Radiant heating and cooling work via electromagnetic radiation — the same way the sun warms your face on a winter morning. Here's why it feels so different.
Radiant floor cooling runs chilled water through pipes in the slab or screed so the floor absorbs heat directly from people and surfaces, rather than cooling the air like an air conditioner. The same floor heats in winter at a 24–28 °C surface temperature, and because radiant comfort is reached at lower air temperatures, radiant heating typically uses 15–25% less energy than convective heating. AHHAC designs radiant floor systems in Sydney and across NSW, VIC, QLD & ACT.
Reviewed by the AHHAC Technical Team — licensed plumbers & hydronic engineers, NSW Lic 262528C.How we write & review
Conventional heating works by convection — warming the air, which then warms you. Radiant heating works by direct electromagnetic energy transfer — your body absorbs heat directly from warm surfaces around you.
The result is that radiant systems feel warmer at lower air temperatures. A room with a 22°C floor and 18°C air feels just as warm as a room with 23°C air everywhere — but uses far less energy.
A floor designed only for heating can usually cool a little, but a floor designed for both seasons cools far better. If radiant floor cooling is on your wish list, the time to say so is before pipe spacing, insulation and floor finishes are locked in. These are the design choices that decide how much cooling a radiant floor can deliver.
Retrofits can work too. Low-profile screed systems laid under new tiles cool well because the pipes sit close to the surface, while pipes buried deep in a thick slab respond slowly in both seasons. Either way, we confirm the floor build-up on site before promising a cooling figure.
If you are still choosing emitters, compare underfloor vs radiators, see the full hydronic cooling systems page, or browse reversible hydronic heat pumps.
Written from on-site experience by the AHHAC Technical Team.
AHHAC's in-house design and service team — licensed plumbers and hydronic engineers (Lic 262528C) who have designed and installed 2,400+ hydronic heating, cooling and hot water systems across Australia since 1998.
We design radiant floor systems from a room-by-room heat-loss calculation, install it with our own licensed plumbers to AS/NZS 3500 (plumbing) and AS/NZS 5601 (gas), commission and document it, and service it for the life of the system. Nothing is subcontracted out.
Radiant systems warm objects (including your body) directly via electromagnetic radiation — like the sun warming your face on a winter morning. Conventional convective heating only warms the air. The result: radiant feels warmer at lower air temperatures, saving 15–25% energy.
No — well-designed underfloor systems run a floor surface temperature of 24–28°C — pleasantly warm to bare feet but never uncomfortable. We follow the EN1264 standard for floor surface limits.
Most finishes work — stone, marble, slate, tile, engineered timber, vinyl and most carpets. Solid hardwood needs species and humidity considerations. We design the system around your finish choice.
"AHHAC delivered our 22-zone underfloor system on time, on budget and to spec. The crew were tidy, the documentation was thorough, and the commissioning was textbook."
"We've worked with AHHAC for 17 years. They've installed and serviced our hot water plant across three commercial buildings — and they pick up the phone on weekends."
"Three mobs quoted us; AHHAC's design was the only one based on a proper heat-loss calculation. The system runs beautifully — the others would've been oversized and expensive."