Concerns Installing Carpet Over Radiant Heat

Radiant heat is considered a dry heat and if the heating season lasts for several months a humidification system should be installed to keep the relative humidity above 30.

Concerns installing carpet over radiant heat.

Wood flooring manufactured and expected to perform at mc levels higher than 9 percent or in conditions above 50 percent rh should not be used with radiant heating systems. Acclimate flooring in the room it will be installed in for at least 48 hours. As long as proper precautions are taken it is perfectly fine to install laminate over a radiant heated floor. Carpet padding thickness it s best to use a thinner carpet padding rather than a thick padding.

Radiant floor heating with carpet. If the carpet is thick then the r value is 2 1 a significant increase that will build a higher thermal resistance. Most wood flooring can be installed over radiant heat providing all of the necessary conditions are met. For radiant floor heating you want the total r value to be as low as possible lower than 4 0.

This gently warms the floor under your feet. But adding radiant heating under carpeting may be redundant. Due to the excellent insulating properties of carpeting radiant heating systems will experience efficiency reduction and thus may require that the thermostat is turned up higher than it would be with hard flooring. In addition tile flooring will not expand as it warms or contract as it cools.

The overall thickness of any materials above the heater needs to be taken into account too as this will ensure efficient heat transfer. Such expansion and contraction can cause cracking. During the installation process one of the most important steps to take is to turn on the radiant heat system 1 2 weeks prior to the delivery of the wood. Installing hardwood flooring over a radiant heating system.

To safely and effectively install wool over electric radiant floor heating it is best to have the wool carpet at 3 8 which will give it an r value of 1 575. Underfloor heating is well suited for use under carpet provided that care is taken when choosing the carpet. This includes any underlays and overlays. Porcelain and ceramic tile are great conductors of heat so your home will get the full benefit of the radiant heating system.

According to a study conducted by the georgia institute of technology school of textile engineering.