Radiant heat is a comfortable, even type of heat that is radiated into living spaces by hot water, steam, or electric elements.

With a hydronic radiant system, a central boiler heats water; the resulting hot water or steam then circulates through a system of pipes to room radiators or through circuitous routes of tubing that wind beneath a floor’s surface and emit heat.

Electric radiant systems may have electric-resistance baseboard or wall registers or a system of electric cables or foils hidden beneath floors or above ceilings. When an electric current runs through an electric- resistance element, cable, or foil, it generates heat, which is then radiated into the room.

Because radiant heating systems have very few moving parts, they rarely fail (most failures are caused by circuit overloads).