Radiant Heating Las Vegas

There are problems with radiant heating, particularly in a place such as Las Vegas. The main one is the high initial installation cost, which requires not only specialized flooring material but also specialized labor. You might say that radiant heating is like a cruising car; it’s great once you’re up to speed, but it demands a warm-up period during which you might be tempted to crank the space heater to triple digits instead of allowing the wide-range, low-intensity electric waves their due chance to energize the flooring and warm the space. Otherwise, with improper zoning or insufficient energy supplied to the system, you might not feel anything but stupid for having installed the system in the first place.

The initial installation of a radiant heating system can cost more than a conventional heating system; however, once it is installed, it tends to be cost-effective and efficient. Why? Because radiant heating is capable of evenly distributing heat throughout a space. In a zone like Las Vegas, where the atmosphere is warm and heating demands are low anyway, you may find that a system of this kind is an adequate solution—but also one that may save you more than a token amount in energy efficiency along the way.

In a city like Las Vegas, there are several drawbacks to using radiant energy. To begin with, the initial installation cost can be prohibitively steep. Even when it is done correctly, radiant heating can be rendered nearly useless by poor insulation, which simply cannot be avoided in many of the quasi-"green" energy homes currently being built.Energy efficiency can also be a big problem with some of the forced-air heating systems currently in use (heating up the air in the ductwork can take a surprisingly long time, and if the air isn't properly guided and forced out at high speed, it can end up being wasted in the wall cavities or elsewhere in the house). On the other hand, repairs can be quite difficult to carry out, because the system is "housed" within the very structure it is heating and is therefore hard to reach without tearing things apart.

Given the relatively low space heating demand found in most homes throughout the warm, dry climate of Las Vegas, the effective and efficient heating practices used in the area are quite varied. The most common practice seems to be the use of forced air systems that are powered by natural gas or electricity. These systems are largely found in the older builds that make up the central part of the Las Vegas valley. However, radiant heating is more common in the new builds that are popping up all over Las Vegas. Radiant heating, as a practice, has generally been absent from the area; nevertheless, it has become the go-to practice for a lot of the new homes built in Las Vegas.

Radiant heating systems, in and of themselves, use very little electricity. The power they consume depends mainly on what kind of system you have and, of course, how much heat you're trying to generate. If you're using an electric radiant floor heating system, then you're drawing from the grid to heat the cables or mats below the flooring. If you're using a hydronic system, which circulates hot water (not steam) through pipes in the structure, you're relying mostly on a boiler and not using nearly as much electricity. Either way, if you're in a place where energy efficiency is paramount (as in the desert climate of Las Vegas), the kind of system you choose and the insulation in the structure can make a huge difference in how much electricity you end up using.

With the right upkeep, radiant heating systems can have a lifespan of 20 to 35 years in Las Vegas.

In Las Vegas, the most suitable flooring for radiant heat is usually tile or stone. These flooring materials offer high thermal conductivity, allowing them to transfer and retain heat well. Radiant heating systems work most efficiently when installed beneath hard-surface flooring, and the durability of tile and stone makes them appropriate materials for use in the warm and dry Las Vegas climate.

Radiant heating is great for providing heat, but it won't cool your house. While the system is effective at distributing warmth through surfaces like floors and walls, it simply can't achieve the necessary temperature reduction to make it comfortable inside when the outside temperatures reach the levels we see in the summer. If you want to survive the sweltering heat, you're going to have to do it with an air conditioner or some other method of psychomotor cooling.

Dimming the heat at night can be good for both the energy meter and the pocketbook, especially in a place like Las Vegas, where there's often a big spread between the cooling afternoon temperatures and the relatively balmy evenings. Heating systems, even the most efficient ones, consume energy. If you keep a system on high all the time, using radiant heat for your toasty evening comfort, it could be just as costly as a rockin' electric bill. But what if you're not even using the spaces that are heated in the normal way? Sleeping in a space that feels 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the rest of your radiant-heated house should be no problem. In fact, it might be good for you, increasing the contrast between the space you're awake in and the space you're actually using for lounging at night.

Radiant floor heating can take care of the whole house in Las Vegas. It does an effective job of providing consistent and even warmth that rises from the floor to envelop the space in a comfortable evenness, an essential quality in a heating system for a desert area that can swing from hot to cold. Even so, its effectiveness does depend on some critical factors, like insulation; the design of the system itself (and, that also includes the layout of the house); and, quite a bit, the size of the space.