1.
Underfloor heating IS controllable.
Each
room has its own circuit and is individually controlled by its
own thermostat so that you can make some rooms warmer than others.
For instance, you would probably want your bathroom to be around
24C when your bedroom would be warm enough at 18C. Even if it's
en suite your bathroom would be fitted with an individual circuit
and its own controls to allow this, as long as it's big enough
to swing a small cat (not that we would). Individual room temperature
control is normal practice for us. You could even have your
system operating automatically so that you never have to touch
any of the controls, your rooms would be the same temperature
all the time without you having to move a muscle. It's called
an intelligent system, which includes a weather compensation
facility that monitors the outside temperature and automatically
adjusts the heat output of your floor depending on the temperature
outside. The intelligent system is so clever that you can have
it control your DHW, and any auxiliary circuit that would otherwise
be controlled by timers. For example, outside lights, etc. Back
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2.
Underfloor heating is NOT expensive to install.
It's
unfair to make direct comparisons between underfloor heating
and radiators because the two systems are completely different
and work in a completely different way. It is true to say that
pound for pound underfloor heating is likely to cost you a bit
more to install than a radiator system heating the same space.
However, when you consider the monetary value of the space taken
up by radiators that can be used for no other purpose other
than heating the room, the actual cost of underfloor heating
is significantly less on a pound per square foot basis than
radiators. Add to this the fact that it is significantly cheaper
to run than a radiator system, and over the equivalent lifetime
of radiators (approximately 20 years) you would probably recoup
more in savings than the additional capital outlay. It's worth
considering that underfloor heating costs a fraction of the
cost of a fitted kitchen that has no payback time at all and
you may change some years down the line, but underfloor heating
will last the lifetime of the building, will be a selling feature
in these times of high fuel prices, and begins paying back from
day one. If you're considering having underfloor heating on
the ground floor only, and radiators upstairs to save money,
think again. See our case
studies for an example of why this is not much of a saving
at all.
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3.
Underfloor heating will NOT delay building works.
There's
absolutely no reason why any work should stop just because the
underfloor heating is being installed. There's so much else
that other trades can be doing at the same time. Early in your
project we will supply you with the information that other trades
will need about their involvement, much of which will be included
in your quote, and we will happily speak with them should they
have any queries. Take a look at the Who
Needs to Know What? page for
more information. The most popular time to install the pipes
is when the building is wind and watertight, and before the
partitions are in place. In one project we installed the pipes
while the painters were finishing the walls!
Most of the builders working in and around the Scottish Borders
know us and what we require from them regarding their input.
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4.
Underfloor
heating will NOT make your feet ache.
This used to happen with older systems where electric elements
were embedded in a concrete slab with no insulation below. These
floors were notoriously difficult to control and used to overheat
because they were running at full output trying to warm the
room, while the heat they produced was disappearing through
the fabric of the uninsulated building. No wonder people's feet
ached. Nowadays most systems use water and the temperature can
be controlled much more accurately. The actual temperature of
the floor surface only needs to be slightly higher than the
air temperature required in the room. The floors do not overheat
because the controls are more efficient and the building is
fully insulated, minimising the heat being lost. Hey presto!
No pain and plenty of gain. Back
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5.
Underfloor
heating does work.
Of course it does! It worked well for the Romans, and they didn't
have any room thermostats or temperature control. It's been
working successfully in mainland Europe since the 70s. In fact,
we have customers who have lived abroad and insisted they have
it installed in their new homes because it was so reliably warm
and easy to live with. Underfloor heating is a different kind
of heat from what you might be used to. Radiators work by convection;
they heat the air, which in turn makes you feel warm. The problem
with this is that hot air rises and the heat accumulates at
the top part of the room, which is great if you're a fly or
Spiderman, but not much good if you spend your life with your
feet firmly planted on the ground like most humans. Underfloor
heating works by giving off radiant heat. This is the same as
the heat we get from the sun; you feel its warmth without the
air needing to be warmed. The floor effectively becomes a large
thermal store that gives off a constant even heat to the people
and objects in the room. You will feel warm without knowing
where the heat is coming from. Back
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6.
You
can have underfloor heating upstairs.
Of course you can! We actually can't believe we're still hearing
this one. You can have it in blocks of flats, airport buildings,
shopping centres, hospitals, runways, car park ramps, and football
pitches, you can certainly have it upstairs in your home. (We've
even quoted for systems in boathouses and yachts.) We have installed
hundreds of underfloor heating systems that routinely have underfloor
heating in the upper floors. Only about 10% of our customers
opt to fit radiators upstairs instead, although one of our case
studies shows it might not be that much cheaper to do so. Fitting
underfloor heating upstairs makes very good sense when you consider
that these are the rooms where wall space is at a premium due
to the need to accommodate bedroom furniture and bathroom fittings.
Remind your architect to include it in your upper floor plans!
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7.
You can have a wooden floor with underfloor heating.
We
have engineered hardwood in our own home. Hardwood floors are
becoming more and more popular, and are ideal for use with underfloor
heating because they look good, feel warm, and do not restrict
the output as much as carpets do. A good quality engineered
hardwood is best because it is more thermally stable and less
liable to shrink or move. A solid hardwood can be used, but
these are more sensitive to large changes in temperature. Using
a floor sensor to monitor and control the actual surface temperature
of the floor very precisely, prevents the floor from heating
above the tolerances of the hardwood floor. Soft woods such
as pine should be avoided because of their low density. As a
general rule, the harder the wood, the better. Please see our
floor coverings page for more
information. Back
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8.
You can have carpet.
The general opinion used to be that the combined rating of carpet
and underlay should not exceed 1.5 TOG. However, a study showed
that the actual thresholds are much higher than this, and the
sensible use of carpet with underfloor heating makes little
appreciable difference to the output if the TOG level is increased
above 1.5. We have carpets in some of our rooms and these rooms
are always at the target temperature. It is fair to say that
if you chose a heavy hotel quality carpet and combined this
with underlay, the output would be restricted. Prior to the
wide use of underfloor heating, heavy duty carpets would have
been used to stop one's feet feeling cold from the floor, but
with underfloor heating, the floor is warm anyway and in a twist
of irony heavy carpets become counterproductive. Whatever you
place on the floor becomes an insulator and limits the output
to some degree, so choose wisely. Our advice is to select a
short pile carpet combined with a lightweight underlay. Again,
please see our floor coverings
page for more information.
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