Radiant Floor Heat Barrier

 

TOM IN TEXAS: I’d like to install the radiant floor heating under either ceramic or porcelain, but my question relates to a radiant barrier. It’s going to be on a concrete slab and I had read somewhere on the internet that if I apply that to concrete slab the heat will radiate down through the cold slab instead of up. So I had read that I need a radiant barrier. What is the best product or do I even need that?

TOM: Are you talking about electric radiant heat or are you talking about making this a hot water radiant heated floor?

TOM IN TEXAS: Electric.

TOM: Tom, that’s a good question. If you’re going to put a radiant floor, an electric radiant floor, above a concrete slab it is important to insulate the slab first. So typically, the order would be to put an insulation down first, then to put the radiant panels, then to go with the finished flooring on top of that. Now, whether or not you put a radiant barrier is really up to you. Some insulation products have a radiant barrier integral to the insulation; others do not. But either is going to isolate the heating unit from the concrete and help throw most of that heat up; which is the goal here, to throw all the heat up into the room.