SunTouch Mats Blog

Oh do you hear that? No? That’s right. Of the many benefits of floor warming mats, their quiet operation is one of my favorite things about them. Don’t get me wrong, being able to show off my slate floors without having to cover them up with rugs (to keep my feet warm), along with the energy I save are all right up there on the list of reasons that I love my floor warming mats.

However, I just love the peace and quiet they bring. No more noisy forced air systems, no more slamming doors with pressure increases as the forced air kicks in. Instead, I have peace and serenity all day long. There’s nothing like curling up with a book and not be startled half to death as the door slams behind you. If you’ve currently in a home with a forced air system, you know exactly what I’m referring to. If your home has a forced air heating system, you may think that there is no way to install radiant heating without tearing everthing up at considerable expense. You’d be wrong.

Something that often surprises people is to learn that today’s systems can be easily retrofitted to fit almost every application. Furthermore, they are very inexpensive, and will save you a lot of money on heating and electricity bills. To find out how you can benefit from floor warming mats, contact the knowledgeable staff at Suntouch.

New and Exciting? Well, exciting, certainly. The installation of electric floor heating is not new. In fact, heated floors have been installed under bathroom and kitchen tile in the United States for the past 10 years. These floor warming mats continue to gain popularity. Many in the kitchen and bath industry expect radiant floors to continue to play a big role among homeowners who crave comfort features.

Joan McCloskey, editorial marketing director for Better Homes and Gardens magazine, told homebuilders at the 2003 International Builders Show that the use of floor warming mats to heat bathroom tile is on the list of must-have comforts. “Our bathrooms set the mood for the day and homeowners want it light, comfortable, and cheerful,” she said. “Toys in this room and the master include heated floors, little refrigerators, steam showers with multiple shower heads, soaking tubs, towel warmers, fireplaces, and coffee nooks.”

These thin electric floor warming mats have been very popular in bathrooms and kitchens for a long time. However, the installation of these systems under carpet and hardwood was not practical because they needed to be embedded in a layer of thin-set cement, which you normally don’t use when you install a new carpet or floating wood floor.

As a result, very few people would opt for a heated floor under carpet or floating wood. However, now with the introduction of floor warming mats, you can get heated floors under carpets, hardwood, and other flooring without the need for cement under layers.

And you thought you were done with homework when you finished school! But the fact of the matter is that choosing the best heating systems for a new home or to add supplemental heat to a cold spot in your home takes a little homework. The consultants at Suntouch can provide information on all of the latest heating systems. Suntouch can also help to properly assess your project and prescribe a system that will add value to your home while staying within your budget.

Heating a home efficiently offers many challenges. A common challenge to traditional heating systems is the inability to zone your home for specific areas of the home without heating the entire home. Suntouch heating systems can be easily designed to be independently controlled by zone which enables a home owner to increase the temperature for defined areas of the home during occupancy and conversely allows a particular zone to remain off during down times. This strategy not only saves homeowners a considerable amount of money, it gives you complete control to efficiently warm you most used living spaces without comprising cost.

No more big fuzzy slippers to keep my feet warm in the coldest winter months! I don’t need them because I won’t be faced with the prospect of walking across cold tile or hardwood floors this winter. No, we didn’t install carpet in the bathroom and kitchen, but we did install floor warming mats in our bathrooms and kitchen. If you’ve never experienced the warmth and comfort of heated floors, you’re definitely missing out on one of the finer things in life.

A comparison of floor warming mats to forced air is a car that has heated seats and 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. A 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 will over time will inefficiently heat objects but with the negative side effects of dry air, dust and pollen.

The silent operation of floor warming mats also provides an environment free from drafts or flying dust particles. This is yet another reason why these systems are becoming so popular. Home owners are searching for ways in which they can create a more comfortable, efficient, and healthier atmosphere in their homes. Floor warming mats helps accomplish each of those goals.

Make 2008 a great year. There are remarkable choices available to homebuilders and renovators alike in regards to home heating systems. Suntouch radiant heating is one of the most comfortable, yet efficient heating options for any home. So, what are the benefits of choosing a Suntouch radiant heating system for y our home?

The increased comfort and significant efficiency benefits aren’t all that’s offered. Another huge benefit to electric radiant heat is that, unlike central heating and air, with radiant heat you can zone different areas of the house to fit your lifestyle. Some of our customers use one thermostat per floor, while others separate bedroom areas and living spaces. Suntouch is happy to help with recommendations based on your project plans.

Many families will enjoy the allergen reducing qualities of electric radiant heat. Radiant Heat reduces dust mites and air borne allergens by 60%-90%. No other heating system reduces allergies as effectively as a Suntouch electric radiant heating system. And of course, there’s always the increased property value aspect to incorporating an electric radiant heat system to your home.

Great news! You don’t have to cover your ceramic tile, marble, or stone floors with rugs—install floor warming mats and show your floor’s beauty and allow them to give you the heat you want at the same time! The feeling of warmth under your feet when it’s cold and snowing outside is like no other.

Floor warming mats also offer you complete control of temperature of your home on a room by room basis. Not only that, their operation is completely quiet. Floor warming mats have even heat distribution and will not effect the furniture placement as it uses no radiators or heat vents to disperse heat. They are easy to install, very energy efficient, and can save you a bundle on your winter heating bills. Another way they save you money is that there are no expensive filters to change or clean.

With the added heat and efficiency come some additional health benefits as well. Floor warming mats don’t blow air around your house, so there is no dust or dirt forced into your air to breathe, which is extremely beneficial for those who suffer from allergies.

You may be wondering just how do floor warming mats work? They simply heat the floor with electrical resistance cables that are spread evenly and sandwiched between layers of durable fabric. All these options are easy to install yourself or can be quickly installed by your flooring installer. If you choose to install the system yourself, you will want to have a certified electrician hook up the controls to a programmable thermostat.

If you’re looking for a cost effective, eco-friendly way to heat your home, then check out the many options for radiant heating systems. For more information, contact the staff at Suntouch.

If you’ve been listening to the news at all over the last year I’m sure you’ve heard all the talk about alternative fuels, etc. Due to concerns about global warming, more and more people are looking for ways to go “green.” With that come some opportunities for other alternatives as well, including alternative heating systems such as those offered by Suntouch.
There are a number of alternative heating systems out there that can help you in your quest to conserve energy and reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere. One of these heating systems is Suntouch radiant floor heating.
Radiant heaters, as opposed to warm air systems (such as a forced air unit heaters), deliver the source of heat to the floor level, not the ceiling. Using radiant energy is on of the oldest forms of heating. This type of heat is excellent at providing comfort and is the basis for all heating systems. Radiant energy is totally pure radiation and is absorbed by an object without physical contact with the heat source or by heating the surrounding air, as is the case with convective, forced air systems. Because radiant heating systems work more efficiently, you end up using less energy, while maintaining a more comfortable living space.

While they seem like they’re the latest innovation in home heating, the installation of floor warming mats is not new: heated floors have been installed under bathroom and kitchen tile in the United States for the past 10 years and the warming products continue to gain popularity. Many in the kitchen and bath industry expect radiant floor heating to continue to play a big role among homeowners who crave comfort features like heated hardwood or tile flooring.

The news keeps getting better, too. In addition to providing warmth, these new floor warming mats are energy efficient. Because it is under the carpet, tile, or floating wood and over the foam pad, it provides additional insulation from the cold sub-floor. The Most homeowners love the look of tile, wood, marble floors, but dread stepping out of their soothing shower onto cold tile, especially during those frigid winter months. And many love tile or wood in their kitchens and living areas but worry about their little ones playing and running around on cold floors. That’s why so many are opting for floor warming mats to warm up their floors.

Ready for a bold statement? You will not regret having warm tile in your home. Floor warming systems are a distinguishing feature to any home and provide much needed heat to tile floors. 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.

You need only to take a quick look and you’ll see how Suntouch floor 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 might not know that using floor warming mats to heat the home can have a huge impact on both efficiency and health benefits.

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.

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.

Many 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.