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WSHC-240-00323 Frequently Asked Questions

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Frequently Asked Questions

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While WarmlyYours electric radiant floor heating systems are typically installed by your floor covering contractor, a licensed electrician is recommended for the final thermostat hook-up. With every quote, we provide an Installation Plan layout, together with an electrical plan that has all the info required for the electrician.

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Our electric radiant floor heating systems have withstood rigorous safety testing and earned the UL listing. They produce much less EMF than common household appliances like your TV or vacuum cleaner. The EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) tests all electrical devices and publishes the data. Many common household appliances are tested at a distance of 6 inches. The test results indicate that on average, the EMF emitted for the following appliances, measured in Milligauss (mG) units, is:

Vacuum Cleaner: 300 mG

Microwave: 200 mG

Portable Heater: 100 mG

Dishwasher: 20 mG

Washing Machine: 20 mG

WarmlyYours TempZone™ (Twin): 1.8 mG

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WarmlyYours’ TempZone™ product is most commonly installed under tile, stone, and marble flooring, but can also be installed under many other popular floor covering options such as hardwood, vinyl and linoleum. We also have our Environ system, which is an electric floor heating product as well and is specially designed for installation under carpet (in the U.S. only), laminate and floating wood. WarmlyYours can accommodate any flooring type with either of the electric radiant floor heating products that we offer. If your flooring type isn't listed here, just give us a call at (800) 875-5285 and we will be happy to discuss it with you.

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Yes. Unlike the heating cable for electric floor heating, the cold lead wires can be trimmed.

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Electric radiant floor heating should not be installed under permanent fixtures that may trap heat. However, if the vanity or cabinets are "floating" or are on legs, then a floor heating system may be installed under it.

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Electric-resistance heating cables and systems have no polarity. This includes all current WarmlyYours heating elements.

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Yes, but any furniture that may trap heat, such as pieces with an enclosed bottom, should be avoided. Furniture on legs with a clearance of at least 3" is permissible.

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Yes, the drying effects of electric radiant floor heating will reduce the humidity coming from the slab, which is the largest source of moisture.

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No, it is recommended that floor heating only be installed in the areas that you will walk on. Heat can become trapped if installed under objects that do not offer enough clearance for air to circulate (such as a washer or dryer).

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A typical bathroom floor can be heated for about a quarter a day with electric radiant floor heating.

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Since most Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) manufacturer's set a maximum temperature for radiant floor heating, the system should have little to no effect on the rubber/cork backing.

Pre-attached backing can act as an insulating layer though, meaning it can prevent the radiant heating from efficiently directing heat up through the floor. Please check with the manufacturer for the r-value of the product. Look for an assembled plank with an r-value of less than 1. The lower the r-value, the better!

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Yes, our TempZone Heating Products can be used for heating luxury vinyl tile or luxury vinyl planks in any indoor application.

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Supplemental heat can be addressed by changing the spacing on cable installs. Floor location in the house is very important when considering adding supplemental heating to a floor. For example: If heating a second story floor, over a heated space, cable at 4" spacing can be used. The same type of heating over an unheated space would probably be done with TempZone Flex Rolls or TempZone Cable at 3" spacing. All heating is considered supplemental unless a heat loss calculation is done.

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A floor heating system can work as a supplemental heating source and make the basement warmer. If more heat needs to be added to the room, you can experiment with setting the floor heating thermostat to higher temperatures.

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The breaker and wire sizes are selected based on the total amperage of the WarmlyYours heating system connected to a single thermostat. This information is on the WarmlyYours heating system's installation plan, electrical plan, or UL label. Based on guidelines from the National Electrical Code: loads up to 16 Amps may utilize 12 gauge wire with a 20-Amp breaker, and loads up to 12 Amps - 14 gauge wire with a 15-Amp breaker. Local code and/or other factors may change these guidelines.

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WarmlyYours nSpiration controls are equipped with an in-floor sensor to precisely control the floor's temperature to comply with the wood manufacturer's temperature recommendation.

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This is stated in the Installation Manual of the LVT product when purchased. On average, this maximum temperature will fall between 80°F and 83°F. This number can then be used to program the thermostat during setup to set the floor's maximum temperature.

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For best results, we recommend a 1”- 1.5” maximum distance between the heating cable and the top of the floor. Nailed down hardwood will require sleepers to run the cable safely between board nails. Be sure to use 3/8" to 3/4" of self-leveling cement to embed the heating element.

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No, most in-floor heating is designed to be added to new flooring. If you do have existing wood floors you would like to add radiant heating to - it is possible to do so with an under-joist heating system. 

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If the flooring manufacturer has a warranty for electric floor heating, it should not be adversely affected by shrinkage, expansion, or warping. Again, it will depend on the brand and construction of the product. Some manufacturers may place limitations on the maximum floor heating temperature. To minimize expansion and contraction, some Luxury Vinyl Tile companies require heating the flooring to a continuous heating level with "setback" temperatures (lower temperature settings during the day and overnight) kept to a minimum.

While radiant heating can affect the expansion and contraction of the floor, the most overlooked and important factor is the relative humidity in the space, so a humidifier or dehumidifier may be needed.

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Yes, with our programmable thermostats, you can choose which days and times the floor heating turns on for your comfort. With a Smart thermostat, you can also control these options from your phone while away from home.

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LVT (Luxury Vinyl Tile), WPC (Wood Plastic Composite), and Solid Core all fall into the category of "vinyl flooring." These vinyl flooring types can be rated for floor heating, but the application will completely depend on the manufacturer's guidelines.
Please look in the installation manual and warranty documents of the LVT, WPC, and Solid Core flooring product that you are interested in to see if and what types of heating are allowed.

As for a list of manufacturers of LVT, WPC, and Solid Core products providing a warranty for their products with radiant heat -- many do provide a warranty for their products when properly installed with floor heating. The list of these is ever-changing, so please be sure to check with the flooring manufacturer for current recommendations.

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The ground wire in the floor mat must be connected directly to the ground wire of the supply or to the house ground wire.

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Cork flooring can be used with floor heating if the r-value is under 1. You will need to find the r-value of the flooring you choose and let your account manager know during the design stage. Cork flooring should have a low r-value to minimize trapped heat.

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Everyone has their own comfortable temperature setting, but we typically find that our customers use their thermostats to set the "floor temperature" of the system in the 78°F - 84°F range.

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The requirements are determined as follows: plan on 20 watts per square foot (at 3" spacing) without a floor covering; or 15 watts per square foot (at 5" spacing, cable only) with a floor covering. To calculate approximate power requirements, multiply the square feet by either 20 or 15 (per the above), and then divide by the voltage (120V or 240V) to arrive at Amps.

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The cost for the heating elements in a Slab Heating system is $7 per sq. ft. ($8 CAD) for Slab Heating Mats and $7 per sq. ft. ($9 CAD) for Slab Heating Cables.

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We usually recommend that you have an individual thermostat for each room. However, if it's an open floor plan and your local electrical code allows you to have one controller for the whole area, then it's definitely possible to have it all controlled from one thermostat.

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Reflective insulation is not effective with conductive heating, which is how embedded floor heating and snow-melting systems transfer heat. To be effective, the reflective insulation surface needs to face an air space (air gap), which allows the reflected heat to be redirected.

An effective solution considers the insulating material's R-Value. This is the rating of a material's insulating properties. The "R" stands for "resistance" and refers to the material's resistance to heat flow, or temperature conduction.

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We recommend verifying 3 things with the manufacturer of the flooring product to be heated;

1.) Is the flooring product compatible with electric floor heating?

2.) What is the maximum temperature the flooring product can withstand?

3.) What is the temperature set back recommendation of the flooring product?

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In-stock items will ship the same day if you place your order before 4:00 PM CST.

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Stop installation, box out a 3"×3" area surrounding the damaged area, and call tech support at (800) 875-5285.

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Any trade professional is qualified to layout slab heating cables and/or mats; electricians must make the electrical connections and test the wire; you can hire a concrete contractor to install the concrete for you.

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Yes, you can install multiple sensors while installing the floor heating system. Only one of these sensors should be connected to the floor heating thermostat. Any secondary sensors can be run through conduit up to the thermostat area to be connected in the future should anything happen to the original sensor. The sensor is low voltage and may not need conduit. If conduit is required, it will need to be separate from the return power leads.

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A Warmly Yours indoor floor heating system should not be installed with a GFCI breaker because GFCI protection is built into the thermostat and power module.  And while it's not always required, we strongly recommend a dedicated circuit for each thermostat and power module to limit the occurrence of ground fault nuisance tripping caused by multiple GFCI devices on a circuit. The amperage of a breaker would depend on the amp draw of the heating system. For example, a TempZone Flex Roll (which provides approximately 15 watts of energy output per square foot) that is providing 15 square feet of heating coverage will draw only 225 watts ( 1.9 Amps), so a 15 Amp circuit would suffice.  Always size breakers according to your local Electrical Code requirements. 

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An area where large furniture will cover the floor should have enough clearance underneath to allow air to circulate. Any areas where floor heat may be trapped (rugs, box bottom furniture), let your sales rep know so we can design an installation plan around these areas.

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You should install the cable 2-3" below the finished surface, and attach it to rebar and/or reinforcing wire mesh to secure the cable in place.

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There is a way to install floor heating that makes it suitable for any type of floor. By embedding our TempZone systems in self-leveling cement (SLC), you have created a heated subfloor. Almost any low r-value flooring can be installed directly over this for heated floors.

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