Monte Leeper
Will my floors warp from the heat? Will it save me money or cost me more?A. I get a warm feeling with a question like this, and you're not alone. I've gotten this question in several letters. The look of wood floors, the warmth of walking barefoot in winter, the sense of being energy-conscious and saving money are all cozy thoughts. But most nay-sayers tell me the heating of a wood floor is counter-productive, since wood is a great insulator, blocking heat from getting to the room.So I decided to check out actual systems and do my own experiment. I found, in my study, that there are several companies producing wood floors that are meant to move with changes in floor temperature and are made for this condition. There's also at least one heating system sold with this intended application.My experiment meant rolling up my sleeves and using my fireplace in the middle of a hot summer. I took a piece of wood flooring and a chunk of broken tile stuck to mortar that had been removed from a renovation job site, and wrapped the materials in aluminum foil. I put them in the fireplace for half an hour, then let them sit for 10 minutes, having unwrapped them with fireproof gloves on. They sat exposed to air conditioning while I checked them for heat loss, touching them every few minutes.The tile-and-mortar unit is an excellent conductor, and began to lose heat more quickly than the wood. After 10 minutes, the tile still felt warm, but was cool enough to handle, while the wood was still hot to the touch.Now, you may ask, How can that be? The reason is that wood has chambers of air in between tight fibers. These chambers hold heat longer, slowly transferring it to the exterior surface. By transferring heat more slowly, the room stays warm longer and the thermostat doesn't signal the heating unit (your boiler) to fire as often, thus saving you heating fuel. Over the long run, this slow heating saves you money. The critics are usually thinking only in the short run, arguing that the floor doesn't deliver heat quickly once the boiler fires. This is true. It takes a whole extra five minutes for wood to warm up, approximately, but that's five minutes some of us just can't wait for. We need it now. Patience is a virtue that, in this case, pays you back quietly, and sooner than you might guess, since the wood cools down about 15 to 20 minutes later than the tile. If you only save one hour of fuel burning per day, imagine the long-run savings. And once your home is warm, it stays warm longer.Enjoy a warm, cozy winter!
Readers are encouraged to send questions to: HERALD Homes, 379 Central Avenue, P.O. Box 220, Lawrence, N.Y. 11559-0220Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.
