Heating your new home

I am frequently asked during client consultations whether a wet underfloor heating system is worth installing. There are a small number of situations where underfloor heating is not suitable, but there are now systems that suit the majority of homes. I am a huge advocate of underfloor heating and wherever possible I would advise upon its installation.

If you are building a brand new house from the ground up, then you are perfectly set up to install a wet underfloor heating system. Whether you are having a solid concrete floor slab or a block and beam floor system, you can lay Celotex insulation, a damp proof membrane, underfloor heating pipes and then a floor screed over either of these.

If you are building an extension and you would like to have underfloor heating in the extension and in the existing ground floor rooms then peoples may concern is whether they will have to dig up their old floor. The answer to this question is no. There are some fantastic low profile overlay systems which only increase the floor height by 16mm. They come as panels with pre-cut grooves for the pipes and they can simply be stuck down to the existing floor.

Finally, if you have a suspended floor with timber joists there is also a system to suit this situation. You can insulate between the floor joists with Celotex insulation and then install metal trays between the joists that have pre-cut grooves for the pipes. The pipes can then be installed through these grooves and once completed, floorboards can be installed as normal.

It is particularly important that your underfloor heating is installed by a professional. If you have a large floor area to cover, then you may want to zone your underfloor heating so that you have more than one room thermostat. It is also important that the pipes are continuous with no joins. A big concern for the people I speak to is a leak forming in the large number of pipes that are now under their finished floor. A continuous length of pipe with no joins will eliminate the chances of this happening.

Another benefit of having underfloor heating is that there is no need for radiators, which can take up valuable wall space. Furnishing your new home is made so much easier when there are no radiators to avoid. This is not to say that I do not like radiators. There are some genuinely nice designer radiators available that can be used as a feature in a room whilst still providing the required heat.

I also get asked frequently about electric underfloor heating and whether it is a suitable replacement for radiators. In short, the answer is no. Electric underfloor heating is a great accompaniment to radiators if you want to take the chill off of your floor, but it is not powerful enough to heat your home. However, if your budget permits, I would always recommend electric underfloor heating in any upstairs bathrooms with tiled floors. If it is installed properly with an insulated board underneath it, it still works very well and contrary to popular belief, it can also be cost effective to run.