You’re ready to choose your floor covering, and some questions are coming up. You’re probably wondering whether you can install floor heating under any type of flooring. The answer is simple and complex at the same time: everything depends on the type of flooring. Don’t worry; we’ll sort it all out below.

Two floor coverings to avoid: natural hardwood and cork.

You can’t install a radiant floor under natural hardwood. The reason is simple: wood’s natural moisture content. Since wood has a moisture content of between 6 and 9%, when it’s heated, this percentage drops rapidly with immediate consequences: twisting, cracking, micro-cracks or gaps between boards. A natural hardwood floor is beautiful, but it shifts! As the seasons change, it contracts, dries out and reacts to the ambient temperature in a slow, spaced-out cycle. Imagine how disastrous it would be if it were heated directly. Unfortunately, you’ll have to forget about installing floor heating under a natural hardwood floor!

For its part, cork is an excellent thermal insulator, and therefore a very poor conductor of heat. Installing floor heating under cork flooring would be like throwing money down the drain.

Which floor coverings conduct heat best?

If you opt to install floor heating under ceramic, porcelain or natural stone, you’re making an excellent choice. These floor coverings are perfectly compatible with floor heating because of their high heat transfer capacity. Not only are these materials heat-tolerant, they’re also excellent heat conductors.

What about other floor coverings?

It all depends on the manufacturer. Some products react better to heat than others, depending on the materials used and their quality. So, the first step is to check with the manufacturer or distributor that their product is compatible with electric floor heating. This is crucial information for ensuring the durability and aesthetic qualities of your floor covering.

Quality of heat transfer.

The quality of heat transfer is one of the most important factors when it comes to choosing a floor covering that will be compatible with floor heating. Not all materials are created equal, so here’s a list of floor coverings ranked from best heat conducting to worst heat conducting.

Classification of floor coverings by heat conduction

+++++ Ceramic, porcelain, natural stone

++++Vinyl and linoleum

+++Glued engineered wood

++Floating floor

+Carpet

In the universe, everything strives for balance! The feeling of discomfort caused by walking barefoot on a cold floor is linked to the temperature difference between our feet and the floor, as well as the rate at which we lose our body heat, which is determined by the floor’s thermal resistance. Floor heating reduces this temperature difference, increasing comfort regardless of the type of floor covering used.