In a previous post “Does Radiant Heat Save Money” I mentioned a home that I partially converted from electric baseboard to radiant heat in a few rooms. This article is a follow-up to that post.
Significant Renovation and Extension
As mentioned in the previous post, the owners so enjoyed the comfort of the radiant heating system they wanted it throughout their home including the entire extension. They replaced the electric baseboards in their kitchen, bathroom and laundry room with electric radiant heat. They also added about 2,000 additional square feet to the home. A big garage with a full granny suite above it (living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom) plus a connecting hallway and a sunroom with plenty of windows were added to the home. All these areas were heated with radiant ceiling and/or radiant floor warming.
Interesting Results
In a conversation I had with them recently, I asked them how they were getting along with their system. Of course they love it (but you knew I was going to say that 
), but they also mentioned something very interesting:
Despite adding over 2,000ft2, an additional occupant in their home and a significant hike in their cost of electricity per kwh, they said their overall electrical bill has dropped during the winter! They have not changed their lifestyle at all—no changes in how they operate the heating system, no special night-setback strategies, etc.
No Numbers, Sorry
I would dearly love to be able to provide you with hard, quantifiable data. Unfortunately the home is not independently monitored for the heating portion of their energy use. There’s not a separate meter measuring the heating system only. So we don’t really know how much of their energy consumption is for heating and which portion is for everything else (lights, tv, stove, hot water, clothes dryer, etc.) and therefore we can’t say that by changing over to and adding radiant heat that they saved X%. But we can say, all else being equal, that they certainly are enjoying a very economical heating system. They also haven’t had to spend a cent on maintenance, either.
Are You Interested in Saving Money?
If you’re contemplating a renovation, you really owe it to yourself to investigate whether electric radiant heating is a viable option for you. Having done thousands of renovations, we fully expect that you can see similar results in your own home. We have many different product lines that are well suited for renovation applications. In most cases you can make the changeover one room at a time as time and budget permit. We try to make it as easy as possible for you to enjoy the benefits (and rewards) of a radiant heated home. Why not give us a call?