Reptile & Amphibian Forums

thanks to the advice I've recieved on this forum I've decided to go with radiant heat for my snake room. But my new question is has anyone used radiant floor heat? I'm talking about the kind that comes in a big sheet you put under the tile or wood on your floor. It's apparently the greatest thing ever created for your kitchen or bathroom floor but will it heat the whole room effectively?
Thanks again
Bob

These types of systems can heat entire rooms.

The problem with them is that when installed over an un-insulated slab the heat tends to radiate out into the earth as much or more than it does into the room. If I remember your previous thread this is going in a garage or out building of some sort so I'm assuming the slab is not insulated?

Not a huge deal as you really should insulate the floor anyways.

I would price it out and compare it to some other options. I sort of looked at it for my room and I think it was going to be prohibitive and I was a bit scared by reports of tile floors having to be torn out in order to get to faulty systems. It's one thing to have a cold tile floor if your bathroom, it's another thing to have a reptile room with no heat in the middle of winter in your garage.

For what it is worth, my electrician won't install these systems. Instead he leaves it up to the flooring contractor so it's their problem if something goes wrong.

The hydronic systems are more reliable but tend to be cost prohibitive for small areas.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

good stuff. thanks a bunch