Information about underfloor heating systems

In a nutshell, underfloor heating warms a room from the floor up, rather than from the ceiling down, as is the case with most central heating systems. All under-floor heating systems work according to similar principles, in that a heating element is laid under the floor and surrounded by insulation which both disperses the heat and prevents it from escaping into the ground or the downstairs room.

There are two main types of underfloor heating system - ‘wet' systems which use a network of under-floor pipes connected to the central heating system, and ‘dry' systems which use an electric heating element.

It is common for extensions and conservatories to be fitted with under-floor heating, as it is a lot easier and cheaper to install it while other building work is being done.

There are a number of good reasons to install underfloor heating, but it is not a technology that is entirely without its drawbacks, either. Here are a list of the pros and cons of underfloor heating:

Pros:

Underfloor heating can turn a practical, but slightly uncomfortable room such as a bathroom or kitchen into a pleasure to walk around

Underfloor heating requires little or nothing in the way of floor and wall space, leaving you free to arrange your furniture exactly as you would like without having to worry about blocking off your radiators

You can use a wet system in combination with your central heating system, which means that you can have underfloor heating in some rooms and radiators in the rest

Due to the nature of convection currents, underfloor heating is a lot more energy efficient than radiators, which disperse most of their heat into the largely unoccupied top half of the room

Cons:

Though cheaper to buy and install than wet systems, dry systems are a lot less energy efficient and could end up costing you more in the long run

Cheaper electric systems can cause wooden floorboards and furniture to warp, although this is less of a problem with more expensive systems

If you are installing an underfloor heating system in an existing property, the floors will need to be taken up, which can make it prohibitively expensive

If your home is poorly insulated, then a lot of the heat generated by an underfloor heating system will be lost

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