Electric radiant heating elements, like TempZone Floor Heating Cables, are “constant wattage”, which means that they always use the same level of energy or electricity when they are on. One important factor that helps to determine the energy efficiency of a radiant heat flooring system is the thermostat that is used to control the system.
#Radiant floor heating cost per month portable#
That’s still $6.50 in savings each month when compared to a portable heater. That’s 585.6 kWh per month.Īlthough the energy consumption for such a large room is higher than a single air conditioner or portable heater in this case, you would still spend less in operating costs.Īccording to WarmlyYours’s Operating Cost Calculator, a floor heating system running 8 total hours a day in a 160 square foot room would only cost $1 a day. What would it cost to heat a large master bathroom with radiant floor heat? Assuming the average master bathroom is about 160 square feet in size, a floor heating system running 8 hours a day would use 19.2 kWh per day. Granted, a 35 square foot bathroom is a small space to heat. (See "Duty Cycling for Electric Floor Heating" section below for more information.) This means that you'll be charged less for electrical use than if the system was "on" the entire time. Typically, the control (usually a thermostat) for an electric floor heating system will cycle on and off to get the temperature in the correct range. (After all, 4.2 x 0.12 = 0.504.) But that's because an electric heating system isn't "on" during it's entire run time. You may notice that the calculation for 4.2 kWh at a cost of $0.12 per kWh didn't equal $0.504. As a result, the cost to operate an electric radiant floor heating system in a bathroom this size would be $0.22 a day or $6.60 a month.īy comparison, it costs about $34.10 a month to run a window air conditioner and $36.50 a month to run a portable heater. When installed in a small 35 square foot bathroom running a total of 8 hours a day, the system would only use 4.2 kWh per day. Electric Radiant Floor Heating Cost to OperateĪ typical electric floor heating element produces 15 watts per square foot.
In this article, we’ll evaluate how the energy use for electric floor heating compares to the power consumption of other common household appliances. In reality, a radiant heating system for a small bathroom uses about the same amount of energy as a freezer. If you’ve ever wondered, “Do heated floors use a lot of electricity?”, the answer is: less than you would think. Energy Efficiency of Various Appliancesĭid you know that an electric floor heating system for a small bathroom uses nearly three times less energy than a portable heater? Or that it uses less than half the energy of a single window air conditioning unit? Even when heating an oversized master bathroom, it will still cost you more to run your water heater than your floor heating system.įloor heating electricity usage is remarkably efficient and cost saving in addition to being very comfortable.Electric Radiant Floor Heating Cost to Operate.