Heated Floors: What Would You Give For Warm Feet?

 

If you live in a fully insulated and energy efficient house the idea of heated flooring is probably moot, but most of us aren’t quite so fortunate.  Older houses are drafty and it is difficult to keep them warm enough for temperature sensitive seniors.   I actually prefer wearing warm clothing rather than having the thermostat set at 70 something, but if my feet are cold I am cold all over.  Other than wearing really thick socks, what would it take to warm your feet?

 

 Radiant in-floor heating is a possibility.  You might suppose that it would be considered a luxury, but now that there is a push for energy efficiency and improved air quality it is becoming more common place.   My favorite feature would be that it lowers the dust levels in the house, which is good for people with allergies or if you just hate dusting.  If you are building a new home or remodeling an existing older home to meet senior specifications, you might think about radiant in-floor heating.

 

 Radiant floor heat doesn’t replace your main heating system but rather augments it.  It can be installed in the rooms where warm floors would be most appreciated: bathroom, bedrooms, kitchens or even a mud room.  Unlike most warm air heaters the radiant warmth from floor heating stays where you are instead of rising to the ceilings.

 

Rooms in an existing home can be updated with an electrical system where a series of cables or a mat can be mounted to your sub-floor.  Another popular system is the hydronic system which uses water.  Hot water is pumped from a boiler and pushed through tubes to heat your rooms.

 

Another application of the radiant heat system is one of the exterior snow melting systems. I have family and friends living in the Midwest and on the east coast and the winters are horrible.  Frankly I don’t know how seniors in cold climates make it through the winter without serious falls or accidents.  Although snow blowing is practically a sport back there, I still think that a heated driveway, an ice free sidewalk, or snow free stairs are immensely practical.  Radiant heat is not cheap but people who have it are always satisfied and feel that it is a good investment.