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.