1.
What is EasyFloor?
EasyFloor®
is a unique method of constructing in-floor hydronic heat panels (radiant floors) that
are designed to deliver radiant warmth to homes and commercial buildings.
EasyFloor typically replaces poured light concrete or other installation methods, such
as grooved plywood, in radiant heating applications. Modular and lightweight in
construction, EasyFloor is easy to install on top of sub-floors or slabs and connects
to a radiant heating control system and heat source. The EasyFloor system provides
impressive operating efficiency and even heat distribution through a package consisting
of: an insulating reflective foil underlayment; a modular interlocking plastic grid to
support the heat tubing; heat transfer plates; PEX tubing; and a thermal mass constructed
from your choice of commercially available fiber cement backer boards such as the
HardiBacker® board by the James Hardie Building Products Company.
2. How does radiant heating
work?
Radiant heating works by transferring radiant energy to objects into the room.
For example, when you hold you hand in front of an illuminated light bulb, you feel the
warmth that is radiant energy emanating from the bulb onto your hand. The air
between the light bulb and your hand is not directly warmed by radiant energy.
In the EasyFloor system, the thermal mass and flooring material receives and stores
radiant energy supplied by the warm water in the PEX tubing that gradually releases
the radiant energy to cooler objects in the room. The air in the room itself is
warmed as it comes into contact with the radiant floor and other radiantly-warmed
objects in the room.
3.
What is a thermal mass and why do I
need it?
A properly constructed radiant heating system utilizes a thermal mass to store and
release radiant energy into the room. Generally the thermal mass is stone or
concrete type material that accepts and retains radiant energy. In earlier times,
pioneers warmed stones in fireplaces and placed them under blankets to provide warmth.
Radiant systems without a thermal mass are inherently less efficient than those
with the thermal mass. EasyFloor – Radiant Warmth the Right Way – is
designed to support appropriate thermal mass product.
4. Why doesn’t the floor
feel ‘hot’?
Many people have the misconception that radiant floors must feel ‘hot’ in order to do an
effective job in ‘heating’ a building. Remember however, radiant heat is not about
heating the building but about ‘warming’ the objects in a building (the floor, the
counter top, the kids, cat and carpet). If the floor feels ‘hot’, it is too warm
and will feel uncomfortable to the people in the building. Ideally, the
temperature of the floor in properly managed radiant system is around 80 degrees – a
temperature that the human body senses is not too hot or too cold – just right.
So, when the thermostat calls for heat, the floor is brought up to around 80 degrees and
radiant energy is released from the floor into the room.
5.
What is my heat source and how does it work?
EasyFloor is designed to work with a variety of heat sources depending on fuel preference
and availability, BTU requirements, local building code requirements, and personal
preference. Heat sources can include ‘upper end’ hot water heaters and boilers
fired by natural gas, propane gas, electricity and wood in addition to geothermal and
solar systems.
6. What kind
of flooring can I use with EasyFloor?
EasyFloor is designed to work with many different kinds of floor covering – but when
selecting floor covering, be sure to mention to your floor covering supplier that you
will be utilizing in-floor radiant heating. Most floor covering products have
published ‘R’ factors which will determine their suitability for use with EasyFloor.
Please keep the following points in mind:
-
Carpet works well with EasyFloor. Select a typical
jute-backed carpet along with reasonable-thickness foam padding (specially designed radiant
floor pads are now available) – avoid rubber padding or rubber backed carpet.
- Hardwood also works great with EasyFloor.
Engineered hardwood, 3/8” ‘quarter sawn’ hardwood, or laminates work best -- but other woods
certainly will work. Laminates can be floated on the thermal mass – first taping the
joints on the thermal mass. Engineered floors can be glued directly to the thermal mass
or optionally, to a layer of ¼” wood underlayment that is glued to the thermal mass.
Natural hardwood materials should be glued and/or nailed, as appropriate, to a layer of
¼” wood underlayment material that has been glued to the thermal mass. (Note, in less
demanding applications, plywood can be used as the thermal mass thereby eliminating the
need for underlayment.)
- Ceramic tile is the most efficient material for
conducting heat into the room. Installation is straightforward: lightly glue a
¼” backer board to the grid; apply thinset to the backer; lay down a second ¼” backer
run perpendicularly to the first board; tape seams on the second backer board; apply
thinset, tile, grout. The method is identical to standard tile installation with the
exception of using 2 backers.
- Vinyl flooring can also be used with EasyFloor.
However, you should installa thin wood underlay material on top of the thermal
mass to prevent the seams in backer board from showing through to the vinyl.
7.
Why is a radiant heating system more efficient than a forced air
system?
Hydronic in-floor radiant heating systems are inherently more efficient than conventional
forced air heating systems for two primary reasons: water is a better conductor of heat
(BTUs) than air; and the heat source is in the floor and radiant energy heats objects
which cause warm air to rise up evenly from the floor into the room. With EasyFloor,
the warmth is down in the room where you want it – not up in the ceiling.
8.
How do I do air conditioning with EasyFloor?
The FloorHeat Company will work with your HVAC contractor to help design a highly efficient
air conditioning system to operate in conjunction with your EasyFloor System.
Typically, single story residences place the air conditioning air handler in the first
floor attic or other suitable location and run flexible 6” ducts into the ceiling of
each room – allowing the cool air to fall into the room. For two story buildings,
a high velocity air conditioning system that utilizes 3” flexible ducts is an excellent
choice. FloorHeat can provide you information on both methods.
9.
How do I bring fresh air into the building?
Many of today’s highly energy efficient homes are very ‘tight’, and consequentially, it
may be desirous to have supplemental fresh air brought into the building with advanced
technology heat recovery systems (HRC). These systems actually recover much of the
‘heat’ present in the exhaust air and add that ‘heat’ to the fresh air being brought
into the building. In this way, the air circulation system helps improve the
overall heating efficiency of the system.
10.
Can EasyFloor be used right over the concrete floor or regular
subfloor?
EasyFloor lies directly on top of an existing slab or subfloor.
11.
Can this be used in the second floor? How much does it weigh?
EasyFloor can be used in second and third floor installations without having to
reinforce the floor joists. The weight is only 3 pounds per square foot when using
the backer board thermal mass.
12.
What is the height added to my existing floor?
EasyFloor packages typically add only 1 ½ inches to your existing floor – 1” for the
plastic grids and ½” for the thermal mass. In new construction, this added height
is usually accounted for by adding a second 2x4 to the bottom sill plate of walls.
13.
Can EasyFloor be used in a retrofit/remodel application?
EasyFloor will work with many retrofits and remodels that can accommodate the 1 ½ inches
of height added to the existing floor. Sometimes it can be installed room-by-room
instead of disrupting the whole house and is ideal for adding radiant heat to basements.
14.
What is involved in the installation?
Installing EasyFloor involves 5 steps. 1) lay down the foil on the subfloor; 2) lay down
the modular blocks; 3) snap the heat transfer plates in place; 4) snap the tubing in
place; and 5) lay down the backer board on the grid lightly securing with construction
adhesive.
Since EasyFloor can be installed at any point during the construction process, usually
after the drywall is up; it generally does not interfere with carpenters, plumbers or
electricians. Unlike messy wet gypsum pours, the general contractor doesn’t have
to pull all his crews off the job during installation. EasyFloor is a ‘dry’
method – t here is no drying time for EasyFloor!
Two moderately skilled workers can typically install 500 to
1,000 sq. ft. of EasyFloor per day – depending upon the
complexity of the building
15.
Can I do the installation myself?
EasyFloor is also great for do-it-yourselfers. It is possible for a reasonably
skilled person familiar with construction techniques to install EasyFloor.
However, we recommend utilizing a qualified heating professional to install the heat
source and system controls to insure proper installation and operation of the entire
heating system.
16.
How do you cut the Tubing Base Module and thermal mass?
The Tubing Base Module can be cut to fit with a hand or jig saw or table saw equipped
with a fine tooth blade. The ¼” backer board can be scored and snapped with a utility
knife and the ½” backer board cut with saber saw equipped with a cementious blade.
17. Does EasyFloor support weight
well?
Heavy objects are no problem on top of EasyFloor. Standard home appliances and heavy
objects such as pianos are easily supported by EasyFloor. However, since EasyFloor
is non-structural, walls, counters, and bathroom fixtures should not be constructed
directly on top of EasyFloor.
18.
Does EasyFloor require maintenance?
EasyFloor is designed for a lifetime of care-free enjoyment. The system is
constructed from highest quality materials that should reasonably be expected to last
for a very long time – aluminum reflective foil, modular plastic grid, galvanized steel
heat reflector plate, and fiber cement thermal mass. Of course, your heat source
and control systems (not part of the EasyFloor System) should be regularly inspected
and maintained by heating professionals.
19. What happens if it leaks?
While it is highly unlikely that your EasyFloor system will develop leaks when properly
installed, the good news is that because of the modular construction of EasyFloor, it
is possible to get access to the problem area. The manufacture’s warranty for
the Kitec PEX-AL-PEX tubing included in EasyFloor is guaranteed for 25 years. If
the leak was caused by failure of the tubing, the warranty covers the cost of repair of
the system and repair to the structure and replacement of damaged floor covering.
Importantly, proper installation of the heat tubing means that the installation of tubing
is designed as one or more ‘loops’ – each ‘loop’ a continuous tubing run without splice
or joints from the manifold and returning back to the manifold.
20.
Can EasyFloor work with other radiant techniques?
Yes, in cases where construction indicates a poured concrete slab such as in a basement,
the FloorHeat Company generally recommends that the PEX heat tubing be placed directly in
the slab. Operating in conjunction with the basement in-slab system, the EasyFloor
System can be used on sub-floors and slab surfaces not equipped with in-slab tubing.
Also, in cases where there is extreme heat load in a room, baseboard radiant
heat or heat coils may be used along with EasyFloor. However, many times EasyFloor
is used on top of slab on grade floors because EasyFloor is significantly more responsive
than tubes in overly-thick concrete.
21.
Why is EasyFloor more efficient than concrete/gypsum underlayment methods?
In general, ‘wet’ methods of radiant floors (PEX tubing in concrete/gypsum underlayment)
provide more efficient operation than ‘dry’ methods (typically staple up or tubes through/
on sub floors). However, even though EasyFloor is a dry method, it is often the
most efficient method of in-floor radiant heating available – even more efficient than
wet methods! This is because the appropriate size of the EasyFloor thermal mass.
At ½” thick, it is considerably smaller than the typical 1 ¾ to 2 ½ “ thick gypsum/
concrete underlayment. Consequentially, it takes less energy to warm the EasyFloor
thermal mass. (The EasyFloor package enables the water temperatures in the PEX tubing to
operate in the 80-120 degree F range with an typical temperature of around 100 degrees F.)
Importantly, EasyFloor is the only radiant installation method that creates a true
radiant barrier to the sub floor or slab below EasyFloor. This radiant barrier
reflects non-directed energy from the PEX tubing back up to the thermal mass – resulting
in greater thermal distribution efficiency.
22.
How does EasyFloor compare to other systems?
No other radiant floor heating system enjoys all the advantages that EasyFloor provides.
EasyFloor is easy to install, is non-structural, is totally quiet and up to 60
percent more efficient than other methods. In addition, when doing a cement or gypsum
pour, large amounts of moisture are released and can possibly damage or destroy wallboard
and paint jobs. This is not a problem with EasyFloor. EasyFloor eliminates mold growth
(cement and gypsum both absorb moisture), is totally weather-proof (we’ve heard of other
dry systems destroyed by moisture).
EasyFloor provides the perfect balance between thermal mass and thermal response time.
Many other systems have such high thermal mass that response time for temperature change
is extremely lengthy (typically 3-4 hours or longer). This may create a condition
of continuous temperature cycling as the system tries to adjust to the target temperature
but keeps overshooting. (This "flywheel effect" is typical of many poorly
designed systems where the tubing is encased in a concrete or gypsum underlayment.)
Low thermal mass systems such as staple up systems or in-wood tubing create a
condition where the boiler temperature must be set much higher to try to make up for the
lack of such mass, and circulators and other system components must often work harder.
The EasyFloor is designed to efficiently collect heat from the tubing and release
it slowly enough to prevent system overworking and constant cycling of system components
– its Radiant Warmth the Right WaySM.
HardiBacker® is a registered trademark of the James Hardie™
Building Products Company EasyFloor® is a registered trademark of the FloorHeat
Company
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