## 1 Introduction  
Radiant heating systems have been in use for thousands of years in many parts of the world [1] due to their advantages over other heating systems, such as high comfort levels [2], high energy efficiency [3], silent operation [2], and compatibility with renewable energies [4; 5; 6; 7]. The industrialisation of wood from the nineteenth century onward popularised wood floorings in homes, although in the second half of the last century their market share declined with the emergence of a wider variety of options [8]. Wood nonetheless continues to be one of the most desirable materials for flooring, with annual industry growth rates predicted of around 4.5% [9]. It is commonly believed to be largely unsuitable for radiant floor heating, however, in part due to its thermal conductivity, which is lower than that of c ceramic tiles or natural stone. This belief is supported by the maximum thermal resistance value for floor coverings, established as 0.15 m\({}^{2}\) K/W by the European standard EN 1264 [10] in the calculation of radiant heat floors. This figure has been taken to be a hard-and-fast maximum and to mean that floorings with a higher thermal resistance are unsuitable for radiant systems. To improve the thermal performance of radiant floors, several research studies have focused on construction types [11; 12; 13; 14] and control-related factors [15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25] such as response time [15] and the inclusion of phase change materials [22; 23; 24; 25]. Specifically, some authors have studied the effect of the thermal conductivity of wood on radiant floor heating systems [26] and ways to improve its performance, focusing on reducing the thermal resistance between the water pipes and interior space by means of different installation methods [27] or by improving the thermal conductivity of the floor covering itself [28]. [PERSON] et al. [27] experimentally compared two methods for installing wooden radiant flooring: a floating installation method for laminate flooring and an adhesive installation one for engineered flooring, the former presenting higher thermal resistance than the latter. The test was performed in an actual home in Seoul, Republic of Korea, and the results showed no considerable difference in thermal transfer performance between the two radiant wooden floor heating systems. The same authors [26], in an experimental analysis under laboratory conditions of four types of wood flooring based on heating start-up and shutdown cycles, reported that wood flooring maintained a high temperature for longer periods once the heating source was removed. Similar results were found in the previous study by the present authors [29], where they analysed the thermal performance of 60 radiant wooden floors for the climate of Madrid and 216 dwellings. In many situations, wooden flooring with high thermal resistance was found to deliver higher comfort levels at a slightly lower energy demand than granite floors. The previous studies were conducted under the premise that it is convenient to reduce the response time and/or improve the heat transfer from the tubes to the surface of radiant floors. However, they do not address the question of whether such improvements are necessary or of significant effect. To answer these questions, it is necessary to study of the radiant floor heating in a way that is coupled with the building, and the building with the climate. To the authors' knowledge, no studies have jointly analysed the properties of wooden flooring, building characteristics, and climate. Some similar studies have been conducted, namely by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [30], with a parametric analysis of radiant floor heating installed under conditions comparable to system start-up, and by [PERSON] et al. [16], who explored the dynamics of three radiant flooring systems in a building with three degrees of insulation and three types of structures. Climate was not addressed as a variable to be analysed by either group, however.