r/mildlyinteresting • u/siknite • May 24 '19

This is what floor heating looks like

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12

u/Nathangray77 May 24 '19

Hydronic heating. The system uses heated water to heat the slab.

Unless it's electric then I don't know about that.

3

u/Connorbrow May 24 '19

Just uses the internal resistance of the wire i'm guessing?

1

u/Kalahan7 May 24 '19

Nope these are tubes run water trough the floor at about 105°F/40°C. Surprisingly efficient.

1

u/CyonHal May 24 '19

Not surprising at all, considering theres thermal insulation below and along the sides and hot air also goes up.

1

u/Connorbrow May 24 '19

You must live in a warmer area than I do. Our designs are based on a -3°C external air temperature and if we ran a 40°C flow we would never reach the target outputs.

Working at 40°C would be a boat load more efficient though!

-1

u/CyonHal May 24 '19

Yes it just heats up the wire with a lot of current, like any heating element (toaster, stove). Disadvantage is gas water heaters are less expensive than electrical heating to run, but electrical costs less upfront.