Underfloor Heating Blog – Latest News from Floor Heating Online

Electric underfloor heating helps cut your bills!

Heating in homes is an issue for most people in the UK, considering the weather is generally cold and rainy. Central heating can be costly, racking up your heating bill and using up our natuaral resources unnecessarily. Traditional heating normally comes in the form of wall mounted radiators, which circulate heat up the wall of the room and across the ceiling. A cheaper option would be to install a different kind of heating that is capable of heating the rooms evenly and conserving much of the heat in the bottom half of the room where it is needed.

Electric underfloor heating systems are that type of system and have become more popular in the UK recently because they are very simple to install. Normal radiators tend to keep the heat trapped around the top of the room, particularly in corners by the ceiling where it can easily escape. Underfloor heating ensures that all your rooms benefit from a constant temperature heating without unnecessary air circulation.

Categories: Electric Underfloor Heating, Underfloor Heating Systems

19 Aug 2010

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Reasons why underfloor heating is best

Underfloor Heating is today considered one of the best heating options for both homes and offices across the world. Apart from providing the much desired warmth during the chilly winters, it also helps you to save your money compared to other heating options. Put simply, underfloor heating provides warmth to a room by heating the floor and having that warmth travel up, rather than heating the air, which rises to the top of the room before falling as it cools. All underfloor heating systems work according to similar principles, in that they consist of a heating element and a storage medium (often the floor screed) that allows the heat to disperse and warm the room.

Obvious candidates for an underfloor heating system would include bathrooms or kitchens, these areas where people are likely to feel the coldness of the floor through their feet. However, you can have underfloor heating installed in virtually any room, with any type of flooring, be it linoleum, carpet, stone or hardwood.

Categories: Underfloor Heating Systems

13 Aug 2010

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Some dos and don’ts of underfloor heating

Because the floor is the source of heating a room it is useful to understand that some things should be avoided when installing the system. This applies whether water or electricity is used as the heat source. The same level of comfort is achieved with the temperature in an under floor heated room about 2°C lower than in a room heated with conventional radiators. Wall mounted radiators act as convectors to heat the air, with underfloor heating, the whole floor area acts as an emitter for radiated heat. Advantages include that as there is no need for radiators, there is less restriction on placing furniture in the room also less ‘dust traps’ so the rooms are easier to keep dust free. In wet areas, (bath, shower rooms, kitchen etc) the floors will dry off quicker.

There are some things that should be avoided when installing underfloor heating. It should not be fitted under floor mounted units, which is quite easy to arrange in a kitchen where the position of base units etc are fixed. However it is not realistic, or necessary, to restrict the underfloor heating in other rooms where the position of cupboards etc are not fixed and may be changed.

Categories: General, Underfloor Heating Systems

30 Jul 2010

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Eco friendly underfloor heating

Underfloor heating is an ideal medium with which to heat a home or building and be eco friendly at the same time. Using a water based system can make this possible as a water based ufh uses water heated to a lower temperature than conventional water central heating (typically 50°C rather than 70°C plus), which makes it ideal for use with a high efficiency condensing boilers; the lower operating temperature also makes it more suitable for use with heat pumps or solar water heaters, very eco friendly.

The water temperature in the underfloor heating system is controlled by mixing the return water in the pipe with hot water from the boiler to achieve the required temperature; this is then passed to a manifold for distribution to the various zones. Normally an existing conventional boiler will suit ufh; however it may be necessary to fit a higher rated pump as the back pressure may be greater than in a conventional radiator type central heating system.

Categories: General, Underfloor Heating Systems

30 Jul 2010

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Marmox 60mm insulation boards

Marmox have added a new thickness of insulation to their range – Marmox 60mm – so we have added it to ours!

To meet the ever increasing demands for more energy efficiency this thicker board has been added and makes Marmox now available in thickness from 6mm to 60mm. All thickness are great for use with our underfloor heating but, obviously, the thicker the board the more insulation and heat retention you will get.

FYI the Marmox 60mm board has a U value of 0.47 compared to 2.7 for 10mm Marmox.

With energy prices as they currently are it is sensible to consider as much insulation as possible when you fit underfloor heating. And energy prices are only likely to go in one direction so our advice is to fit as thick a board as you can!

Categories: Electric Underfloor Heating, Marmox Insulation, Website News

14 Jul 2010

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Underfloor heating is not a new idea

From as far back as Roman times, under tile heating was used as a way to centrally heat buildings. By passing hot air from a furnace through a labyrinth of small ducts beneath the floor, heat was imparted to the floor. Simply put this warmed the floor and heat was radiated into the room making this comfortable during colder days. A very simple but very effective way devised by our Roman ancestors to heat buildings.

With underfloor heating, the heat is evenly distributed from the floor upwards, whereas heat from radiators convects directly to ceiling level leaving the temperature at floor level much lower. The small temperature difference between the floor and the air above means the system is easy to regulate. With individual room control being a common feature of underfloor heating thermostats, you can individually adjust temperature settings in each room of the house, this combined with underfloor heating running at a lower heat level means that a running cost saving of 15 to 40% can be achieved over traditional heating methods.

Categories: Underfloor Heating Systems, Water Underfloor Heating

09 Jul 2010

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Bespoke Under Carpet Heating – Great for any home!

Carpet is the most popular form of floor covering here in the UK and just because you have carpets doesn’t mean that you can’t have underfloor heating. Carpet heating kits are specially designed to be ultra-thin and are made to measure for your room size and layout.

There are a few simple rules to follow regarding what sort of carpet should be used to provide the most efficient heating system when using these kits. The carpet and underlay should have a combined TOG value of 2.0 or less and the carpet heating kit must be covered with thin timber board (such as a low cost laminate) before the carpet is fitted.

The carpet heating kit includes made to measure heating elements, 12mm underfloor heating insulation, a programmable thermostat and floor sensor probe with protective cover; all you have to do is fit! All carpet heating kits are available to order online and take 2-5 days to manufacture.

Categories: Electric Underfloor Heating, General, Underfloor Heating Systems

06 Jul 2010

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Choosing your floor covering for Under Floor Heating

Pretty much all floor coverings can be used with an underfloor heating system but you should be aware that some will work better than others.

Some of the best surfaces for underfloor heating are ceramic floor tiles, natural stone and similar materials. These are good transmitters of radiant heat, don’t expand and contract to any great degree and are generally stuck directly on to the sub-floor with tile adhesive, which also aids the transmission of heat. Under tile heating systems have become popular over the past few years, as people move back towards natural flooring materials for their kitchen’s, conservatories and bathrooms.

Timbers and laminates will also work well but care needs to be taken to make sure they are compatible with underfloor heating, for example it is widely accepted that beech and maple are not suitable for use with underfloor heating. Talk to both your underfloor heating supplier and your flooring supplier to ensure compatibility.

The same is true for Lino, Marmoleum, PVC’s, cushion floors and the like; these should work fine with underfloor heating but get your flooring supplier and underfloor heating supplier to talk to each other.

The most popular floor covering in the UK; carpet will also work well with underfloor heating so long as a few simple rules are followed; a low TOG value carpet and underlay should be used (combined value of less than 2.0). Consult your carpet supplier for guidance, they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Whichever floor finish you select, consulting an underfloor heating specialist will help ensure you get the best out of your underfloor heating installation.

Categories: Electric Underfloor Heating, General, Underfloor Heating Systems, Water Underfloor Heating

29 Jun 2010

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Different types of underfloor heating

Both electric and water based underfloor heating systems are available, they are almost identical apart from obviously, that one uses electric heating cable while the other circulated heated water through a pipe, but which type you install will largely depend upon if this is a new build or an installation to an existing building.

You would be well advised to opt for wet underfloor heating system if you are planning a new build, as the pipes can be embedded into the screed. The water temperature to the heating pipe is controlled by mixing the water in the pipe with hot water from the boiler to achieve the required temperature; this is then passed to a manifold for distribution to the various zones. Normally an existing conventional boiler will suit underfloor heating; however it may be necessary to fit a higher rated pump as the back pressure may be greater than in a conventional radiator type central heating system.

Categories: General, Underfloor Heating Systems, Water Underfloor Heating

10 Jun 2010

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Electric underfloor heating is cost effective

When the systems are used in a well-insulated building (in line with current building regulations) the running costs are usually very low, the thermostatic control in each room or zone means that you only use just enough energy to maintain your desired room temperature. As an example in a conservatory with an insulated floor, electric underfloor heating will be more efficient than radiators due to the fact that you are using the whole floor as a low temperature radiant room heater. In an average sized conservatory used at weekends and winter evenings, the cost may be up to £8 per sq metre per annum to run, equating to around £80 – £100 per year.

Electric underfloor heating is also more efficient than radiators because 100% of the electrical energy is turned into heat energy, rather than being lost as exhaust gases as is the case with many gas central heating systems. In the future, it is inevitable that more electricity will have to be produced from greener energy sources such as wind power & so in the future, electric underfloor heating should be one of the ‘greenest’ ways to heat your home.

Categories: Electric Underfloor Heating, General, Underfloor Heating Systems

03 Jun 2010

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