Heated floor slabs, without floor coverings, have one of the lowest supply water temperature requirements of any radiant panel system. This makes them well-suited for use with renewable energy heat sources such as air-to-water heat pumps, water-to-water geothermal heat pumps, biomass boilers and solar thermal collectors. The lower the water temperature at which the floor panel can adequately heat the building, the higher the efficiency of the renewable heat source. This also holds true for a mod/con boiler that might be present as an auxiliary heating device.
Bare heated slabs are very common in buildings such as vehicle service garages, fire stations and shop-type facilities. These buildings typically have one or more overhead doors. The slab areas just inside those doors experience higher rates of heat loss compared to other areas along the perimeter of the building, especially if there is no insulation between the edge of the slab and the outside pavement.