In-Floor Radiant Heat for Mudroom
I’m looking at a small (8’x10′) mudroom addition to my house in Ontario, Canada (Zone 6). I’ve settled on a slab on grade with a frostwall, The addition will be inside the heated zone, opening to the stairs down to my basement.
My house is 70 years old and heated by hot water radiators and I don’t want to get into adding a loop, and the mudroom would be basement temperature, not living space temperature, I think I’ve settled on electric radiant heat in the floor. Other than being open to the basement, this would be the only heating of this mudroom. I imagine it being set to a low constant temperature to keep floors dry, snow melted, etc. There’s an interior door that will remain which separates it from the rest of the house.
I’ve read that slabs tend to act as a heat sink, but I see this almost as a feature, as it seems this would regulate the temperature as kids are running in/out and bringing snow in. I have 2″ GPS to go under/around the slab to minimize losses to the ground.
Just curious if I’m way off base, or if there are better options for such a small addition.
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Replies
I don't see any advantage to a heated floor here. It sounds like what you really want is just unheated space. If what you want is occasional heat, electric baseboards will probably work better than floor heat and cost quite a bit more and be more reliable.
I do not want an unheated space, I'd like continuously low heated space, to ensure the room/floor is warm enough to dry.
You can get that with a baseboard electric heater. Much cheaper, simpler and more reliable than in-floor.
I have put electric radiant heat into tile floors before in bathrooms, and the result is very nice. I think a heated entrance slab would be great since 5 months a year you will be dealing with snow.
Daniel,
I agree with plumb_bob. These one room radiant floors make a lot of sense. They avoid the complexity of larger systems while providing the heat exactly where you would want it most.
I don't know enough about your climate to say if 2" of GPS is the right amount of sub-slab insulation or not.