Radiant Floor Heating vs. Insulating Crawl Space

Heating Methods

• A homeowner can improve a home’s heating efficiency by adding a heating source or conserving the heat that’s already in the home. These options characterize the difference between radiant floor heating and insulating a crawl space. Radiant floor heating provides an additional source of heating, while insulating a crawl space helps to keep existing heat inside the home. In effect, both methods can make a home warmer. The two methods differ in terms of installing a whole new system versus improving upon an existing heating system.

Radiant Floor Heating

• Radiant floor heating systems use a network of tubes or wires situated below the floors of a home. Heat from the tubes travels up and into a home’s living area. Water-powered systems send hot water through a tube network, while electricity-run systems send electricity through a wire network. Radiant floor systems have an added benefit in that the heat generated gets absorbed into the objects and surfaces of a home. This type of heat differs from forced-air systems, where warm air circulates through the home. In effect, a radiant system provides a more efficient and more comfortable heating source than forced-air systems.

Crawl-Space Insulation

• Crawl spaces can take on different layouts, depending on a home’s design. Since crawl-space insulation helps to contain heat inside the home, the type of layout helps to determine where insulation materials are needed. Open crawl spaces have a dirt floor and open ventilation, so insulation materials would go in the floor joist cavities beneath a home’s sub-flooring. Some crawl spaces have a concrete floor that provides a moisture barrier for the foundation. These conditions require insulating areas above the foundation wall as well as inside the floor-joist cavities. Conditioned crawl-space layouts incorporate a closed vent environment in addition to a moisture barrier. Installing insulation materials along the foundation walls works to seal off the space and keep heat from escaping from the home.

Considerations

• Homeowners looking for an energy-efficient heating source may consider radiant floor heating as a primary heating system. Radiant floor heating setups can also target specific areas or rooms within a home as opposed to heating the whole house. Cost-wise, radiant heating can cost $14,000 or more depending on a home’s heating needs, according to Building Green, a home improvement site. In cases where a primary heating system already exists, insulating crawl space areas can help improve home heating efficiency, though problems can develop if improperly installed. Faulty installations can cause water damage and associated mold growth. Installation materials may also become subject to damage from pests such as rodents that feed off of these materials. On the up-side, the cost to insulate a crawl space runs considerably less than a radiant heating system, with prices ranging from $1.10 to $1.45 per square foot of insulation as of fall 2011, according to the website HomeWyse.