Electric Floor Heat

Hello all,
I’m in the process of renovating a bathroom and i’m considering replacing the old radiator with electric floor mats (radiant heat) that are installed under the finish floor tiles. Has anyone else used these electric floor mats? Do they effectively heat the space? They apparently put out 41 BTU’s per sq. ft. of mat. Does anyone know the recommended heating BTU’s for our area per cubic foot?

oxirix

in General Discussion 9 years and 10 months ago

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slopefarm | 9 years and 10 months ago

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We did this. in two bathrooms. I can’t tell how much the bathroom is kept warm in winter by ambient heat from the rest of the house (old fashioned steam) and how much from the radiant grids under the tiles. It is nice, in winter, not to have cold tiles under your damp feet. It is not going to throw off heat like a radiator. But I am glad we did it.

Master Plvmber | 9 years and 10 months ago

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Our part of the world generally uses a rule of thumb equal to about 30 BTUs/sq. ft. for heating and cooling but that doesn’t mean very much for designing radiant floor heating. You’ve got to consider what surface temperature the manufacturer used to come up with that extraordinarily high figure of 41 BTUs/sq. ft. compared to what you’ll be comfortable standing on (children and elderly have a much lower tolerance for hot floors). You’ll also have to think about how much floor space you’ve actually got available for tubing. You’ve got to keep it away from your toilet bowl or you’ll melt your wax seal and create a leak. That said, just get it and install whatever you can. It’s not as good as a long term heating product as hydronic (water based) radiant floor heating but it’s nice.

kassie319 | 9 years and 10 months ago

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Like Stickerhappy, I’ve no idea about BTU’s , but I used custom sized Sun Touch mats in two bathrooms recently, they are fantastic.

stickerhappy | 9 years and 10 months ago

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I can’t speak to BTUs, but we put one in our bathroom floor (we just bought it as a kit from a tile store) and it is possibly the best thing we did. My brother recommended it after he put one in his place and very glad we listened to him. That is the thing that makes my wife happiest about that bathroom reno.