Radiant heat - advantages & disadvantages

[Paul Conley]

I'm in the process of buying a house north of Albuquerque, NM, that has radiant heat. Should I be smiling or frowning? Any advantages or shortcomings to this approach to keeping my footsies warm?

Paul

[m Ransley]

From what ive evperienced its the best , more even heat , less drafty and less cold spots because the heat comes up from the floor, your feet stay warm and ive heard you save on energy. Downside if you have been away it takes longer to reheat. But most are suplimented with forced air.

[Jim Elbrecht]

There is a world of difference in the many heating systems called 'Radiant'.

A few I'm familiar with just in the northeast US are; concrete slabs that heat conductors [electric cables, or steam/water pipes] have been buried in; glass electric panels that heat each room individually; metal panels that are placed above the windows & run on electricity; steam heat that is distributed through 'radiators'.

Each of those different systems have their own advantages & disadvantages. [and in the scheme of things, have less to do with comfort than insulation does]

Jim

[SQLit]

I grew up in Southern Iowa with electric radiant heat in the ceilings, two story circa 1930's blown insulation in the walls(professionally done) and lots of insulation in the attic. A t-stat in every room, yes every room. Mom would turn then stats down at night and Dad would turn them up in the wee hours of the morning when he got up to go to work. We had 2 electric meters back then, I remember that Dad was worried about the expense and we usually ran around $300 a heating season. Please do not ask me the cost of electricity, I was in grade school.

Gentle heat, no forced air at all. Dad put an electric wall heater on the back porch so we could dry out the boots and overalls. Mom required us to wash the exterior stuff we used about the farm before it went into HER washer. We had an old wringer washer and I would run the filthy clothes through it and then rinse once, pretty nasty when it was close to zero out.

Only down side I remember there is no way to quickly heat the space. It took some time. We had a power outage for 3 days. Could not drive, could not even get out of the drive way until I plowed it. Fortunately we still had some hand pumps and we (I) would pump a couple of buckets one for drinking, and dishes the other for the toilet. You sure know who your friends are when you hand pump water for a toilet. I remember, it took the better part of a day once the power was on before the house was comfortable again. Never could see your breath inside. Propane stove helped, Mom was baking constantly those 3 days. Get the meter number for the home and call the power company for the past year or two history. Good luck.