Heat Up Your Home Without A Furnace

(Just when we thought that inventors and techies had thought of everything, they continue to amaze us; especially when it comes to technological innovations and advances for the home. )

Flat screen TVs mounted into refrigerators and remotes that control the entire kitchen now pale in comparison to the newest technological advancement for the home.

Heated floors, counter tops and shower doors are now all the rage for the newest must-have amenity for a home. And making your house its own little sauna is not only limited to snowy locales like Colorado, but the trend is making its way to sunny Southern California as well.

A November 4, 2006 article by Kate Goodloe and Ellen Gamerman of The Wall Street Journal, "Welcome to the hothouse," looks at how the success of heated floors has caused the trend to apply to just about every surface of the home.

"It started with floors and towel racks. Then driveways got the hot treatment. Now, everything from windows to recliners is starting to sizzle. New shower walls that look unremarkable on the outside are hiding special plastic tubing that can ratchet up the heat -- even as the hot water's already making the room steamy. Contractors say they're installing heated kitchen countertops to keep hands warm while cutting vegetables. There are hot mattress pads with dual controls (he can sleep at 80 degrees, while she turns up the dial to 100), heated slippers and even heated door mats (they weigh 24 pounds but melt snow on contact)."

Even Muhamed "Mo" Zejcirovic of Laguna Hills, Calif. has installed heated floors and towel racks in his home (among a few other things) because the marble floor in his home was too cold to walk on it in the morning without slippers.

"New technologies are fueling the hothouse trend. Heated windows have a transparent film that conducts electricity, warming the glass to a balmy 100 degrees so families can comfortably gaze outside together on snowy nights. 'Comfort brings you closer,' read ads by Thermique, the company that makes the windows, which can be linked to the home's heating system."

New improvements in the design of heated surfaces make it so homeowners can do a lot of the work themselves. They even sell the supplies needed at home improvement stores such as Lowe's and Home Depot. They only need the finishing touches of an electrician to complete the project and get their house all warmed up.

"Dan Chiles, vice president for marketing at Watts Radiant, estimates 30% of the people who purchase his products are do-it-yourselfers. Once someone buys a radiant floor, they're more likely to move on to other surfaces, he says: 'All of a sudden, the imagination lets go.'"

As the popularity of heated floors continues to grow, people are becoming more creative in finding new surfaces to heat.

"The new hothouse builds on the popularity of radiantly heated flooring, which had been growing steadily for more than a decade, hitting $2.8 billion in sales in 2004, according to the Radiant Panel Association, a trade group. Last year, growth started to level off, a likely result, says the group, of a slowdown in new construction, where radiant heating is most often installed. Initially, the systems were water-based, but in recent years, electric systems suited for smaller spaces began to take hold, using increasingly durable cables that can now withstand 250 to 300 degrees -- enabling them to be installed in asphalt driveways, which are poured at around 250 degrees."

So if you are tired of chilly floors and countertops, or you just want to keep up with the latest trends, it could be time to consider heating things up a bit via radiant panels.

Back to Articles