In floor heat.

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matt902

Member
Location
Canada
I am going to put in-floor electric heat in my bathroom and will take out my electric baseboard heater.Since the in floor heater will be my only source of heat.Could I use the existing thermostat that measures the ambient temperature?Or do I have to install a thermostat that has a thermocouple installed into the floor?
 

Sierrasparky

Senior Member
Location
USA
Occupation
Electrician ,contractor
Depending on the code cycle for your location I would say no , Generally for 2 reasons.
1- You need GFCI protection
2_ you Should use a floor heating thermostat that has a floor sensor ( thermocouple)
 

Dennis Alwon

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Chapel Hill, NC
Occupation
Retired Electrical Contractor
If you don't use the manufacturers stuff there is a good chance they won't warranty it but also understand that electric heat in a slab or tile is not really designed to heat the room. It is mostly design to keep your tootsies warm. If you have a wall stat then the floor may be too hot and the heat will run continuously
 

Jgreagori

Member
Location
South Jersey
I have completed a floor heat installation in my own home. Works great too. I installed per manufacture instructions including the floor TC. The whole idea of the floor sensor is to keep the floor from getting too hot while trying to satisfy the wall t-stat. Place the floor TC so it will not be covered by a throw carpet also, because it trap heat and not read correctly. Follow the instructions is probably the most important advise.
 

Sierrasparky

Senior Member
Location
USA
Occupation
Electrician ,contractor
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What kind of Garbage sales tool is this. BTU's sqft is a matter of how much BTU a Baseboard heater puts out and how they are spaced around a room. Also where does Heat loss come into play. Large amounts of glass and high heat loss from older construction a electric floor heat cannot keep up.
 

kwired

Electron manager
Location
NE Nebraska
What kind of Garbage sales tool is this. BTU's sqft is a matter of how much BTU a Baseboard heater puts out and how they are spaced around a room. Also where does Heat loss come into play. Large amounts of glass and high heat loss from older construction a electric floor heat cannot keep up.

Apparently too many "duplicate posts" were deleted as there now is no "original" to that quote.:eek:hmy:

But I agree, effectiveness of any heat system will depend on how many BTU's are added and where or how they are delivered to the space. Ability of any system to keep up when there are higher loss areas all depends on certain design information. Electric heat in the floor can have increased watt density per square foot if needed because losses are too great. If you are going to lose heat you need higher capacity from any source to make up for it.
 
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