Luxury Floor Warming for a Cozy Chicago Basement Media Room

This homeowner in Chicago, IL, aimed to transform their cold concrete basement into a comfortable media room, a notoriously challenging area to keep warm. By installing a TempZone™ Cable electric floor heating system, WarmlyYours provided a simple, energy-efficient heating solution beneath their Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) flooring. The result is a luxurious, warm, and inviting living space that not only enhances year-round comfort but also adds significant value to the home.

Project Details

Location: Chicago, IL
Heated Space Type: Basement with Media Room
Square Footage (Heated): 149 sq. ft.
Watts: 2,214 W
Volts: 240 V
Amps: 9.2 A
Floor/Surface Type: Resilients, Vinyl and Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT)
Products Used: TempZone™ Floor Heating Cable, nSpire Touch WiFi Thermostat, Circuit Check

Conquering the Cold Basement

Basements in Chicago, with their concrete slabs and proximity to the ground, are often the coldest rooms in the house, making them feel less like a cozy media room and more like a chilly dungeon. The homeowner’s main challenge was overcoming this pervasive cold to create a truly comfortable space for relaxation and entertainment. A conventional heating system would have been costly to run and inefficient at tackling the cold floor—the primary source of discomfort.

The perfect solution was an in-floor heating system. The design utilized TempZone™ Cable laid in a precise pattern to cover 149 square feet of the living space, ensuring complete, wall-to-wall radiant floor heating. The cable was installed directly over the existing concrete slab and secured with fixing strips, ready for the Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) flooring application. This method is ideal for a basement, as the heat directly counters the cold emanating from the concrete, providing gentle, consistent warmth right where the occupants are.

The outcome is a stunning, warm, and inviting media room. This electric floor heating system now provides quiet, comfortable, and energy-efficient heating, transforming the once-frigid basement into a primary living area. The homeowner enjoys the benefits of clean, silent heat, proving that cold concrete floors are no match for the comfort of WarmlyYours radiant warmth.

Featured Products

TempZone™ Floor Heating Cable (240V): The core of the system, this durable heating cable is installed on-site, allowing for maximum flexibility in heating oddly shaped spaces and customizing heat coverage. Perfect for installation beneath LVT in this basement.

nSpire Touch WiFi Thermostat: A state-of-the-art, programmable thermostat with a sleek design. It allows the homeowner to control the heated floors from anywhere via a smartphone app, optimizing energy use and ensuring the room is warm when they need it.

Circuit Check: A simple but essential tool that monitors the heating cable during installation, ensuring the cable is never damaged by tools or foot traffic before the LVT is installed.

Quotes

These quotes are linked to this showcase and include the products used in this project or recommended for a similar-sized project.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to run heated floors in a basement media room in Chicago, IL?

Using Chicago's average residential electricity rate of 14.54¢/kWh, this 149 sq. ft. electric floor heating system costs about $0.32 per hour to operate. Running the system for an average of 8 hours a day would cost approximately $2.58 daily—a small price for luxury comfort in a large basement space.

Can radiant heating replace the main heating system in a basement space?

Yes, when correctly designed and installed, an electric radiant floor heating system like TempZone™ can serve as the primary heat source (or "sole source" heating) in a basement media room, especially over a cold concrete slab. The heat rises consistently from the floor, providing superior comfort and efficiency compared to forced-air systems.

What type of flooring works best with the TempZone™ Cable system in a living room?

The TempZone™ Cable system is highly versatile and works exceptionally well with Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT), as used in this Chicago basement. LVT, along with materials like ceramic tile, stone, and engineered wood, is a great conductor of heat, ensuring the warmth from the in-floor heating system quickly and efficiently transfers to the room.

Is electric radiant floor heating energy efficient for a large space like a basement?

Yes, electric floor heating is highly energy efficient. It heats people and objects directly from the floor up, rather than heating the air like forced-air systems. Because heat is concentrated in the occupied space and not lost to ductwork, homeowners can often lower the central thermostat, saving on overall heating costs and making it a smart, energy-efficient heating choice for a large basement.