Hear it from homeowners
Read the real-life stories about homeowners adding radiant heating to their bedrooms
- Bringing Warmth to a Hard-to-Heat Bedroom
- My Daughter’s Room is Finally Warm Enough Thanks to WarmlyYours
Radiant heat advice for bedrooms
Depending on your floor covering in your bedroom the following radiant solutions may be available to you. In the following sections below we go into each in further depth about each product:
- Floor warming under tile & stone
- Floor warming under carpet, wood & laminate
- Heated bed blankets
Floor warming under ceramic tile & stone
We all know that ceramic tile or stone flooring can be very luxurious, however we also know that it can get so cold that it's almost painful for your feet and ankles, particularly on those cold winter mornings. Enter radiant floor warming. Floor warming systems can transform the cold tile into a warm, foot friendly area that won’t have you groaning when it's time to get up. As you may have noticed while reading through the information available on this website, there is a choice to be made on whether to use electric or hydronic (water based) heating systems. More information designed to help you make such a decision is available on our electric vs hydronic comparison page, please take the time to read through and educate yourself on the matter as much as possible in order to determine which method best fits your needs.
Most heating companies will give you the choice of controls, ranging from a basic on/off switch to a fully programmable thermostat. Most floors take around 40 minutes to 1 hour to heat fully so it's well worth setting your thermostat to turn the heat on an hour before you plan to get up, and perhaps again an hour before you go to bed. The product that we are most well acquainted with is WarmlyYours TempZoneTM line. TempZoneTM is an electric radiant heat solution which is shipped in rolls of varying length. These come in rolls of mesh with the heated wire laced through remaining 2" apart at all times to give the most even distribution of warmth possible. WarmlyYours TempZoneTM product is available in all 50 states either by buying direct from their website or by contacting their one of their licensed dealers. To find the closest dealer to you enter your zip into their dealer locator. Other companies, such as WattsRadiant and Thermosoft also offer electric floor heating systems with prices and quality varying vastly. It is worth noting however that, unlike WarmlyYours, most companies will not sell to you direct and will insist that you go through a 3rd party for information or to place an order.
Floor warming under carpet, wood and laminate
Most people don't think to heat under carpet or laminate as neither form of flooring surface gets as cold as tile or stone and many also carry the preconceived notion that heating under hardwood floors will risk warping the material somewhat. While a case can be made that carpets and laminate flooring don't reach the temperature lows of ceramic tile, that is not to say that they cannot be enhanced by installing floor heating below them. Nowadays there are products on the market that are quick and easy to install and require very little expertise to do so. EnvironTM, for example, can be inserted directly between a carpet and the carpet pad without the need for any thinset cement or building materials whatsoever.
Rather than the mesh that the heated wire in TempZoneTM is embedded in, the EnvironTM heated element is encased in a foil- like material. Another difference from its under tile counterpart is that EnvironTM comes in mats that are to be wired up and placed under the carpet's surface, these mats can range from as small as 2' by 5' to as large as 5' by 15' or 6' by 10'. Like the TempZoneTM product EnvironTM can be used in conjunction with a whole range of controls and thermostats covering any needs that you might have.
As mentioned, contrary to the popular belief, radiant heating under hardwood floors is unlikely to warp your wood at all. To find out how to install floor heating underneath hardwood download our animated installation guide.
Heated bed blankets
There's nothing nicer than cuddling up in a nice warm, preheated bed in the middle of winter. For this reason, electric blankets are a popular choice in department stores across the country. Although they may vary slightly, the most common installation method involves installing them straight on top of your mattress and below your bottom sheets. Electric heated blankets can be bought for as little as $50 and rising well into the $100s, Sunbeam are particularly renowned for excellent quality, although Cozy Winters and Amazon have the edge in product range.
Hear It From Homeowners... Son Gets Bedroom Makeover
Bringing warmth to a hard-to-heat bedroom
We recently decided to give our son’s bedroom a makeover. One of our top priorities was removing the stained carpeting and replacing it with new click-lock laminate flooring from IKEA. The bedroom is located over the garage and gets very cold in winter, so we decided to add a custom touch with a WarmlyYours EnvironTM floor heating system. Since the IKEA flooring is a do-it-yourself project, we decided to get some friends to help us install both the flooring and the EnvironTM floor heater. Our first step was to pull up the old carpet and pad. Once the carpeting was removed, we had access to the plywood subfloor. We cleaned up the subfloor by removing remaining carpet staples and tacking strip. Then, using crowbars, we very carefully removed the trim and baseboards that were positioned at floor level.
Based on a recommendation from WarmlyYours, we added a layer of cork insulation over the plywood subfloor. We installed the cork by measuring off sections on the floor, and then cut the cork to fit each section. A 1/8-inch layer of latex thinset was all that was needed to attach the cork to the subfloor. We applied the thinset to the subfloor and then layered on the cork, section by section. This ensured that the thinset didn’t dry before we laid down the cork.
After the cork insulation had been laid down, it was time to consult the personalized installation plan that WarmlyYours had provided. Because the bedroom is large, WarnlyYours recommended the 240V EnvironTM floor heating panels. The installation plan specified that we position the EnvironTM heating panels so the lead wire would connect to the thermostat by the shortest path. We used a mat knife to cut a channel in the cork to house the lead wire where necessary. This also could have been done before the thinset had completely dried.
With an electric hacksaw, we trimmed the moldings around the door at floor level in order to accommodate the new floor height. We also trimmed the door, using a piece of laminate as a gauge. The next step was to lay down the laminate flooring. Overall this wasn’t too hard. Large sections in the middle of the room were easy to do, but we had to cut some pieces to size to fit around the closet and door and this required extra time. Before laying down the last piece of laminate, don’t forget to position the sensor wire for the thermostat.
The final step was to route the lead wires to a relay and into the thermostat. The sensor wire that was placed under the final piece of laminate will feed the floor’s temperature to the thermostat, which monitors and controls the floor’s temperature. We were then finished with the installation of our EnvironTM floor heating system. The new laminate floor looks great and we’re happy to know that our son will enjoy warm floors when the weather turns cold.
Hear It From Homeowners... Radiant Heat In Danielle's Bedroom
My daughter's room is finally warm enough thanks to WarmlyYours
Recently our marketing team decided to interview some homeowners who’ve purchased EnvironTM electric floor heating systems. There’s really no better way to find out how this system works in a home than to talk to homeowners who’ve experienced it firsthand. Marie and her eleven-year-old daughter Danielle were happy to participate in an interview. They had installed an EnvironTM floor heating system in Danielle’s bedroom. Here’s what they had to say about their new floor heater.
What made you decide to get an EnvironTM system for your daughter’s room?
Marie: Her room is large and has several windows, so it’s been hard to keep it warm using only our forced air heater system.
What did you expect from the EnvironTM system?
Marie: Danielle tends to get cold easily, so we were looking for a heating solution that would keep her warm no matter what the season. She wanted continuous heating in the room, and we’ve achieved that with the EnvironTM. Also, Danielle always likes to have the latest thing. Her new laminate floors and radiant floor heating system are very current and give the room a much cleaner look compared to the old rug.
Were you present for the installation?
Marie: I was there in the beginning, but left after seeing that the installation technician knew what he was doing. The job looked pretty simple, with no cutting or adhesive required. He just laid down the heating mat on the subfloor and made channels for the lead wires to connect to the thermostat.
How do you feel about the EnvironTM now?
Danielle: I love it! My room used to be the coldest in the house and now it’s the warmest.
Marie: We all love it. Danielle can’t wait to show her room to visitors and even our pet cat Lola approves.
How has the EnvironTM changed your life?
Danielle: Well, it’s changed Lola’s life. She used to sleep on my bed but now she loves to stretch out on the floor. I love to lay on the floor when I do homework or watch TV and it’s also great for sleepovers.
What do your friends think about your new floor heater?
Danielle: They’re all jealous! Even my brother’s friends say I have the best room in the house.
Marie: Sometimes I wish I could trade rooms with her.
Is the EnvironTM easy to adjust?
Danielle: It’s easy to use the thermostat to turn the heat up or down.
Is there such a thing as too warm?
Danielle: I don’t think so, but Mom asks me not to turn it above 90 degrees.
Are you considering installing an EnvironTM in any other rooms?
Marie: My son keeps asking for a floor heating system in his room, which is built over the garage. It can get very cold since the garage isn’t heated. We’re planning on doing his room next.
Is the EnvironTM a good value for the price?
Marie: No doubt about it. We couldn’t find any other system to heat this room so well. Danielle is finally warm enough and has stopped complaining about the cold, and that’s priceless!
Thank you Marie and Danielle, we couldn’t have said it any better ourselves.