using electric radiant for floor warming only?

[jklingel]

After reading a post about how radiant floor heat in a SOG may not be an ideal heating solution in a super-insulated house, I got thinking. Is it at all practical to consider this set up? Slab on grade, 4-6" of XPS under it, and using baseboard hot water for house heat. OK, nothing new there, but the caveat would be using electric radiant under fake wood flooring, the electric radiant only warming the floor for the boss's toes. I have no idea how to regulate the energy put into the radiant electric so that it does not compete w/ the baseboard for house heating, but if the concept is OK, then the regulation mechanism can be figured out. No, I don't see how you could keep a floor at 78-80 degrees F and the air at 68 F and NOT have competition, but I am hoping I missed something in my thinking..... Any links to any prior discussions of this, or any opinions, are welcome. Thanks. john

 

[trythis]

You just set the floor temperature with a floor thermostat, Use the air therm to operate the baseboard heaters.
If the floor is heating the house enough to turn of the air thermostat, whats the problem?
This can result in a house that gets hotter than you want but, the floor will not get hotter than you set it to. If the air thermostat was controlling the floor and base board heaters, you could end up with way too hot floor, so you basically need two thermostats, or a fancy one that can do both, but thats gonna cost more than two separate ones.

 

[jklingel]

If the floor is heating the house enough to turn of the air thermostat, whats the problem? •• Thermally, nothing. Financially, something.

This can result in a house that gets hotter than you want but, the floor will not get hotter than you set it to. •• Roger that. That was one of my biggest concerns. I don't see how to keep the warm floor from over-heating the house, or at least contributing too much heat to the house's needs. Elect is spendy.

.... two thermostats, or a fancy one that can do both, but thats gonna cost more than two separate ones. •• OK, good to know there is one unit to do both.

•• Thanks for the response. j