile is also one of the easiest floors to install over radiant flooring.

4. Engineered hardwood. With the look of real wood and the floating floor properties of laminate, engineered hardwood is an ideal floor for homeowners that want real wood floors and the warmth of radiant heating.

If you’re considering radiant heating, make sure you consult the experts to make sure you select the right flooring that amplifies the warmth of your radiant flooring. Then, sit back—or lie down—and enjoy the warmth of your cozy, warm, energy efficient floor.