Underfloor Heating

Under floor heating comes in two basic forms, either electric wires or radiant water pipes. As the name suggests they are placed into the floors of the house.

Electric underfloor heating is mainly been used in houses which are already built as it has the benefit of being able to be placed on top of the floors, like a bathroom which can then be tiled . These type of system should ususlly be installedby proffessionals.

The radient water pipes systems pass hot water through the pipes which have been placed approximatelt 75 mm with concrete or placed under floor

Water under floor heating works by a choice of heating forms i.e. Gas, Oil, heat pump. Heating the water in the pipes and moving it around the system, as the pipes are spaces evenly under the floor the concrete heats up and works then like a big under floor radiator.

As the heat rises from the floor it heats the house. Heat rises so the closer you are to the floor the warmer it is. Thermostats are placed around the house so each room can be controlled at different temperatures if required.

The main drawback of under floor heating is that it is not instant heat, so if you have a suddenly warm day in the normally cold season it will not go cold just by turning off the heating it can take up to a week for all of the heat to be lost from the floor and the same works the other way but it does warm up quicker than it cools down, if the weather takes a turn for the worse you will not have instant heat.

The advantages of under floor heating out way the drawbacks. In the house design you do not have to arrange your room around radiators. The whole house can be set at an even temperature so you are not just trying to counteract the cold coming from the windows. If laid correctly you should never have mould on outside walls.