apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have Nuheat in my kitchen, and with cold Minnesota winters there is nothing nicer than a warm, cozy floor! I had the system installed for me, but I think if you are handy you could do-it-yourself!

cool. i am going to check this out - I'm glad the the subject of heating and heating alternatives has risen to the top, as that is a main issue for me,finding alternate sources of heating to supplement my apartments lack, that doesn't tax my electricity too much. I have tried several space heaters, larger and smaller, that causes a breaker to flip, and turn off the power for all outlets connected to it. I don't have many things running or on when this happens, so i wonder if it is due to the electrical set up being old/outdated. Possible?
In winter this is a problem as I have to go outside to access breaker/electric panel box, to get to my basement via storm doors.

this feels like an advertisement..not a blog post ... ?

Do it yourself? I cannot believe that someone would suggest this. My contractor was so hesitant to do this, because he said if by chance one of the mats fails months, years, after its installed, you would basically have to pull up the tile, just to fix it. I think its a nice feature to have in a home, but you would have to be very smart or very stupid to install this without the help of a professional

Can you use it AS flooring? I have a wide swath of wood floor by the windows that gets very cold. It is the play area for my baby and it would be nice if it was a warm floor. Or can you just put a rug over it?

NB,

There are several companies selling radiant heat mats designed to go under an area rug. I've never used these, so I don't know how effective they are. Anyone else know if these are good/safe to use?

http://cozywinters.com/shop/rug-heat.html
http://www.speedheat.us/prod.htm

BTW, it was actually COLD up here in New England this morning! Guess it's not too early to start thinking about efficient heating.

Not to be one of those buzzkills, but this is absurdly energy-inefficient. How about a nice pair of socks? Didn't anyone here see the Gore movie?

I'd love to see more beautiful, feng-shui'd, space-conscious, energy-conscious solutions on AT. Part of having a healthy space is having an efficient space.

I should add that yes, I saw that it says Nuheat is energy efficient, but electric heat is not energy efficient in any form.

Daniel,

I think these can be energy efficient in some situations. For example, my house has a single heating zone and is heated with oil. If I had a zone-controlled option like an under-the-rug mat, then I could turn my thermostat way down and just heat the area that I am in. Also, radiant heat is known to make people "feel" warmer at a lower thermostat setting. Of course, solar radiant heat is much more energy efficient than electric, but it is not always possible or feasible to install these systems.

Hi Karina,

I see your point, and admittedly "zoning" is the only efficiency that Nuheat claims. The way you're using it makes a lot of sense, and of course you're right that not everybody can have solar (though steam, oil, and gas are all much more efficient than electric heat, since electricity usually ultimately uses up more coal or oil upstream to run the electric plants, than does your household heater).

The way it was described in the original post - "allows you to keep going barefoot long into the winter months ahead", seems egregiously extravagant. Socks! Pretty rugs!

The claims that it's "an energy efficient method of heating a space because the heat is distributed consistently throughout the floor surface", and "a little supplemental heat under ceramic or stone tile can lend some warmth to your cold floor surfaces" are not backed up even by Nuheat's own ad copy, nor very useful for the average apartment dweller. Certainly not one who will be paying the doubled electric bills!

~ Daniel

I don't think the environmental question can be simplified down to simply the energy source (although it should be part of the equation).

Radiant heat has other potential environmentally friendly impacts. You can run the system at night during off-peak energy hours and if run over a concrete slab, the slab will store the heat and return that energy over an 8-10 hour period when the system is turned off (according to the US Dept of Energy). You can also set the temperature lower with floor heating because the heat source is located closer to your body...one energy site says you can set the temperature 6-8 degrees lower another says 4-5 degrees. There's no heat loss through ducts and in a leaky building, radiant heat does not have as high of heat loss through windows, etc (it doesn't increase a building's infiltration/exfiltration rates the way a forced-air system does). Down side, if you're in a cold climate, you can lose significant amounts of heat through the slab into the ground if your slab is not insulated or you can reduce its heating efficiency by covering your floor with carpet (effectively insulating your living space from the heat source).

It's also virtually the only heating solution for people like us. Our mid-century house doesn't have anywhere to run forced air heat: our ceiling and roof are one-and-the-same, we're on concrete slab, our house is one long chain of rooms with lots of glass and nowhere to run ductwork. Fortunately, our coldest nights are only around 50 degrees. But Dec, Jan and Feb seem pretty long when you live in a 50 degree house. Socks or no socks.

I don't have any affiliation with any heating company of any type, but we've been researching this because we're tired of living in a house with no heat...yet we care about choosing a responsible solution too. Maybe someday we can actually afford to install it.

it is more energy efficient than the old radiator. The floor will heat up the chairs, the table, and just about anything that it comes into contact with. However, there is the possibility to have this system using tubes filled with water( if i recall correctly), using the water boiler (gas). This is much more energyefficient than the electric system.

You can use underfloor water tubing as a radiant heat system powered by gas/oil or solar energy. Anyone ever installed a solar-powered radiant heat system? I've been seriously considering installing this once we save up enough money.

http://www.radiantsolar.com/

Hi,
I did my research as well and found it pretty pricy. We wanted in the full downstairs of our loft-duplex in Chicago, but ended up only in the bathroom, under tile. There's one website that allows you to draw it online and play around with your project that i'd recommend; we used warmly Yours and i found back that online tool at http://myprojects.warmlyyours.com/ hope this helps

we have completely gutted 2 bathrooms! the largest is 11x 7. New floors , new insulation(floors ceilns and walls). I've installed 2 new small windows, new sheetrock. there's one outside wall and 1 door.
I guess as close to new construction as possible!
Will nu heat be sufficent or do we need another source of heat also?
Oh yeah! we live near NYC.
phil