Chopping wood this winter, or comfortable under floor heating? Heating your home this winter, doesn't mean having to go back to the dark ages.

Fall is here and the weather is getting cold. What are you doing to prepare for winter? Making sure your house is properly insulated is a good start, but what about heating? Higher energy prices have people running to find alternative heating methods for their homes – many are buying wood, pellet stoves and electric heaters, but are these really the best solutions?

Radiant heat is making leaps and bounds, new products are available that are lower in cost and high in efficiency. The best part of heating your home with radiant floors is the increase in your home’s value (not to mention, added comfort).

One of the newest products to hit the radiant heating market is called the Warm Ribbon. This innovative new electric radiant heating product sits completely flat against the floor, and doesn’t need to be embedded in thin set (this is rare with radiant heating products). Because of these two factors, you don’t have to worry about raised floors (which causes problems with opening and closing doors), and installation is a breeze. It comes in mat form that easily rolls out onto the surface area and is secured by the adhesive backing. The price won’t have you running for the door either!

Danfoss offers a myriad of cables for all kinds of projects, but figuring out the differences can be pretty tricky. I won’t go into technical details here, rather go over some basic differences that will help you choose which cable to use for which project.

All of the Danfoss products give you the option of choosing between individual cable in lengths (it comes on a roll) or in woven mats, which has the cable rows pre-spaced and makes installation much quicker and easier. The only difficulty with the radiant mats is that it works best with rectangular areas; however, the mat can be cut to accommodate corners and custom layouts. (Just don't cut the heat cable!) If you have a complicated, odd shaped area to heat, you may be better off with installing the individual heating cable.