Underfloor Heating FAQs

Both underfloor heating types have their own advantages/disadvantages.

Electric underfloor heating systems are ideally suited to bathrooms or kitchen. Areas that are being refurbished or re-tiled and require minimum disruption without adding extra height to the floor. Whereas water underfloor heating systems are best suited when carrying out a complete refurb, building an extension, a new build, or for larger areas. Water underfloor heating sits perfectly in properties that are currently using a boiler or a heat pump to heat the water and it can work out more economical to run when compared to electric underfloor heating. As with all electric heating types, electric Underfloor heating can be more expensive to run when compared to a water system which is why it's often only used for smaller projects and not for heating an entire house.

For information on which system is best for your project, please feel free to speak to one of our technical sales advisors.

LIke all heating systems if they are installed correctly and installed in rooms with sufficient levels of insulation they can be a really efficient and effective way of heating your home/office. Water underfloor heating is typically more economical to run when compared with electric underfloor heating. The reason for this is that a water underfloor heating system is usually supplied with warm water heat by a gas boiler, oil boiler or an air source heat pump which is usually cheaper per kilowatt when compared with electricity.

For areas where you wish to have carpet installed, the underfloor heating will not perform as efficiently. The best floor finish to have is tiles followed by vinyl, laminate and engineered wood (in order of efficiency). The only other possible disadvantage is that you will never need to wear your favourite slippers to keep your feet warm again!

It all depends on the type of underfloor heating and the installation method for each type. There are many different types of underfloor heating installation methods.

With electric underfloor heating, this type of system is usually installed closer to the surface, directly under the tiles or laminate for example. This means that the electric underfloor heating systems tend to warm up a lot quicker and therefore leaving it on all the time would be a waste of energy. Electric is best used by operating it on a timer, so that it switches on 30 minutes to an hour before you wish to enter or use the room and have it switched off or set back to a very low temperature in between the rooms' use.

It’s up to you! You may decide that you still want to heat your bathroom floor on a cool summer night as once you’ve experienced the luxury of a warm bathroom floor you may not want to go without! However with most heating systems that are being used as a primary heating source, you will more than likely switch them off in the summer months.

Underfloor heating can be used as a primary heating source if the rooms are well insulated and you have covered a minimum of 80% of the rooms total area. For rooms where you cannot achieve the coverage of 80% such as small kitchens or bathrooms underfloor heating will be used for floor warming only.

Underfloor heating can be used underneath engineered wood or laminate flooring, however it’s best not to use solid wood flooring on top of the underfloor heating. Solid wood flooring can be prone to twisting or warping due to the woods natural moisture content. If in doubt give our technical team at all.

When installed correctly, typically underfloor heating systems can achieve between 24-27 degrees floor temperatures. The 200 watts heating mat under tiles can achieve a higher temperature however it is recommended to limit the floor temperature to 30 degrees celsius for comfort reasons.

Electric underfloor heating has a warranty period of 25 years but will continue on a long time after this. Water underfloor heating pipework is guaranteed for 50 years and again will last a lot longer than this.

Yes you can install underfloor heating onto a concrete floor. It is recommended to first install ProWarm insulation boards or similar, followed by either the water or electric underfloor heating system. There are various low profile water underfloor heating systems available that offer a low height build up whilst incorporating some insulation to help reduce the heat loss going down into the ground.

When underfloor heating is fitted without insulation boards and not programmed correctly it can be expensive to run. It usually becomes expensive when the thermostat is set to manual mode on a 24 hour a day operation. However we always advise that the heating systems are not left on permanently and are programmed to operate for when you want to use the room but switch off for when the room is not in use.

Yes we have options for both electric and water underfloor heating for use under laminate flooring. For electric we have the Underwood Foil heating mat kits, which when used with the Profoam or XP-Pro insulation can have a laminate floor installed directly on top. For water underfloor heating we have our LoFlo Lite pre-grooved insulation panels which will have a low tog underlay and laminate installed directly on top.

It is highly recommended to install insulation boards underneath all underfloor heating systems. The insulation will enable the underfloor heating to concentrate all of its efforts on heating up the tile/floor covering above as opposed to losing heat into the ground below. The thicker the insulation the more efficient and economical the system will become.

No. Avoid fitting underfloor heating underneath any fixed appliances as the heat will be trapped underneath the kitchen units. Electric underfloor heating if installed under fixed appliances will work will warm your cupboards which makes their food storage capabilities compromised, whilst wasting energy.