The Ultimate Underfloor Heating Guide
Making choices about your home heating is essential to the saleability of your house and the efficiency of your system. The increasing costs of energy make the choice of your heating system even more pressing. By reading through the ultimate underfloor heating guide, you will learn the many reasons why this might be the perfect system for you.
What Is Underfloor Heating?
Underfloor heating has been a popular method of heating in Scandinavia for many years. It is a brilliant accompaniment to the clean lines of design coming out of Norway, Sweden and beyond. This system heats the room from beneath using electric coils, pads, or water-filled pipes under your floor covering. Without the need for radiators or electric heaters, you can enjoy warm and comfortable homes.
The Reasons For Choosing Underfloor Heating
There are more than just design reasons for choosing underfloor heating. Indeed, your rooms will not be marred by radiators, leaving you more space to place your furniture. More impressively is how easy it is to maintain an underfloor heating system. Systems come with up to 25 years of warranty, showing that companies do not anticipate any problems in this time. It is also cheaper because of the even way it heats the room. The floor holds the heat better for one thing, and the heating can be used zonally for another. This means you only need to heat the rooms you occupy and for a shorter time.
It is also worth noting that those people looking to reduce allergy issues often select underfloor heating. People with asthma and other breathing-related conditions find the heating from underfloor much better. Studies suggest that this system will reduce the number of dust mites in the home significantly.
Ultimately, people choose underfloor heating because it provides dwellers with a consistent, pleasantly warm home. There will be no drafts, cold spots and random hotspots that come with traditional central heating.
What System & What Flooring Should You Use?
There are two different types of system. One is wet and uses hot water, and the other is dry and uses electrical heating pads or wires. Wet systems pump heated water through pipes under your flooring. Which method you choose will depend on your home and your budget. If you are retrofitting underfloor heating, then you are likely to choose dry underfloor heating. Dry systes do not require the floors to be raised to cope with the system. The dry systems are more costly to install but more energy efficient in the long term. If you are going to price your heating, consider the costs over 5 or 10 years, and you may find the electric system offers better value.
Underfloor heating works with carpet that is 2.5 tog or lower; stone, ceramic, slate, terracotta, vinyl and laminate and wooden floors. Wooden floors will naturally expand and contract with the temperature and moisture levels from your heating, and you should use a layer of polythene foam between the system and the boards.
How It Works
We often do not opt for change for fear of the difficulties of learning a new system. However, your underfloor heating is as easy to use as your central heating system, and you have more control. You will have a control panel that will allow you to set the temperature in different zones. Beyond this, you will choose to switch it on or off, or keep it on a timer, exactly like traditional heating systems.
There are some useful tips for using underfloor heating more effectively.
- Increase the dial by only small amounts. Avoid cranking up the temperature when you feel cold. You will be pleasantly surprised how little you need to alter temperatures to make a difference.
- Programme the thermostat to avoid coming home to a cold house or waking up to a cold bathroom floor. This timer will stop you putting the temperature up to the heat of the sun to get some warmth quickly to your icy home.
- Service your heating system regularly. As you should with your boiler, you should have the heating system serviced about once a year. This will keep the pipes and valves open and efficient and reduce the small chance of problems.
Summary
Choosing underfloor heating will provide a warm and comfortable home, and most important, cosy toes as you come out the shower. You will find over time that the system will save you money, even if the immediate investment feels costly.
