Have you been considering getting underfloor radiant heating for your hardwood stairs and your floors? The portion of the year when the kids are in school tends to work best for this type of project. An underfloor radiant heating system does more than give you warm floors, it also generates a nice touch of heat in the rest of the room. One of the best ways to maximize the efficiency of your underfloor heating setup is to have an insulation unit installed along with it.

An underfloor heating unit will still work even if you don’t have an insulator, but many homeowners elect to have one because it saves energy. One of the scientific principles of heat is that it moves from a a warm area to an area that’s more cold. Therefore, the heat generated by your underfloor radiant heating system will most likely disperse into your sub-floor, never even making it beyond the flooring into any other part of the room. This, of course, results in quite a bit of wasted energy.

However, the heating deficiency can be diminished by installing an efficient and quality thermal buffer; in addition, it will increase the speed at which the room and flooring heat up, amplify the functionality of the system, and most importantly, lower your home’s heating bill.

An excellent material to use for insulation is polystyrene. Polystyrene has has been proven to have excellent thermal attributes, as well as enough durability to handle the wear it will take as people walk over the floor. This material is also resistant to rot, waterproof, lightweight, simple to work with, and easy to shape with a honed cutting tool.

How much insulation is necessary for the project depends on the kind of structure in which it’s being installed. The thickest insulation you can find will be best; if you’re building a house, it’s simple enough to revise the plans to accommodate this project. When working with building or renovation plans, the density of the material you use for insulation will depend on how high the floor will be once finished.

The type of floor being heated determines how the insulating boards are fitted. For instance, tile adhesive with a water base is used with cement subfloors. When working with wood subfloors, the floor boards must be firmly attached to the joists before beginning to apply the floor tile adhesive to receive the insulation.

Regardless of whether you choose to run the subfloor heating device throughout the entire room, you will get a better heated floor if you insulate the area beneath the floorboards throughout the room.

Casey has written on many home improvement related topics. Check out his sites: hardwood stair treads or rigid foam insulation