Floor heat

[pnordan]

ha anyone here ever put electric heat blankets under their rv flooring? Supposedly, it is only 1/8 thick so if you were replacing carpet with Allure it should fit.

[barth]

On my RV, the previous owner re-did the floor. In the bathroom area he installed the heated system under the ceramic. Works on 110V.
I have a diesel pusher class A. It is sturdy enough for this system

[slarsen]

A heated floor pad sounds like a good, practical idea. I'm going to Google it.

I put heated elements under a ceramic floor in a bathroom a few years ago, and I loved it. No, it doesn't heat the room as such, but it is surprising how a little heat in the floor makes the room feel warmer. And the power draw was reasonable: I think around 150 watts, and it maybe was 'on' half the time, or less.

That house had a concrete floor rather than what I have now: a crawl space. The floor got SO COLD in winter, and the room was in a corner of the house. On my last trip out west a few weeks ago with a 5th wheel, we hit temps around freezing at night. I thought then, how nice a warmed floor would feel . . .

[Boarhog]

That's a thought.

[LarryJM]

Boarhog wrote:
The floor of the motorhome is precisely what I wish to heat. That would make your feet comfy while watching TV, or writing or computing. And the propane heating will warm the other levels of the occupancy. Object: Winter coziness.

Those are all sedentary and stationary activities so why not just use an extra large heating pad on the floor under your feet.:) It can then be used normally if needed, requires no actual modifications, and in orders of magnitude cheaper.

Larry

[Boarhog]

The floor of the motorhome is precisely what I wish to heat. That would make your feet comfy while watching TV, or writing or computing. And the propane heating will warm the other levels of the occupancy. Object: Winter coziness.

[doxiemom11]

I'm not sure, but in Michigan the heated floors are to heat the floor, not heat the room or the house. I'm sure it would take forever to heat a house.

[az99]

Boarhog wrote:
Az99, if the carpet runner insulates too much heat I'll locate and try some of that special padding you mention.

The carpet by itself will insulate less than carpet and padding. I was assuming you were doing a standard carpet installation with padding.
I would suggest you talk to someone at a carpet retailer how deals with new home builders. They should be familiar with what works with radiant. Nothing beats a warm floor to walk on on a cold night. I just did. 🙂
Good Luck

[Boarhog]

Az99, if the carpet runner insulates too much heat I'll locate and try some of that special padding you mention.

[Boarhog]

Westend, I appreciate your comments. And I agree with you to the extent that electrical heating is not "generally" the best method of heating. But sometimes we just need a little heating help and it might be the ticket; so I'm conducting this experiment.

Sometimes I'm out and the the night gets exceptionally cold, but just a little boost in heat will make the environment in my coach a bit more comfortable. This is in addition to to my propane heating system. I'd be plugged into the campground electricity usually, but even if not the max current I expect to expend is 15 amps.

It's a DIY project so I don't expect to spend more than $300.00 for the heating film, thermostat, underlayment, visqueen, and overlayment. The carpet runner over the the installation constitutes part of the overlayment. The thermostat will be set only high enough to overcome the chill and far below any hazardous level.

As far as Fido's accommodations is concerned, he has a heavy wire crate the bottom of which is a solid surface which will shield the installation from chewng. And the wires running to the power source and thermostat, will be run in conduit. I hope to complete the project this weekend.

[az99]

Putting radiant heat under carpet is very inefficient. They do make special padding that does transfer the heat better.
I have whole house hydronic radiant floor heat in my S&B home. I would never consider building a new house without it. But I would never put it in an RV unless you just leave it parked at one location.
As said earlier it takes a long time to heat the space and if you don't have the proper outdoor temp controls installed it will then overheat.
The electric mats are OK to warm a small area like the bathroom floor.

[westend]

Boarhog wrote:
Actually I am planning to place some electric radiant floor heating in the hall way of my coach. My research indicates that it is quite efficient, I was thinking of first trying a somewhat temporary installation over the carpet and cover it with a runner. You can adjust your thermostat low at first to see if there are any problems.

But first I'm going to try it out on my dog's outdoor residence. I'll let you know how it goes.

Radiant electric is the most inefficient method of heating a structure, efficiency being measured on $$$/interior temperature.
I actually have quite a bit of history with radiant electric. My Dad was one of the guys that came up with the Gold Medallion home in the '50's. He worked for GE and traveled quite a bit pushing the all-electric home. He broke it down for me when I was a youngster. Now, I've installed it for some of my customers. IIRC, most radiant systems are rated to about 100 sq. ft. and a 20 amp circuit is required.

BTW, I wouldn't test any radiant system under a carper runner. Besides melting the runner, you run the risk of abrading an element, a cause of electrical short. Also, I hope Fido doesn't like to chew on anything.

[free_radical]

Nice shag carpet and wearing heavy socks would be much easier and cheaper solution to keeping warm..:)

[Boarhog]

Actually I am planning to place some electric radiant floor heating in the hall way of my coach. My research indicates that it is quite efficient, I was thinking of first trying a somewhat temporary installation over the carpet and cover it with a runner. You can adjust your thermostat low at first to see if there are any problems.

But first I'm going to try it out on my dog's outdoor residence. I'll let you know how it goes.

[westend]

In floor radiant for RV's, yeah on high-end coach bathrooms but sort of impractical for the rest of us unwashed. The most efficient would be radiant using hot water but that energy has to be produced somehow, either with propane (a boiler, water heater, etc.) or very inefficiently using electric to heat the water.
The in-floor radiant is real popular up here in the Midwest for sticks and bricks but there's no free lunch.