An installer lays tile over Tyco Thermal Controls’ Raychem QuickNet system. (Photo courtesy Tyco Thermal Controls.)
Radiant floor warming systems are expanding into new areas of the market. While they are traditionally used to take the chill off a tile floor, today they can also be found under floating floor installations including laminate and hardwood. Additionally, manufacturers are starting to sell their systems in the modular home market.
“If you have access to the subfloor underneath, you can essentially heat any floor in the house,” said Ann Andrews, sales and marketing manager for Calorique. “Today, there are a lot more applications where radiant heating can be used.”
For example, she said her company has made inroads into the modular and mobile home market. “It’s a real growth area for us,” she explained. “Radiant heating is a very healthy and very efficient way to heat the floor. Also, the system is silent – you don’t have a heater blowing around hot air and contaminants like dust.”
An illustration depicting the installation of Calorique’s Warm Floors Under-Floor Warming System. (Photo courtesy Calorique.)
“The majority of the requests we get for floor heating is tile because by its nature that type of floor is cold,” he noted. “But we do get a lot of customers also asking us about wood flooring, and we’re looking into it.”
He said one of the challenges of creating a heating system under wood flooring is the need to limit the temperature output, so the wood doesn’t shrink, expand or change dimensionally. He added that nail-down floors present a special challenge “because if you run a nail through one of the cables you’ve pretty much killed your heating system.”
However, he said, for floating floors, radiant heating may soon be more commonplace. “As the idea of floor heating gets accepted more in North America, people are going to be looking into new, energy efficient ways to heat their floors,” Park noted. “Radiant heating might be one of the amenities they add to get a better price on their homes.”
Additionally, many consumers are happy and surprised to learn that heating a floor under normal conditions “will cost only a couple extra pennies a day,” he said.--Michael Chmielecki
Radiant Floor Warming Products Guide
Company Name: Calorique Radiant HeatingAddress: 2380 Cranberry Hwy. W., Wareham, MA 02576
Phone: (800) 922-9276
Fax: (508) 291-2299
URL/Email Address:www.calorique.com;a.andrews@calorique.com
Radiant Floor Warming Product Names: Radiant floor warming; Radiant ceiling heating; mirror defoggers; laminate floor warming; propagation mats.
Address: 9377 W. Higgins, Rosemont, IL 60018
Phone: (800) 523-7636
URL Address:www.warmtiles.com
Radiant Floor Warming Product Names: Warm Tiles electric heating cable and mat systems offer affordable luxury and dependable quality. Visit us at www.warmtiles.com for more information!
Address: 11147 Dorsett Rd., Maryland Heights, MO 63043
Phone: (314) 426-3555
Fax: (314) 426-3556
Email Address:info@warmfloor.com
Radiant Floor Warming Product Names: STEP WARMFLOOR™ – radiant heat residential/commercial; STEP SNOWMELT™ – for driveways and walkways; STEP DE-ICING™ – for roofs and gutters; STEP HEATING™ELEMENT™ – specialty products; STEP MAT™ – interior and exterior; STEP RV – for recreational vehicles and motorhomes.
Address: 1129 W/ Lincoln Hwy., Coatesville, PA 19320
Phone: (610) 3380-0300
Fax: (610) 380-0302
URL Address:www.expanko.com
Product Names: Reztec: A unique blend of recycled tires, pre-consumer waste rubber and virgin rubber. Designed for high traffic areas, durable, easy to maintain; unique palette of neutrals, primary, and predominately black colors; SCS & Floor Score Certified. Traditional Cork: Commercial grade homogenous cork tiles made from 100% pre-consumer waste utilizing unique patterns and solid colors to create an easy to maintain floor that contributes toward LEED credits. Vallarex: Unique patterns of cork manufactured with a “click” system for light commercial and residential installations. Soft under foot, quiet and easy to maintain the product can contribute toward LEED credits. XCR4: A unique blend of cork and rubber results in a commercial grade rubber flooring that is easy to maintain and can contribute toward LEED credits; available in a palette of designer colors with a cork visual.
Address: 1 LATICRETE Park No., Bethany, CT 06524
Phone: (800) 243-4788; (203) 393-0010
Fax: (203) 393-1296
URL/Email Address:www.laticrete.com;technicalservices@laticrete.com
Radiant Floor Warming Product Names: LATICRETE® Floor HEAT --As the only tile and stone installation manufacturer of both setting materials and electric radiant floor warming, LATICRETE offers the most comprehensive floor-warming program in the industry. Projects can be laid out in minutes online and custom drawings are available within 24 hours. LATICRETE® Floor HEAT mats are enhanced by a self-adhesive mesh, tape and wire system providing fast and easy installations. Backed by a 25-year system warranty.
Address: P.O. Box 2283, Norfolk, NE 68702
Phone: (402) 379-9695
Fax: (402) 379-9737
URL/Email Address:www.QuietWalk.com;jboesch@mpglobalproducts.com
Product Names: QuietWalk – recycled underlayment for laminate & wood floors; QuietWarmth – radiant heat underlayment.
Address: 194 Pleasant Ridge Rd/, Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Phone: (800) 472-4588
Fax: (800) 477-9783
URL/Email Address:www.schluter.com;info@schluter.com
Radiant Floor Warming Product Names: Schluter-BEKOTEC is a modular screed system that is ideal for hydronic radiant heating applications, as it provides thermal insulation, allows for hydronic radiant tube application without fasteners, and reduces thermal mass.
Address: 310 Lexington Dr., Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Phone: (800) 308-8057
Fax: (847) 279-8845
URL/Email Address:www.thermosoft.com/nft;rdunn@thermosoft.com
Radiant Floor Warming Product Names: ThermoTile™; ThermoFloor™; WarmStep™; and WarmFlex™.
Address: 307 Constitution Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025
Phone: (800) 545-6258; (650) 216-1526
Fax: (800) 527-5703; (650) 474-7711
URL/Email Address:www.raychemquicknet.com;info@tycothermal.com
Radiant Floor Warming Product Names: Raychem® QuickNet® Floor Heating System -- an electric floor heating system for installation directly under ceramic tiles or natural stone in your bathroom, kitchen, entryway, or other tiled areas.
Address: 2 Corporate Dr., Long Grove, IL 60047
Phone: (800) 875-5285
Fax: (800) 408-1100
URL/Email Address:www.warmlyyours.com;info@warmlyyours.com
Radiant Floor Warming Product Names: WarmlyYours TempZone for Tile and Stone Floors -- Ultra-thin (1/8”) for fast and easy installations. Overnight quotes and custom installation plans available at no cost. Fax or email your room plan. WarmlyYours Environ II for Carpet and Free-Floating Wood Floors --Installs directly over your underlayment pad. All WarmlyYours products are backed by 24/7 technical support, and a No-Nonsense warranty.
Editor’s Note:The listings in the Radiant Floor Warming/Products Guide are all sponsored listings. Please contact publisher Jeff Golden at (818) 224-8035 x 2218 or your representative to be part of this feature online.
