I live in a climate with four distinct seasons and cold winters. I am all electric and have to have both. The heat pump is mostly used for cooling and only for heating down to around 35 degrees Fahrenheit, any colder than that and it becomes ineffective and the electric furnace switches on. They say a heat pump is good for heat in temperature down to 20 Fahrenheit, but I have had them for years, recently replacing old with newer and very high efficiency, and it's still the same temperature range.

I know that the higher end electric products are well worth the extra money. The complaint that you most often hear (and these are few and far between, but they are out there) with electric infloor heating = electrical short because one of the wires was knicked during install or bent too far (whatever) and the product stops working. The higher end the product, the better the wire casings, the better made the product can be. The over all construction of the material (wires, wire casing, webbing, etc) is better when you spend a bit more money. Personally, a cork glue down tile = warmth under foot = close to the same comfort as in-floor radiant heat...without the $500 - $1500 price tag. So long as you have a primary source of heat in the area (forced air, baseboard, etc) a cork glue down tile can be used IN PLACE OF in-floor radiant heating. Back to topic - don't go with the cheapest option when it comes to built in electric heating systems. Cheaping out on electrical is never a good idea. Houses tend to burn down when things go wrong with cheap wiring.

Sorry, it's beyond tacky. At least with a gas fireplace you have an actual FLAME! The idea of an electric (and I've seen many in person as I was considering one then changed my mind) is good if you want one maybe for a basement, but if you have a beautiful living room with high end furnishings, and a lot of thought put into your space and then finish it off with some tacky fake flame "fireplace", you ruin the whole thing... like putting up a fake Xmas wreath (if you enjoy the scent of pine needles). Why bother.

Actually 100% cork tiles (top to bottom =cork) are purpose built for bathrooms ...cork glued down (no HDF core...100% cork) that is butted together and then site finished = water proof. You can stand dripping wet on that thing for hours...no problems. The FLOATING floor (click-together with HDF core) are NOT allowed in "wet rooms" such as bathrooms. The HDF core is what makes people think cork is not allowed in bathrooms. Two different manufacturing processes for two different situations. Cork = bottle stoppers. Cork tiles (100% cork...NO MIDDLE core of HDF/MDF) is the same idea as a wine stopper = water proof when done properly.