Radiant Heating Options For The Home When it comes to heating the home, most people are familiar with baseboard heating or forced air heating. However, a third type of home heating, radiant heating, is becoming more popular.
An Introduction to Radiant Heat‌ 
Radiant heat is one of three types of heat transfer, and is the basis for these heating systems. Most home radiators and baseboard systems function on the concept of convection, the heating of air and air currents. Radiant heat on the other hand is concerned with the direct transfer of heat, rather than focusing on heating the air in a room which rises and moves.
Advantages of radiant heating ď‚ž
Radiant heat can be more efficient than other home heating systems such a baseboard heat or forced air. Unlike forced air systems, no hot air is lost inside of duct systems, so more of the energy is put to use actually heating the room. Some radiant heat systems use water to carry the heat throughout the home, which uses far less electricity and can be a boon when electricity availability is a concern, or electricity rates are especially high. Radiant heating systems can also be powered by many different energy sources, such as gas, oil, electric, wood or even solar. Some radiant systems can heat a room far faster than baseboard or forced air can, and the lack of moving air can help those who have allergies, as fewer particles are pushed into the air while heating.
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There are two main types of radiant heat systems, radiant floors and radiant panels
Radiant floors ď‚ž
Radiant floors are the most common type of residential system. Heated floors have been popular in Asia, specifically Korea and China, for many years and are recently coming into more prominence in the West. Though floors may be heated by air or electric cables, the most popular and efficient systems are heated with water, called hydronic systems. A water heater pumps heated water through a series of tubes laid underneath the flooring, which directly transfers to the floor surface itself, warming the room. Valves and regulators can be controlled automatically and through high end electronic control systems, allowing different temperatures to be set in different rooms throughout the house, just as with any other type of heat. Many different types of flooring can be used with these heating systems, such as hardwoods, tile, or even carpet. Using carpeting will require more energy to keep the room at the same temperature, as the carpet itself is insulating the room from the heated flooring.
Radiant panels ď‚ž
Rather than the floor, radiant panels radiate heat from the walls or ceiling. While less popular than heated floors, heated panels do exist and are ideal in some situations. Radiant panels are usually electrically heated rather than hydronically, since pumping hot water can cause more leakage concerns in walls and ceilings than in floors. Most radiant panels are aluminum, although they can be created from other materials as well. The main advantage of radiant panels is the incredible heating speed. In only a matter of minutes a room can become comfortable if it has been properly outfitted with radiant wall or ceiling panels.