elec. floor radiant or hydronic ???

James Con · 10-16-2007, 04:30 AM

Hey all just want to say hi before I pick your brains. I put an addition on the house and the bathroom is 13'x13'. I want to put radiant heat in the floor under ceramic tile. Right now there is nothing on the floor but 3/4 OSB sub floor, and I don't have access to the underside of the floor. I have Hydronic baseboard in the rest of the house. The addition is 1800 sq. ft. so I have to upgrade the boiler anyway. My question is should I go with electric cable, electric mats or some type of hydronic tubing setup as a primary heat in the bath. And as far as cost factor to install and run what would be the way to go in your opinions. Thanks in advance for any and all input.

Clutchcargo · 10-16-2007, 07:36 AM

Electric would be a lot cheaper to install but you'll be paying for it every month. If the bathroom is the only room that you want to put radiant in then electric would be the way to go. Hydronic radiant runs much cooler than traditional baseboard heat. The additional controls needed for the boiler for only one room would be cost prohibative.