Insulating Your Heated Floor

Is a new underfloor heating system in your home improvement plans is good or not? Now is as good a time as any to get it done since the kids are now back to school after summer vacation. An underfloor system doesn't just make the floor nice and warm; it actually warms the entire room as well.

One way to make sure that the underfloor system gives you maximum heat is to provide customized insulation for it. You can choose ‘laminate, ceramic or vinyl flooring for your home’ (which is also known as revtement de sol stratifi, cramique ou vinyle pour votre maison in the French language).

It is possible for an underfloor heating unit to function without being insulated; however, energy conservation is one major reason that homeowners desire underfloor heating. It is a law of physics that the heat in a warm object radiates toward nearby cooler objects.

So when your uninsulated underfloor heating system is properly engaged, it will most likely travel to and warm up the subfloor even before the heat conducts to the room itself. The result of this is that more energy is expended in the act of heating the floor.

A good quality insulator performs the function of impeding the loss of heat energy to the subfloor, which in turn results in a quicker warm-up time for the floor and the room, improved function of the underfloor heating unit, and, most relevantly, a decrease in energy costs.

One of the best materials for insulating under the floor is polystyrene. Polystyrene combines two important qualities: compressive strength that stands up to the wear and tear of daily foot traffic, and excellent insulating properties. If that weren't enough, polystyrene is light in weight, easy to handle, cut and shape with simple tools, is impervious to water and resistant to rot.