Carpet Over Radiant Heat

The overall thickness of any materials above the heater needs to be taken into account too as this will ensure efficient heat transfer.

Carpet over radiant heat.

You don t have to rule carpeting out though. The designer and installer of radiant systems should be aware of these limitations in order to direct the building owner into making wise floor covering decisions to read more click the link above. To safely and effectively install wool over electric radiant floor heating it is best to have the wool carpet at 3 8 which will give it an r value of 1 575. Carpets tend to absorb dust.

You need to use carpet sparingly with radiant heat because of this. Carpet has insulation value so it will prevent some of the heat from transferring through into your home. Like the padding radiant heat works better with thin carpet. Radiant floor heating on the other hand is quite tolerant of carpeting although there are limitations.

What type of flooring should not be installed over radiant heat. You can use a few area rugs over the flooring but avoid large. Optionally if especially high point loads are anticipated on a floor it is advised that a thin layer of underlayment plywood be applied over ecowarm radiantboard prior to carpet and pad installation to protect the very tough pex radiant tubing. It is the nature of the beast in floor radiant heat.

You will sacrifice cushion for heat transfer. If the carpet is thick then the r value is 2 1 a significant increase that will build a higher thermal resistance. You always have the option of putting a rug over a hard floor. This includes any underlays and overlays.

Both the heating system manufacturer and the carpet pad manufacturers will have to be consulted. While rubber pad costs more than other types of carpet padding it is inherently anti microbial and provides a great feel underfoot. As with all radiant heating installations a thin slab foam rubber pad should be used in all cases. Carpet is naturally an insulator which makes it more difficult for radiant heat.

Underfloor heating heats up objects rather than the air and does not cause air circulation. Furthermore the hot air from conventional radiators causes the air in the room to circulate. As a result of this they circulate the dust and impurities. Carpet and in floor radiant heat work well together but it takes more coordination than usual.

The single most important choice you will make for your basement carpeting if you have radiant heat is the pad you select. Rubber pad allows the heat to transfer from the carpet better than any other type of padding.