Safety Concerns for an Electric Radiant Floor

Heat

• Heat is the primary danger from electric radiant floor systems, specifically too much heat. If the radiant system gets too hot, it can cause damage to surrounding materials and even present a fire hazard. Most electric radiant systems are required to have a control device connected with the thermostat that does not allow the temperature to rise above a certain level. If this control breaks, homeowners may accidentally set heat too high.

Cut Heating Wires

• Some installers may assume they can cut the loops of heating wire to make the radiant floor fit into a particular floor space. This is not true and can be very dangerous. Cut heating wire will not transfer the electrical current properly and creates a place where the wire can burn out very quickly and start fires.

Spliced Heating Cables

• Spliced heating cables often match up uneven amounts of current, which can also create shorts and fire hazards. The radiant floor system should never be spliced, but sometimes amateurs may try to splice the heating cables with a nearby system to make it all run from the same controls.

Shock

• The radiant system must be built with ground fault protection. Systems that are not built with ground fault protect can shock users and service people if electrical problems occur.

EMF Fields

• EMF stands for electromagnetic frequency, a type of radiation that electric versions of radiant floor heating systems can produce. This radiation is the same type of radiation that microwaves produce, but radiant floor systems produce more, and those in direct contact with the floor absorb more electromagnetic radiation than they otherwise would. It is not certain if there is a significantly increased risk of complications due to this radiation, but exposure levels are higher than average with radiant floors.