What are the best home features for cold climates?

The best home features for cold climates include a simple gable roof to shed snow, covered entrances for protection, airtight triple-pane windows to prevent heat loss, and radiant heating systems. These features work together to maintain interior warmth, reduce energy bills by up to 25%, and ensure structural safety during harsh winters.

What does an Ohm (Ω) reading below 15% of the label value indicate?

Resistance below this value may result in no heating or cold spots in the floor. This may be caused by exposure to moisture or other conductive material that penetrates the core insulation.

What does an Ohm (Ω) reading greater than 15% of the label value indicate?

Resistance greater than this value may result in overheating or even total failure of the floor heating system. This may be caused by a crimping or other damage to the wire.

What size breaker do I need?

For systems below 12 Amps, a 15 Amp, Non-GFI breaker is fine. For systems 12 to 16 Amps, a 20 Amp, non-GFI breaker is needed. Breaker sizes are noted on the installation plan that ships with many orders.

Why does my Ohm (Ω) reading vary slightly from the label?

Temperature affects core resistance - lower temperatures decrease resistance and higher temperatures increase resistance. Another consideration is the test equipment, sometimes switching test units, adjusting the calibration, or allowing for the verified differential may be necessary.

FHT-12187 | Support | WarmlyYours Canada

Q: How do I determine if our heating cable is a Single Conductor or Twin Conductor?

Single Conductor vs. Twin Conductor Identification A single conductor floor heating system is a loop of one core wire, it starts at the thermostat and ends at the thermostat - this is the original method of manufacturing heating cable. Most single conductor floor heating systems have the same color cold lead wire connected to both load terminals/pigtails of the thermostat. Some early single conductor floor heating systems were produced with a white and a yellow cold lead wire. A twin conductor floor heating system terminates two core wires at the end, both wires start at the thermostat - this is the current method of manufacturing heating cable. Most twin conductor floor heating systems will have two different colored cold lead wires, and one of these is black. The other wire in a WarmlyYours floor heating system is either yellow (120V system) or red (240V system). A few early Environ systems had two black cold lead wires. Note: - Not all heating cables are wired directly to the thermostat. It may have been necessary during installation to terminate the heating cable in a junction box, and then run a separate (contractor-supplied) wire from the junction box to the thermostat. - WarmlyYours single conductor cold leads were produced with a 13‘ length at the start of the loop, and a 26‘ length at the end. The 120V floor heating systems had a yellow and a white label attached to the cold leads, and the 240V floor heating systems had a red and a white label attached. - If you have a single conductor floor heating system and notice that one cold lead is thicker or feels hotter than the other, please contact technical support at +1 (800) 875-5285

Support Questions

Showing 10 of 15 questions

What should I do with the floor sensor that was included with my floor heating element?

WarmlyYours has recently begun including floor sensors with our heating elements to help ensure customers will have everything they need for optimal operation of their radiant heating systems.

The sensor included with your floor heating element can be installed with the heating system (the sensor is equally spaced between runs of the heating wire--see your install manual for more info). Installing this sensor with your floor heating control will enable energy efficient operation of the floor warming system based on the floor temperature instead of the ambient room temperature.

We generally recommend that you install a second, unconnected backup floor sensor alongside the primary one. In the very unlikely event that your first floor sensor is damaged, this install method will save you from having to pry up flooring to replace a floor sensor. You simply disconnect the damaged sensor from the thermostat and connect the backup sensor.

In addition to the floor sensor that was included with your heating element, our nSpiration Series thermostats also come with a floor sensor. If you purchase both a heating element and an nSpiration Series thermostat from WarmlyYours, you'll have a primary and a backup floor sensor for your system.

3 people found this helpful Was this helpful? Yes No

What temperature is best to set the floor to?

82°F - 85°F is the most common comfortable warm temperature of the floor.

1 person found this helpful Was this helpful? Yes No

What Ohms meter should I buy?

A digital meter with a 0-200 Ohms scale ( Ω ) to measure the heating wire's resistance, and a 20K scale to measure the sensor's resistance.

Was this helpful? Yes No

Can I cut the sensor wires? They are longer than I need.

Yes, the sensor wires may be trimmed. Most local code requirements call for 6“-7“ of extra wire from the gang box.

Was this helpful? Yes No

Can I limit how hot a heated tile floor gets so it never exceeds about 80°F?

Yes. The floor never free-runs — the thermostat’s floor sensor governs output, and you set a maximum floor temperature limit in the thermostat itself. Most heated tile bathroom floors are set between 80°F and 85°F. Set that limit during commissioning and record it on the handoff sheet so the homeowner does not raise it past the flooring manufacturer’s rated maximum.

Was this helpful? Yes No

Can electric floor warming be added to a bathroom that already has hydronic radiant heat?

Yes, but the tear-out is the real risk. Scan the floor with thermal imaging before demo to map the existing hydronic tubing, and never fasten or drill into it. Keep the two systems on fully independent controls so they cannot fight each other, and do not place the electric floor sensor directly above a hydronic loop — the false-high reading will short-cycle the electric system. Call PRO technical support at 800-875-5285 to review the assembly before ordering.

Was this helpful? Yes No

Can floor heating cable be installed on a tiled wall to warm towels or add room heat?

No. Electric floor heating cable is listed for installation under floor coverings only, and NEC 424.38(A) does not permit heating cable to be installed in walls. Running it vertically voids both the UL listing and the warranty. For warm towels and a little extra room heat, specify a heated towel rack, which is designed and listed for wall mounting.

Was this helpful? Yes No

Does a bathroom floor heating system require a separate GFCI breaker, and what amperage?

No separate GFCI breaker is required — every WarmlyYours thermostat has a built-in Class A (5mA) GFCI. Stacking a GFCI breaker on top of it is one of the most common causes of nuisance tripping. Run a dedicated breaker sized to the load at 80% continuous duty: a 15A circuit carries up to 1,440W at 120V, a 20A circuit up to 1,920W. Loads beyond the thermostat’s 15A rating need a power module or relay.

Was this helpful? Yes No

How do I determine if our heating cable is a Single Conductor or Twin Conductor?

Single Conductor vs. Twin Conductor Identification

A single conductor floor heating system is a loop of one core wire, it starts at the thermostat and ends at the thermostat - this is the original method of manufacturing heating cable. Most single conductor floor heating systems have the same color cold lead wire connected to both load terminals/pigtails of the thermostat. Some early single conductor floor heating systems were produced with a white and a yellow cold lead wire.
A twin conductor floor heating system terminates two core wires at the end, both wires start at the thermostat - this is the current method of manufacturing heating cable. Most twin conductor floor heating systems will have two different colored cold lead wires, and one of these is black. The other wire in a WarmlyYours floor heating system is either yellow (120V system) or red (240V system). A few early Environ systems had two black cold lead wires.

Note:

- Not all heating cables are wired directly to the thermostat. It may have been necessary during installation to terminate the heating cable in a junction box, and then run a separate (contractor-supplied) wire from the junction box to the thermostat.

- WarmlyYours single conductor cold leads were produced with a 13‘ length at the start of the loop, and a 26‘ length at the end. The 120V floor heating systems had a yellow and a white label attached to the cold leads, and the 240V floor heating systems had a red and a white label attached.

- If you have a single conductor floor heating system and notice that one cold lead is thicker or feels hotter than the other, please contact technical support at +1 (800) 875-5285

Was this helpful? Yes No