Tile Has Higher Thermal Conductivity Than Carpet

Thermal conductivity explains why walking bare foot on a cold tile floor feels much cooler than walking on carpet even though both are at room temperature.

Tile has higher thermal conductivity than carpet.

Thermal conductivity of the material. Simply put tile is the better conductor of heat than wood or carpet and can take away the heat from your feet faster than the others. Tiles feel warmer than carpet when the floor is hot. The thermal conductivity normally found in tables is the value valid for normal room temperature.

As can be seen from the table the thermal resistance of carpet is significantly higher than that of concrete and plywood two common flooring materials and similar to fiberglass insulation. However because marble tiles are usually twice as thick as ceramic tiles they offer greater protection against thermal conductivity. Car pet r anks very highl y i e. Heat conductivity is all about the rate at which the material can conduct heat.

This value will not differ much between 273 and 343 k 0 70 c. Carpet ranks very highly i e. For example wool carpet rates a maximum r value of 2 1 while other types of carpet can rate as low. The best type of flooring to use with underfloor heating is tile and stone.

Of carpet with its millions of tiny fibres traps air and further increases its thermal insulation. Pvc tile has only 1 3 of the insulation of wool carpet. It simply has a higher conductivity and density and thus removes more heat from your relatively warm body more rapidly. Specific heat has to do with how much energy is needed to raise an object s temperature.

Wool carpet had a higher insulation value than com parable carpets of other fibre types. Carpet particularly wool and shag varieties provides the best r values among all standard flooring choices. The thermal insulation values r values of different household materials are compared in figure 1. Pvc tile has only 1 3 of the insulation of wool carpet.

Tile and stone also retain heat well making the system efficient. Wool carpet had a higher insulation value than comparable carpets of other fibre types. When high temperatures are involved in ovens for instance the influence of temperature has to be taken into account. So it makes sense that the specific heat of the carpet is lower meaning it will heat up really fast when you step on it making it feel warmer than the tile which has a higher specific heat meaning it takes longer for it to warm up when you step on it and therefor feels cold.