UNDERFLOOR HEATING

 
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These systems provide a high degree of temperature control in each room and section of the house, but they require very careful planning from an early stage.

For one thing, you need to decide on the floor covering at a much earlier stage than usual because this will have a bearing on the capacity of the system to be installed. And in this context, it should be said that underfloor heating is very well suited to geothermal or heat pump sources of energy because the heat pump is well capable of producing heated water at 40-50C.

The standard boiler with standard radiators needs to output water at 80C in order to distribute the heated water at the required 75C, whereas the underfloor heating system makes do with a much lower output of 45C and a distribution temperature of 45C. It is worth noting that if you have a traditional system of boiler and radiators, the boiler cannot be simply turned down to the temperature needed to run an underfloor heating system; most traditional (non-condensing) boilers need the water returning to the boiler to be at least 60C in order to avoid sulphurs in the exhaust from causing corrosion difficulties in the boiler.

Better insulation is needed in floors for underfloor heating to work at its optimum; the independent State agency, the SEI, recommends at least 100mm to ensure that no heat is lost to the ground. Underfloor heating can be run from any heat source – an electric mat, for example, or an electric heating cable as well as water-filled coils. And it works well under all kinds of surfaces, from laminate, vinyl and wooden flooring to ceramic tiles and stone.

Installing a radiator system is relatively easier and cheaper than an underfloor system, but the gap between the two is closing as more people opt for underfloor systems and the pool of skilled installation expertise grows accordingly.