SunTouch Mats Blog

Did you know that the use of radiant heating via floor warming mats is one of the most comfortable and efficient ways to heat your home. As opposed to forced air heating, which heats the air, floor warming mats heat objects such as your floor. This increases the level of comfort in your home because the heat is distributed at the floor level where we are usually cold, and gets cooler toward our head area, which is usually too hot. Because radiant floor heating distributes the heat in this manner, the comfort in your home is increased. This means no more cold feet!
Another benefit of floor warming mats is that they can be used for nearly any floor area. Areas such as concrete, tile, hardwood, carpet, and even linoleum can all benefit from radiant floor heating. Even if you live in an existing home, radiant floor heating can be retrofitted, in most cases, to your existing floors.
Whether you’re building a new home, or remodeling your existing home, radiant floor heating is a great way to add comfort and efficiency to the rooms in your home that are traditionally hard to heat. Because floor warming mats deliver heat via objects (your floor) vs. through the air, less heat is lost, and your home is kept at a more constant temperature.  This form of heating is much more efficient, and will save you a bundle on your heating costs.  Who wouldn’t want to get more comfort for less money?

Suntouch electric radiant heating mats by Watts Radiant are designed to gently heat tile and stone floors in bathrooms, kitchens, entry ways and sunrooms. Suntouch systems are very cost-effective solutions for smaller spaces (1-5 rooms) because they are easy to install and have a very low start-up cost. An electric digital thermostat is all that is required to operate an under tile heating system by Suntouch and costs only about $100-$200. Suntouch floor warming mats offer many advantages over a warm-water system. Floor buildup is kept to minimum and there are no structural weight loads to consider, common challenges to a traditional hot water radiant heating system. SunTouch mats are installed directly onto concrete board or the subfloor just prior to setting the tile or stone.
Suntouch customers benefit from a faster installation of which most DIY homeowners can tackle. If you are not up for the task, most tile setters already have experience with Suntouch floor warming systems and can easily add this to their installation. You will not regret having warm tile. Floor warming systems are a distinguishing feature to any home and provide much needed heat to tile floors.

Only a handful of months until winter is here again, and many homeowners are dreading high heating bills similar to the bills they received last winter. This winter, however, there’s still time to make changes to your home heating which can help you cut electricity costs. New radiant floor heating systems by Suntouch can offer you a choice of a thermostat that is controlled by a floor sensor. This allows you to measure floor temperature or with an ambient control, which allows you to monitor and control the actual temperature in a specific room. Suntouch radiant heating mats can be used and controlled as a primary source of heat or used as a supplemental heating source to add comfort to your living spaces.
More than ever before, homebuilders and home renovators alike are looking for energy-efficient heating options for houses. To find out floor heating mats are right for your home, contact Suntouch.  Their knowledgeable staff can help you find the perfect solution to your heating needs.

Floor coverings such as marble or tile are the perfect way to add beauty and style to your new home or remodel project. However, often times wood, stone, marble and tile appear inviting but are uncomfortably cold, especially during cold winter months.  Adding Suntouch floor heating is a great way to add efficiency and comfort to your home – from the ground up! Suntouch products give you the ability to feel the radiating power of the sun at all hours of the day, and especially during the months that are the coldest. Radiant floor heating systems provide quiet, constant, and uniform floor heat under cold surfaces leaving them comfortable to the touch and adding unseen elegance to your home.
While you may think that heated floors are reserved for those with big budgets, recent advances in radiant floor heating technology have made it possible to get radiant floor heating on virtually any budget.  No matter what the application, or what your budget, Suntouch offers a solution to meet your needs.  From new constructions, to remodels, you owe it to yourself to checkout the benefits and comfort of radiant floor heating.

Every year for my birthday my aunt sends me a new pair of slippers. This year, I’m struggling with a way to tell her not to send the slippers, because I simply no longer need them. This is because we’ve installed radiant floor heating in our new home and won’t be need slippers to keep our feet warm this winter.

A comparison of heating by way of floor warming mats to that of forced air is a car that has heated seats verses a forced air heater/furnace. The forced air in a car can dry you out and can become uncomfortable and is difficult to dial in because of the heat loss due to its air delivery. However, heated seat will provide you with quick results and will remain warm long after it is reduced or turned completely off. The heated seat actually warms your body and the car seat, not the air. Forced air, over time, will inefficiently heat objects but with the negative side effects of dry air, dust and pollen, not to mention that hot air rises quickly and can easily escape from your home.

The silent operation of your warm floors, which are free from drafts or flying dust particles, is why these systems are becoming so popular. Many homeowners are searching for ways in which they can create a more comfortable, efficient, and healthier atmosphere in their homes. Floor warming mats accomplish each of these goals.

Heated floors are one of the most comfortable ways to heat your home.  If you’ve ever been to a fancy hotel, or spa you’re familiar with the comfort offered by heated floors.  If not, you’re really missing out.  The heated floors that were once reserved for five star hotels are now available very affordably via floor warming mats.

Floor warming mats are a type of heater that warms objects instead of air.  These floor warming mats heat objects, such as the floor, in order to heat a home. The air in the room is warmed when it comes into contact with the warmed objects. Heat loss is reduced and the radiant heat remains in the lower part of the room, warmer near feet level and slightly less so at head level, creating the perfect climate for comfort.

Floor warming mats can be used in a number of applications, including:

• Tiled areas

• Hardwood Flooring

• Carpeted areas

• Cement floors

Whether you’re building a new home, or updating your current home, you owe it to yourself to check out the comfort that floor warming mats can provide.  For more information on the benefits and costs of floor warming mats, contact Suntouch.

Recently John Thiffault of Carriage Lane Homes was  recognized by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation for building homes that maximize health and efficiency.  So what is it about Thiffault’s homes that set them apart from other homes, and make them safer and more efficient?  Well, using floor warming mats to heat the home is the primary way he does this.

Health Benefits.  Floor warming mats, which provide radiant heat, improve the air quality, This is especially important for anyone who suffers from either dust allergies or asthma. Floor heating provides ample heat alleviating a breeding ground for germs to multiply not to mention the added benefit of not having change filters or clean heat ducts.

Health experts also claim that floor heating via floor warming mats can help in eliminating dust mites that live in our homes, and since dust mites love a warm moist environment, towel heaters aid in maintaining a consistent room temperature and keep it moisture free. Furthermore, mold and mildew are also caused from excessive moisture especially in bathrooms with insufficient ventilation.  By placing radiant heaters or a radiant heat towel rack in the bathroom you can combat the spread of germs for only pennies a day.

Efficiency. Radiant heaters are also on of the most efficient form of heat available. Significantly less operating time is required to maintain the desired warmth compared to furnaces and other methods of heating keeping operational costs to a minimum. High efficiency boilers or electric radiant floor systems makes radiant heat one of your most efficient ways to heat your home. Coupled with a well insulated home these systems can quickly warm your home and then shut down or wait idle for long periods of time before being called upon by the thermostat to operate.

How many times have you walked barefoot on your tile floor in the middle of winter and said “Man that’s cold!”? A few times I’m sure. Well, with floor warming mats you can say goodbye to cold feet on your tile floor. Floor warming mats go one step further than just keeping the floors in your home warm. It also helps in warming the entire house. So how do these mats do that?

Basically, floor warming mats are a system of heated cables that are installed beneath your flooring. These mats transfer heat from the cables into your flooring, which then dissipates into the room, heating not only your floors, but your entire room. It is kind of like how an old hot water radiator worked when you were in school - for those of us who are old enough to remember those radiators in the classrooms.

Not only are floor warming mats very comfortable, but this type of heating is very economical as well. Because radiant floor heating is very energy efficient , it can dramatically reduce the need to run your forced air furnace. If you are searching for a way of keeping your floors warm in the winter and save money on your heating bills, consider taking a serious look at floor warming mats from Suntouch.

Believe it or not, under floor heaters were first used by the Romans. While under floor heating was initially reserved for the rich, it eventually became increasingly commonplace in public buildings and villas. This form of radiant heating was used particularly in the colder regions of the Roman Empire. The Roman system was based on hypocausts, comprising ducts that underlay the floor (itself built on raised brick piles) and flues that were built into walls. Hot air or steam from fires circulated up through this system, warming the floor and walls, with heat passing into the rooms.

Today we recognize the brilliance of the Romans and Koreans as early adopters of radiant heating. Years later, radiant heaters are still a desired method for delivering comfortable and efficient heat in our homes. Suntouch, a leader in radiant heating, offers radiant heaters that use electric resistance cables that are constructed of highly rated materials and carry warranties up to 25 years.

If you’re looking for efficient, comfortable heat for your home, radiant heating could the solution you’ve been looking for. For more information about the many different forms of radiant heaters, contact the staff at Suntouch.