Whether or not you consider electric radiant floor heating to be a luxury all depends on where you live.
For those who live in cold climates, electric radiant floor heating feels very, very good on a cold day. But my argument has always been that you shouldn't feel radiant floor heat. The thermostat should be set high enough to take the chill off the floor, but not high enough to heat up the room (or blow your monthly electric bill to smithereens).
One major company, Warmly Yours, claims that electric radiant floor heating can be used as a primary heat source. Even the U.S. Department of Energy says that it can be used when you need to extend your heating to a distant locale--a new addition, for example.
I still look at it as a way to supplement your primary heat source, but that's just me.
When the manufacturers say that electric radiant floor heating costs "just pennies a day," that's not too far from the truth. You can program the floor thermostat to run during certain times of the day (why heat the floor at midnight?) and/or you can set it at a temperature, which means the system will turn on or off as needed.
Image: Watts Radiant
Comments
Yeah, where I used to live in Switzerland the floorheating was a primary heatsource, alongside the water heating in the walls.