b'Floor warmingowner desire for greater comfort andlimiting the number of people on a jobsite has become luxury. The technology drive has beena priority. Weve seen a huge uptick in online quotes to develop ways for these systems tocoming from in the field (up 7.8% from last year) and be used in more locations in the home. were seeing a lot of consumers utilizing our remote A recent change is the developmentinstallation supervision service where a radiant heat-of installation details for floor warm- ingexpertisabletoguideaninstallerthroughthe ingsystemstobeinstalledonshow- most important stages of the process using video con-erfloors.Thechallengeofproperlyferencing. Interesting times call for interesting ways in Sean Gerolimatos waterproofing an electric system in ahow we use technology to overcome limitations.shower floor and running the heating cables into the shower area while maintaining the integ- Arthur Mintierity and performance of the system has been overcomeSenior Director, Technical Serviceswith this recent set of instructions. Warming the entireLATICRETE International, Inc.showerfloorfurtherreducesthepotentialformoldCustomersaredemandingversatilityfromanend-growth because the floor dries more quickly and thor- usersperspective,tiedtoseveralpointsbroadened oughly.Italsoincreaseshomeownercomfortbecauseusage options for more areas in a home. In some cases, it the entire floor is warm, not just the area where the hotis being used as the primary heat source in many rooms. water is landing. Fromaproductivity/easeofinstallationviewfrom an installers perspective, we are noticing the following Julia Billen trends and insights:Owner and PresidentNew product introductions/innovation that allow for WarmlyYours simpler, quicker, more efficient and consistent instal-Therehasbeenanoticeablelations, which can help tile installers who may not increaseinhomeownerslookingforhave any electrical experience feel more comfortable radiantheatingthermostatsthatwith more parts of the installation. It can also help add to their homes decor while alsoshorten the learning curve for new installers, as well being a reliable way to control theiras minimize potential issues once the installation is heatingsystem.Asanindustry,wecompleted.oftenforgetthatthethermostatis Customers are requesting that their floor heating sys-the only part of a radiant heating thattembeintegratedintothesmart-homeeco-system, Julia Billen isvisibleafterinstallation.Recentlyfor efficiency and familiarity, all tied to ease of use. We weve seen significant advancementscontinue to look for ways to seamlessly integrate our in the visual appeal of the thermostats from the designinstallation systems into the daily routine of life to cre-to customization options like metal pop-on covers orate a better customer experience.skins with illustrated designs and even high-end crys-tals added. These options allow a homeowner anotherAlice Warnieropportunity to really express themselves while enjoy- Marketing ManagerNorth Americaingthecomfortoftheirheatingsystem.AsfarasWarmupemerging technological trends are concerned, I dontDue to load-bearing weight and struc-think that you can overstate the emerging importancetural subfloor movement, floor finishes ofsmartphonesfortheentireradiantfloorheatingcangetdamagedandtilesareespe-experience. From the very beginning stages of a proj- cially prone to cracking. Electric under-ect to troubleshooting occasional issues with a systemfloorheatingmembranesthatincor-that was installed years ago, the technological capa- porate an uncoupling design results in bilities of smartphones have proven to be extremelysignificant protection for tiled flooring crucialforusandforourcustomers.Thishasbeenby creating a new layer between the particularly true during the COVID-19 outbreak whenAlice Warnier subfloor and the floor finish. 482020|TECH'