“Its pretty badass. If you’re in the market for radiant, I highly recommend looking into these guys. And maybe the best part, is that they are super nice to work with. You can check out my Deep Dive interview with them and you can just see how passionate they are about what they do…even after 30+ years in the business!” – Anthony Carrino
Ecowarm RadiantBoard installation at end of project (Left) Compared to Warmboard S installation at beginning of project (Right)
For Warmboard S, a separate protective material layer is often needed to protect the tubing from damage and UV exposure during the construction of the building which can last months or more…and then this must be uninstalled, resulting in much higher installation costs and a difficult project flow.
Ecowarm is most often installed at the end of the project, right before flooring goods, thus avoiding these costly accommodations.
We provide detailed layout designs for easy installation with our “paint by number” layout guide.
Radiant heat contractors tell us Warmboard S can be slow to install. The time consuming process involves maneuvering the large, heavy boards into place before finally installing the panels with both adhesive and 2 & 3/4″ stainless screws. With each board weighing 95 pounds, two people are required to maneuver the boards in place. Its heavy plate makes it hard to drill and cut.
In contrast, Ecowarm is simply glued and stapled rapidly over the subfloor. Our panels are lightweight and easy to handle at 2′ x 4′ in size and weigh only 16 pounds making installation fast and easy.
Warmboard S is installed over joists as the subfloor early in a project and the tubing is usually installed (because PEX loops will often run under walls). Then an extra protective layer of plywood or other material covering should be installed to protect the tubing from damage and UV exposure during construction.
This temporary floor increases costs significantly. In jobs where an extra protective layer is not installed on Warmboard S, it can become very slippery if it gets wet.
Our product is typically installed after the structure is weather protected. This means installing an extra protective layer isn’t necessary, as the product is not exposed to the elements.
Since Warmboard S is both the subfloor and the channels for PEX pipe when revisions are made to room layout (as so often happens in construction) removing panels and or routing new channels can be very time consuming work.
Ecowarm® RadiantBoard™ is lighter, significantly easier to cut and screw, and has a slight undercut that tightly retains the tubing in the grooves. Warmboard-S has a straight sided groove which makes it harder to retain the tubing in the board. The Warmboard Installation Manual says about this: “Use nail plates to secure tubing as needed and remove before finish floors are installed”.
Warmboard S requires an unconventional construction flow of platform construction in which the panels are installed early in the building framing. The PEX tubing is usually installed immediately so that the walls can be erected, often crossing tubing.
For Warmboard S, a separate protective material layer is often needed to protect the tubing from damage and UV exposure during the construction of the building which can last months or more…and then this must be uninstalled, resulting in much higher installation costs and a difficult project flow.
Ecowarm is most often installed at the end of the project, right before flooring goods, thus avoiding these costly accommodations.
*Note: The above video is an infrared timelapse of Ecowarm without the final flooring goods installed. Once the finished floor has been installed, you will see the heat spread evenly across the surface of the floor.
The steady state efficiency of the structural Warmboard S and the nonstructural Ecowarm® RadiantBoard™ are, according to both companies published data, only modestly different. View the differences yourself on our Performance page.
Very fast response time was once an important issue prior to smart setback thermostats and weather response controls. Super-fast recovery of the expensive thick plate has been promoted by Warmboard. But with modern controls performance is the most relevant concern.
RadiantBoard panels are designed with a patented overbite groove that gives a larger and tighter surface connection of the tubing to the aluminum. This groove allows for the PEX tubing to be easily walked into the channel making installation faster and easier.
Our overbite design was part of our U.S. Patent. Because of this design, tough PEX tubing is walked, snapped or whacked into the grooves with a rubber mallet. The tubing ovals and then rebounds into the groove. When warm water flows through the tubing it expands even tighter, making a very tight and good heat transfer connection. The result is excellent performance.
Warmboard has a U shaped groove design. They recommend malleable Pex Al Pex, because it will stay in place during installation. Notice above that the tight connection stops about half way up the side of the groove. Less surface contact.
Ecowarm RadiantBoard incorporates the best balance of high performance, material quality, environmental responsibility, and cost. In short, Ecowarm RadiantBoard represents the best value in radiant board heating systems.