Next time you're shopping for new flooring, consider adding radiant floor heating. This type of heating is not new, but improved technology makes it more affordable than ever. Here's a quick review of how it works: heating elements, either electric or water-filled tubes, are installed underneath the floor surface. Both elements conduct radiant heat up through the floor, relying on the principle of heat rising up to warm the surfaces and objects in the room.
The Simpsons — A Case Study for Radiant Heating
If you’re still considering radiant floor heating, let’s take a look at one iconic American home where it could be easily incorporated in several areas. We're zooming in on 742 Evergreen Terrace in Pressboard Estates in Springfield, USA. It's a pinkish-orange home that could be anywhere in the US suburbs. A family of five lives there with their assortment of pets, and occasionally mice. It's a basic suburban abode — garage, basement, rumpus room, fenced-in backyard. The homeowner works at the local nuclear power plant in an undefined but not white-collar job, and his wife is a stay-at-home mom. When this family decides to replace their flooring, radiant heating is well within their budget. Obviously, we're not in the realm of Gossip Girl, or even the Brady Bunch. Yes, we're looking at Homer Simpson and his band of merry miscreants.
Suppose Homer and Marge are in the market for new flooring, and are considering radiant heating. Let's imagine how the family's life would improve with this small upgrade.
Homer in the Garage
In Season 13, Homer builds a bar in the garage. The storyline involves Homer's attempt to recreate Moe's Bar in his garage while Moe’s place has transformed into a swanky nightclub. Lenny, Carl, and Barney follow Homer home, where Bart and Lisa are tending bar. More shenanigans and Homer is back at Moe's, which has returned to its grubby Duff clientele, and everybody's happy.
If Homer's garage had radiant heating, Lisa and Bart would probably still be tending bar today. With a warm floor that spreads heat evenly throughout the space, Homer's bar would be a cozy place to spend an evening. Even when they all go back to Moe's, Homer is left with a garage that easily converts to a man cave. The whole family could use the space as an additional family room with a pool table and enough seating for movie night. And if Homer ever picked up a hobby, a warm and inviting garage would be a great space for woodworking or anything else.
Marge's Kitchen
Like any suburban stay-at-home parent, Marge spends a lot of time in the kitchen. The Simpson kitchen is like any other American home: it’s where the family starts and ends their days together - the heart of the home.
Marge would appreciate radiant heating in the kitchen because these systems reduce household dust and allergens. Because the heat source is under your feet and radiates up with electricity, traditional forced-air heating isn’t needed. Without air vents, dust and allergens don’t collect in every nook and cranny of the house — so cleaning up after a boisterous family is a lot easier. Also, she wouldn’t have to wash her hair as often without so much dust swirling around. In the mornings when she comes in to start the coffee and make breakfast, her bare feet are toasty warm, no matter the outside temps.
Maggie in the TV Room
Maggie is the baby of the family. She's only about a year old, sports a blue bow in her yellow curls, and is always sucking on an oversized pacifier. She falls down a lot, and is practically mute. Although Maggie is silent, she's often deadly — like in the episode where she proved quite handy with a rifle when the mobster Fat Tony came for Homer and Marge.
Since Maggie's the baby and Bart and Lisa have their own lives, she spends a lot of time alone, hanging out on the floor watching TV. Don't think that too much TV is rotting her brain; Maggie's got a genius IQ of 167 — which really annoys Lisa, who was the family genius until Maggie came along.
What would Maggie do if she needed to adjust the thermostat? She doesn't walk much, nor does she talk. Calling for help isn't really an option.
How might she navigate her way up? Let's not forget that Maggie engineered a breakout from the daycare center, so she clearly has creative tendencies. Maybe she goes full McGyver and engineers an easy way to control the thermostat and floor heating to meet her TV-watching needs. Anywhere she crawls, the temperature is consistently warm.
Lisa in Her Bedroom
Lisa spends a lot of time in her bedroom. She's usually studying, or practicing her saxophone. With radiant heat, she can close her door confident that her room will stay warm. And, since radiant heating systems operate silently, she has the quiet she craves to practice and study as long as she needs. With a more quiet and relaxing space, Lisa is sure to continue to push the boundaries of her musical and academic talents.
Bart in his Bedroom
Child psychologists would say that Bart definitely needs an outlet for his creative — or mischievous — behavior. If Homer put radiant heat in the house, then Bart could spend more time in his room because it's a lot more comfortable. A warm floor is a great jumping-off point for pretend games, and let's face it, Bart's still a child in many ways. He could pretend the warmth is coming from an erupting volcano that he's trying to escape. Or he could be trapped in the desert and looking for an oasis for himself and an imaginary camel. Maybe he hears Lisa's sax through the wall and decides he's in Morocco and Casablanca is right there. You never thought of flooring as feeding a child's imagination, did you?
Creating Your Own Spa Environment
Obviously, your home is not the old-fashioned house at 742 Evergreen Terrace, but wouldn't an upgrade in your heating system be wonderful? If you're not sure about committing to the entire house, why not start by treating yourself to a spa feel in your bathroom?
Even if you're the DIY type, you can create that luxury atmosphere with floor heating. Our options range from stock-size flexible mats that are easy to apply and install, to custom mats for your specific floorplan. The cost ranges from about $10 per square foot for TempZone Flex Rolls to $16 per square foot for our TempZone Custom Mats.
After you choose your flooring option, we have accessories to complete your spa experience. Wouldn't it be wonderful to wrap yourself in a warm fluffy towel after you step out of a relaxing soak? We have towel warmers, either wall-mounted or freestanding, for a comfy transition during your morning routine. After you're cocooned in warmth, who wants a cold countertop? We have an ultra-slim profile countertop warmer that raises the temperature of granite, quartz, and stone up to 20-25 degrees. The final accessory for your new bath is an LED mirror with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) that supplies extraordinarily accurate lighting.
Finding Your Warmth With WarmlyYours
Are you ready to learn more about radiant floor heating? WarmlyYours is your go-to source for all the aspects of radiant heating. We not only have the products and the expertise to make your warm floor dreams come true, we have the resources to ensure you get all the support you need throughout the process.
A WarmlyYours exclusive, a free SmartPlan, is the blueprint you need for a start-to-finish project. Simply send us a floor plan sketch with the dimensions of your space and our engineers will provide a detailed installation plan for your project.
Here's what's included with every quote:
- Installation plan with all the details you need to streamline the process
- Heated area plan to ensure the heated area is adequate for your needs
- Itemized product quote — so there aren't any unpleasant financial surprises
- Electric plan that specifies what you'll need to get your system up to speed
If you want to really sync with the Simpsons, or Ross from Friends, or the office at Dunder Mifflin, we've got you covered before you update your floors. Learn more with our online Quote Builder tool or explore our collection of floorplans.
Related Posts
Like this post? Subscribe for regular updates