Your body acts like a radiator.
Created Sep 12 2007 by Walus, Mirek
You give up about 100 BTU's/hr with evaporation
(perspiration and breathing). Another 200 is lost by radiating towards colder
objects around you RADIANT HEAT MAKES YOU FEEL WARM AND COMFORTABLE.
The biggest difference between radiant heating and a
conventional heating system (forced hot air), is that radiant heat controls the
rate at which your body loses heat. Hot air systems just put hot air into
the room. But the "drafty" feeling you get can make you feel uncomfortable, even
though the air is warm. Have you ever sat outside on a 100ºF day and "fanned"
yourself to feel cooler? It works! Even with the air temperature still around
100ºF. For this reason, hot air systems can make you feel uncomfortably cool,
even though the air coming out of the registers is warm.
By having radiant electric heating mats
embedded in the floor the floor becomes a large radiator. The floor becomes warm
and radiates warmth to the walls and objects in the room. As these objects
become warm, you experience less heat loss because you are standing next to warm
objects, and you feel warm and comfortable.
Feeling all warm begins with the feet.
It's
true. When your feet are warm, you feel warmer all over. Because radiant heat in
your home begins at the floor, the air temperature is always highest at floor
level and decreases steadily toward the ceiling. That's comfort! The moisture
content of the room is more stable and healthful. Unlike hot air heat, radiant
heat is less likely to dry out your breathing passages, less likely to dry out
the skin, and is less likely to dry out your furniture. Hot air rises with a
convection heating system, carrying the heat with it towards the ceiling where
it is not needed - wasting energy. (And that is why ceiling fan could be helpful
in the winter!)
If the air is not dehumidified, it feels several
degrees warmer than it really is. For each degree lower temperature, you save
energy and money.
Discover the comfort, feel the warmth, and enjoy the efficiency
of radiant floor heating.
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