Everything You Need To Know About Underfloor Heating
Looking for new ways to heat your home? Underfloor heating could be the solution for you. As well as an absolute treat for your feet during the cold winter mornings, it’s a great space-saver as well as an energy efficient way to warm up your household.
Why choose underfloor heating?
There are plenty of benefits of underfloor heating:
There are no radiators to spoil the clean lines of a room, and space can be saved by freeing up a wall that would otherwise need to be dedicated to a radiator.
Underfloor heating is also an extremely efficient way to warm a room, and gives a more pleasant heat than radiators, stoves or traditional solid-fuel fires. Heat is emitted in a very gentle way. There are no cold spots and, as most of the heat is concentrated in the lower part of the room, very little heat is wasted.
Types of underfloor heating
Hot-water (or wet) systems
Wet systems basically use warm water from the central heating system. The water is pumped through plastic pipes that are laid on to a sub floor, before the new final surface is installed.
Underfloor heating of this type also reduces water-heating costs as it uses water at a lower temperature than standard radiators (about 40°C to 65°C to give a floor temperature of between 23°C and 32°C).
Electric mat (or wire) systems
Electric systems feature cables which are attached to open-weave mesh mats. There are, however, newer types where the elements are embedded into a continuous roll. The mats or rolls are spread out on the floor, connected together and are then linked up to the thermostat and mains power supply.
In general, whilst electric systems are cheaper to install, and cause less disruption to existing floor structure, they are more expensive to run than wet systems, which are more cost efficient.
Where to use underfloor heating
Wet systems are most easily installed where it’s possible to take up floors or where new floors are being constructed, so is likely to suit new extensions, conservatories and new open-plan kitchen-cum-living areas.
Electric underfloor heating is likely to be more suitable for existing rooms as the electrical mesh system is flatter than a wet system so there is less need for floor heights to be altered to accommodate it. There are even electrical mat systems available that can be used under rugs on existing hard floors.
How to install underfloor heating
For your underfloor heating to be most cost- and energy-efficient, your property needs to be adequately insulated. To prevent heat loss, and to ensure that the heat is directed upwards, there needs to be room for insulation to be installed beneath the system.
With wet systems, make sure you have a space for the controls to be situated (a cupboard will do). Like a radiator, each room heated with UFH has its own valve, but they can all be sited in one spot, along with the timer controls. Most of the plastic water pipes installed in today’s systems are continuous, so there is no danger of leaks as there are no joints – and the system is generally considered to be maintenance-free.
Whilst a condensing boiler will offer the greatest potential savings on running costs, any boiler can be used with UFH, as long as it has a sufficient capacity.
The firm fitting the underfloor heating will plan the installation for you. If you plan to add a wet UFH system to an existing room, you will need to seek professional advice. Necessary calculations include the desired temperatures, the ceiling height, the potential heat loss and the type of flooring required.
