Three guesses:

1) because it's most cost-effective in slab and few upscale homes are on slab in NC.

2) because everyone has CAC, making the incremental cost of forced air heat less than radiant floor.

3) People just don't worry that much about heat. It's hot in NC.

I didn't know that radiant heat was common in California. I do remember having radiant heat in my elementary school in CA, but don't recall ever being in a single house there with radiant heat.
Not that I wouldn't love to have radiant floor heat, but I agree that the reason that most homes don't have it is because of the expense, and the fact that a separate AC system would have to be installed in most climates.

Having moved to NC from MD 9 years ago, my guess is that things change VERY slowly here. It isn't *that* hot here and we do actually run the heat from October through March. If you were moving to the mountains you'd probably run heat from late August through April. So it's not like we don't need heat. It's just that there is such a network of good ole boys in the building industry that they are still building stick homes. We DO have a lot of slab built homes- it costs extra to get a crawlspace. Basements are very rare because of drainage issues associated with clay.

About 5 years ago I had concrete countertops in my kitchen. You would have thought I made my countertops out of horse manure with the looks I got. Then you should have seen me with my electric plug-in mower. Someone actually asked me what that machine was AS I WAS CUTTING THE GRASS. I'm not making this up. And I live in Durham, ya know, near Duke, UNC, NC State, NC Central, Merideth College, Peace College, etc. It's not like I'm in the boondocks.

Anyway, while it's probably partly the expense of separate AC and heating systems, the biggest factor is that the building industry is stuck in 1980. And I don't expect that to change until the good ole boys are all retired.

I'm in North Carolina (Charlotte region), and houses on slab are quite common here.

Just my opinion, but I believe the perception is that radiant in-floor heating is too slow to respond to changing outdoor temps. It can be pretty cold at night and early morning, but then warm up during the day. The stored heat in the in-floor system might keep the house too warm once the sun is out and the outdoor temps rise.

Lots of you with in-floor radiant heat may experience good response times (both when you need *more* heat and when you need *less* heat), but I've often wondered about that for the weather we have here. The perception is that they are more suited for constant temperatures where you don't have to keep adjusting the thermostat up or down.

"where you don't have to keep adjusting the thermostat up or down."

I don't really get this statement. A lot of people make it.

I just set my thermoSTAT to the desired temperature and the rest is automatic. If you set it to let's say 72F, why do you have to modify this temperature during the day ?!

chapnc - Houses costing more than, say, 500k? I don't see higher-end homes on slab and I think that pricier homes are more likely to have radiant heat.

I have seen some very, very nice homes on slab (since housing is affordable here), but they are still big builder tract homes unlikely to have "special" features like radiant in-floor heating.

I believe its just a cost issue. You're not going to find a new construction home in NC (or most anywhere in the South) without central air. You're just not. So, if a builder knows he is going to have to route ducting for the air, doesn't it make sense to tie the heater into the system?

I'm sure if you're going custom or semi-custom, you could specify rediant heat where you want it. I've even seen new products that allow a retrofit -- the tubing is set in a mat of sorts. It can be laid on an existing slab with a skimcoat put over it.

Are there homes in California (or Oregon or Seattle, where I see a lot of radiant heat) that as new construction included both radiant heat and central air?

You can get a good home in north carolina and you can get a raidant heat too. Cause they are good in finding these kind of home , please visit here and choose your type home..

Here is a link that might be useful: lake norman real estate

Radon gas is a reality here, colorless, odorless, but cancerous.. Slab contributes to radon. Check ground site radon before building on slab?

That may be one of the many factors making radiant heat less used here, So I think the cost savings from the combined central air, central heat is the main variable.

And Meghane, that was a little bit offensive! Just saying. You’ve got some embedded stereotypes about the south I think! If you’re expecting us to be dumb you will find that we are dumb but if you’re expecting us to be intelligent you will find that we are intelligent. Just like any place there are people of all types here. Don’t assume rural or southern means dumb.

I believe commenting on a post from 2008 that something is offensive may reinforce a stereotype. Try looking at the date of the posts before blasting someone.