How to Upgrade Your Floor Heating System for a Smart Home

I'm with Bordlauyours technical support and product team, and today we're going to be presenting our August webinar. This month's topic is how to upgrade your floor heating system for a smart home. So welcome, everybody! We're going to be discussing smart home integration, Wi-Fi thermostat connections, and how to set up your floor heating system to make control as easy as possible. Eventually, we'll cover the final integration with the smart home system or smart assistant of your choice. I hope you can hear us well and see the slides clearly on the Crowdcast platform, if that's where you're watching. We should also be streaming smoothly on Facebook Live, so you should be able to see us there.

If you're on the Crowdcast platform, we want to hear your questions. You can use the "Ask a Question" button at the bottom of the screen to send your inquiries directly to us. We'll be glad to respond either right away or when the relevant slide comes up. If you prefer to chat your questions, feel free to use the chat area to your right. For those watching on Facebook Live, you should have a comment section available, so just use that to send us your questions. We aim to interact as much as possible to ensure we cover the most important information.

Now, let's go ahead and start with the outline of today's webinar. We'll begin with a basic overview of electric floor heating, discussing its differences and benefits. Then, we'll delve into our newest addition to the thermostat family, the Mysa Thermostat, exploring its unique features and advantages. Following that, we'll discuss our third-party integration kits, which allow for seamless connections between your floor heating system and a variety of smart home systems or thermostats of your choice.

To start, let's talk about what to expect from electric floor heating. One of the standout features of floor heating is the comfortable temperatures it provides, from floor to ceiling. This system acts as a radiator, transferring radiant heat into the room, the objects in it, and the people present. A common misconception is that floor heating operates like conventional forced air systems, which heat the air and rely on air distribution to warm the room. In contrast, radiant heat bypasses the air, directly warming surfaces and occupants. This method is highly efficient, as radiant heat is quickly absorbed by objects, providing immediate comfort compared to standing in front of a heat duct blowing hot air.

Another advantage of electric floor heating is its thin bed installation, which results in faster heating times compared to hydronic systems. This makes it ideal for remodeling projects, as you can easily add electric floor heating when replacing flooring. Additionally, these systems are straightforward to control, typically wired to a single thermostat on the wall, without the need for external components or complex manifolds. You simply adjust the thermostat like you would with any traditional unit. Our systems are also wet location listed, meaning they can be installed in areas like showers and shower benches, making them perfect for bathrooms.

When discussing smart floor heating with a programmable thermostat, one key benefit is energy efficiency. A programmable thermostat, especially one that connects remotely to your smartphone or computer, allows you to heat your home precisely when and where you need it. This means you can heat specific rooms based on your daily routine, rather than the entire house. For larger systems, you can have a thermostat in each room, enabling individual control. This flexibility significantly enhances energy efficiency, contributing to a smarter, greener home.

As we transition into the benefits of smart thermostats for floor heating, it's important to note that these devices come with various features that enhance user-friendliness and energy efficiency. Many smart thermostats can be controlled remotely or have unique functionalities that cater to specific needs, such as vacation homes requiring remote access. Our integration kits allow you to connect smart thermostats of your choice, even if they weren't initially designed for floor heating, ensuring you have the best solution for your project.

We received a question from a customer regarding smart options for tent structures, which heat quickly but don't require heating when unoccupied. For such applications, thermostats with sensors that detect movement can be beneficial. For example, the Nest thermostat features a motion sensor that maintains temperature when movement is detected but will lower the temperature when no movement occurs. Additionally, some systems offer geolocation features, adjusting the temperature based on your proximity to the home. These functionalities can significantly enhance efficiency.

Now, let's move on to our Mysa Wi-Fi Thermostat, the newest addition to our thermostat family. One of its standout features is its automatic compatibility with major smart home systems, including Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, SmartThings, and IFTTT. This compatibility allows for seamless integration with existing smart home setups. For instance, if you have Alexa connected devices, you can easily set up the Mysa thermostat to work within that ecosystem, enabling you to create scenes that adjust lighting, music, and heating simultaneously.

The Mysa Wi-Fi thermostat is designed for floor heating systems, including radiant panels. It comes with a three-year warranty and is priced at $239. The unit allows for easy temperature adjustments directly from the device, while more complex settings and scheduling can be managed through a user-friendly smartphone app. The app is available on both Android and iOS, providing access to energy logs, temperature adjustments, and geolocation features that automatically adjust heating based on your location.

Another unique feature of the Mysa thermostat is the ability to group multiple thermostats into one zone. For example, if you have a bedroom and bathroom with separate thermostats, you can group them to operate as a single zone. This simplifies temperature adjustments, allowing you to control both rooms simultaneously. This feature is particularly useful in larger open floor plans, where multiple areas can be combined into one group for easier management.

Now, let's discuss our third-party integration kits. An integration kit is essentially a relay with a built-in transformer that allows you to connect third-party low-voltage thermostats, such as Nest or Ecobee, to your high-voltage floor heating system. Since these low-voltage thermostats cannot directly connect to a 120-volt or 240-volt heating system, the integration kit acts as a bridge, enabling compatibility. We offer integration kits in both 120-volt and 240-volt versions, with options that include or exclude a floor sensor.

We received a question about compatibility with Control4 systems. Yes, Control4 thermostats are low voltage, so you can use our integration kit to connect them to your high-voltage floor heating system. The integration kit facilitates this connection, ensuring seamless operation between the two systems.

To illustrate how the integration kit works, consider the diagram showing the setup. The integration kit sits at the center, connecting your heating product—such as a floor heating mat or cable system—to the power source and low-voltage thermostat. The low-voltage thermostat communicates with the integration kit, which then sends power to the heating product when there is a call for heat. This setup allows for effective integration of low-voltage thermostats with high-voltage heating systems.

It's important to note that some low-voltage thermostats, like Nest and Ecobee, may not have a floor sensor connection. If your flooring requires a temperature limitation, you'll need to choose a thermostat that accommodates an external sensor. Be sure to follow your flooring manufacturer's recommendations to ensure compliance with temperature limits.

We have a comparison chart for our smart home integration components, including the Mysa thermostat and four types of integration kits. Each kit is designed for either 120-volt or 240-volt systems, with options that include a floor sensor. All components are compatible with smart home systems, but it's essential to check the power consumption of your thermostat to ensure the integration kit can provide sufficient power.

The Mysa thermostat does not require an additional thermostat, as it is a standalone unit ready for use. However, for other integration kits, you'll need a low-voltage thermostat to provide input to the integration kit. The Mysa thermostat supports a maximum load of 16 amps, while the integration kits can handle up to 22 amps, making them suitable for larger home automation projects. Pricing ranges from $239 for the Mysa thermostat to $99 for the standard integration kits.

As we wrap up, I want to thank you for joining us today. Please mark your calendars for our next webinar on September 10th at 1:00 p.m. Central Time, where we'll discuss installing snow melt systems for pavers. We also offer daily training sessions on various topics related to floor heating and snow melting systems, providing an opportunity for in-depth Q&A.

This month, we have a promotion on Cork Underlayments, offering a 40% discount through August 31st. This is a great time to plan projects involving carpet installations or floating laminate flooring, as cork is specifically rated for these applications.

We value your feedback and will send an email after the webinar to gather your thoughts on the session. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to contact us at 800-875-5285 or email us at info@warmlyyours.com. You can also reach out to our president, Julia Billen, at jbillen@warmlyyours.com. For more information about our products, tools, and resources, visit our website at www.warmlyyours.com.

We also encourage you to follow us on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Houzz for design ideas and updates. Thank you once again for joining us today. If there are no further questions, we look forward to seeing you next time. Stay warm and be radiant!