Electric Radiant Floor Heat

Best for areas such as kitchens and bathrooms or hard to heat areas such as rooms with high ceilings and basements.

A radiant floor heating system is a popular heating system because of the comfortable, even heat it provides. The heat radiates from tubing, electric cables or electric mats. Because the heat is being transferred directly from the floor to you rather than the air in the room, you feel warm, even at lower thermostat settings. When the tubing, cables or mats are embedded in sand or concrete, they can qualify for the dual fuel electric rate because heat is stored in the floor which is released during control periods. A system which utilizes load management will recharge during off-peak periods. During periods of high energy use, the energy stored in the sand or concrete will discharge and maintain warmth until the next recharge period. If the area utilizing radiant floor heating does not allow for the application of heat storage, an automatic non-electric backup heat source is necessary to qualify for the dual fuel electric rate.

Electric Radiant Floor Heating vs. Fossil Fuels Cost Comparison

Type of Electric Heat

Efficiency

Cost/kWh

Propane/gal

Fuel Oil/gal

Natural Gas/therm

Electric Radiant In Floor Heating

100%

$0.049

$0.39

$0.70

$0.66

 
For an example, if you currently heat with propane, you would have to buy propane at $0.39 per gallon to equal the cost of heating with radiant floor heat at the dual fuel rate of $0.049 per kwh.