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Heated Hardwood Floors

Surround Yourself with the Beauty of Hardwood Floors and the Comfort of Radiant Heat

Heating hardwood floors.

In addition to its striking looks, hardwood floors can also be heated, offering elegant warmth as well as stunning visual appeal. If you have a considerable amount of hardwood flooring in your home, you are sure to appreciate the benefits of radiant heat. For comfort’s sake, many homeowners cover beautifully finished floors with area rugs, but with radiant heated floors you can enjoy the beauty — and warmth — of heated hardwood floors.

Radiant Heat

There are two types of heated floor technologies—hydronic and electric. As the name implies, hydronic systems utilize specially treated water that is heated by a boiler and pumped through PEX tubing under the floor. Electric radiant heat systems rely on heating elements that provide a quick, efficient source of heat.

Due to the complexities of installation and up-front costs, hydronic radiant heat is generally used for larger square footage applications. Products like ComfortTile, FilmHeat (for floating hardwood), and low-voltage FloorHeat make electric radiant heat installation under hardwood floors an easy proposition for a savvy do-it-yourselfer. They are pre-configured for installation under wood or laminate floors, and are perfect for any radiant heat project, whether you’re remodeling an existing home or building a new one.

If you have access to your floor joists from below, you can also apply radiant heat to your existing hardwood floor. Simply staple up the RetroHeat floor heating element (between the joists), apply insulation and you're ready to enjoy the beauty and luxurious comfort of a heated hardwood floor.

Radiant Floor Heating Systems Recommended for Heating Hardwood Floors

FilmHeat floor heating system

The FILMHEAT™ in-floor heating system is an excellent value for installing radiant heat under laminate and floating hardwood flooring. The paper-thin heating element is laid out directly under the flooring as it is being laid out, making it quick, easy and affordable to install. Because the system's heating element is so thin, FilmHeat efficiently heats your floors without requiring any floor buildup. When installing the system, the heating panels are cut to their proper length on site, and then installed on the subfloor. After the FilmHeat heating elements are secured, the electrical connections are then made and the floating floor is installed directly over the panels.

FilmHeat can also be used to retrofit existing floors with radiant heat by accessing the floor joists from below. The the heating panels are stapled up between the floor joists. Batt insulation is then applied over the heating element to direct all the heat upwards, resulting in an affordable and efficient way to add radiant floor heating to existing floors. (This is the same type of heating element as our RetroHeat® floor heating product.)
Low-voltage floor heating element


FLOORHEAT STEP® is a low-voltage floor heating system that features a thin, flexible heating element. The versatile system can be installed under any material from hardwood floors to roofing. No other radiant heating element can match its characteristics. The radiant heating system utilizes a self-regulating, semi-conductive polyethylene heating element that can be used for new construction as well as retrofit applications. Warmzone FloorHeat is installed directly under various types of floors, and even in thinset when installing under tile. No additional floor buildup is required when heating floors with the low-voltage FloorHeat system.

FloorHeat STEP is a safe low-voltage product for practically any application, so it can be safely nailed through (such as in roofing applications) without damaging the heating element. Like RetroHeat, FloorHeat can also be installed between floor joists to provide radiant heat for existing floors.