H-V-A-C. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning. When it comes to indoor environmental quality (IEQ), ventilation is often the one that gets a lot of the love in today’s discourse, but it’s that first part, heating that we want to focus on today. Specifically: radiant heating systems, and how they can benefit an environment over traditional forced air heating systems as reported by Supply House Times.
1. Comfort
In a radiant floor heating system, warm water is pumped through tubing underneath flooring, radiating an even heat from the bottom up, in contrast to how forced air pumps heat that simply rises to the ceiling before cooling and falling to the floor. Because of this, there are no hot or cold spots, the radiant system instead creating a consistent, comfortable gradient throughout the space.
This helps a radiant system to align more closely with the ideal heating curve for the human body. This will cause people in a radiantly heated space to feel warmer and more comfortable at lower thermostat settings. As an inadvertent result of this, radiant heating systems often consume less energy due to providing this more efficient style of heating.
2. Air Quality
As radiant heating relies on water and pumps to circulate heat, the potential for circulation of viral particles or other harmful particulates throughout a space is absent in these systems.
But a more subtle component of this also comes into play with the fact that a radiant heating system requires a solid-surface floor over carpet. As carpets can often contain dust mites, mold and other microorganisms, it can often be a nightmare for people with allergies. Then, combine it with a forced air system, and these allergens and particles are constantly being recycled throughout the house.
Additionally, the lack of a required duct-system opens up greater freedoms in the ceiling architecture, potentially allowing homeowners to really open up the spaces within their home.
3. Noise
Anyone who has had a forced-air system knows just how noisy they can be sometimes. The creaking and clanking of the ducts warming up before the air gets pumped through can range from a minor disturbance in newer systems to a cacophony in older ones.
While radiant floor heating does require some mechanical components, ultimately, they all run on the quiet side, especially the tubing as it distributes heat. This leaves a homeowner relax and indulge with whatever music or environmental sound they choose to hear without the home itself chiming in.
