How To Increase The Warmth Of Your Floor During The Cold Season

Keeping floors warm does not only enhance your comfort, but also your health.  According to a study, floors account for 10% of the total heat energy loss in your house if they are not insulated. The energy loss is significant that you need to do something to minimize heat loss. Cold floors may be demotivating to walk or work on in your house or an office set up. Thanks to the current technological advancements that have made cold floors only a choice of the homeowner but not a permanent feature of any floor. How can you keep your floor warm? Here are some tips to keep your floor warm.

Installation of flooring with insulating properties

When choosing a flooring material to install into your house, insulation property should be one of the key features to consider before hiring the installer. Flooring materials such as wood, luxury vinyl, cork, laminate, and linoleum have a significant heat insulation property to keep your floor relatively warm. But for your already installed hard and cold flooring, you will need to employ other techniques for insulation to save you some heat energy.

Carpeting and rugs

Carpets have been in use as a flooring material over the decades. With rapid technology advancements, carpet floors of different sizes, thickness, texture, and color have been made available in the market. The advantage associated with this kind of flooring material is that they are easy to install. Thus you can use “do it yourself” (DIY) skills and save the installation cost. Carpeting can help you minimize that stinging cold on your concrete floor real quick. Besides, carpeting is cozier than any other flooring material available in the market. The soft and warm surface makes it comfortable for children and pets. On the other hand, rugs are more like carpets but are highly portable and can be shifted to any part of the house at will. Rugs are also cheaper and affordable.

Electric underfloor heating

It is an alternative way of heating your floor and warming your entire house.  With electric underfloor heating systems, a dense network of electric wires is installed within or beneath your flooring as a means of heating an area or a room. The size of the installation will vary depending on the size of the room and how well it is insulated. This can be done by options such as loose-fit wiring that is suitable for awkward spaces, heating mats, and electrical cable systems. The four systems commonly used for heating include underfloor loose wire system, underfloor heating mats, underwood or carpet or vinyl foil heating mats and inscreed heating system.

• Underfloor heating mats- It is ideal for kitchens, dining rooms, and lounges. It is available in three distinct power output such as 100 Watts, 150 Watts, and 200 Watts.
• Underwood/ vinyl foil/carpet heating mat.- Are customized for use under the carpet, wood, and vinyl floors. The foil heating mats are 500mm wide and utilize aluminum foil covering. The aluminum feature makes it ideal for installation in wet areas such as bathrooms and kitchens. The installation must be done in full compliances with electrical and building regulations.
• Inscreed heating system- They are commonly fit in conservatory projects and new extensions due to their long time taken to heat up and yield 17 Watts per linear meter.
• Underfloor loose wire systems- the system is suitable for more awkward and smaller areas such as bathrooms. The cable is packed as along continuous role; thus your installer has to evenly space the wire over the floor no matter the shape of your room.

Use of the programmable thermostat

The thermostat is designed to vary the floor temperature according to a series of a programmed command to detect and adjust the temperatures at different times of the day. It is always ideal for installing it for your automated floor heating. You can program the thermostat to allow the temperature in the house to rise during the day when you are not at home and set it to automatically condition the air before arrival to allow the house to cool.

Insulation of the floor underneath

Another alternative way to keep your basement warm during the cold season is through underneath insulation. Many new homes may have concrete floors that can be insulated when you need to replace it, and if the floor is old, you can lay rigid insulation upon it. Rugs can also be used to make your feet warm.