Underfloor Heating

How It Works

When buying underfloor heating it's crucial to consider:
- A bespoke design: to tailor your heating to your property and how you use it. This will factor in the floorplan of your property; the building construction and room-by-room heat losses and the floor coverings you plan to use.
- System Quality: Underfloor heating is beneath your floor, so it’s absolutely vital that the system is of a good quality and uses reliable components. Things to consider are: the experience of your installer; the components used in the system and the length of warranties. Systems bought online or without a design are often cheaper for good reason.
- What support is available: Will your installer set-up and help explain how to control your new heating system? Can they guide you through the process? Will they continue to offer support and maintenance throughout the life of your system?

Underfloor Heating and Heat Pumps Explained
Underfloor heating (UFH) is a great partner to heat pumps. The lower the temperature the heat pump operates at the more efficient it is and the less it costs to run. As the heat pump compressor is producing lower temperature heating and operates for longer periods it’s much more efficient. Also the heat pump can convert cheap rate electricity into heat which is stored in the floor keeping rooms warm and reducing the need to buy electricity for heating during higher cost times.
Underfloor heating gently radiates heat into a room warming the occupants without needing to heat higher empty spaces so is ideal for tall spaces such as vaulted rooms, barn conversions and churches. Radiators have to heat the whole space (from the ceiling down – hence fans are sometimes used to push heat down) before comfortable heating is felt by the room occupants.

Underfloor Heating Options
There are many different types of underfloor heating and good installers will select the most suitable based on the heat demand, floor construction, available height (influenced by door thresholds and steps) and the finished floor covering. Porcelain, vinyl or stone tiles give more heat than engineered boards. Carpets can be used with underfloor heating as long as they have a low tog value so effective heat transfer occurs. Orangehouse Renewables have installed underfloor heating in stone cottages, new build projects (both domestic and commercial) and due to the different floor types used 5 different systems in a single retrofit project!

Design Considerations
To provide effective heating and a comfortable space the UFH system needs specifically designing for the areas to be heated. The only joins should be at the manifold above the floor so once installed and tested the system should last for many years. Each room or zone should have its own thermostat and bedrooms and bathrooms should be on separate circuits otherwise bedrooms are too warm or bathrooms too cool. Wired thermostats allow for future upgrades and generally work better in buildings with thick walls or foil insulation which can interfere with wireless communication.

UFH vs Radiators
Radiators rely on heating the surface of the radiator to heat a room. They heat air which circulates via convection which can feel “draughty” and air temperature can vary as much as 5 degrees from one side of the room to another. They are sized by combing the room heat demand and system flow temperature to calculate the required output. Rooms with a high heat demand and low flow temperature need higher capacity radiators so additional panels, extra radiators or fan-assisted radiators are commonly used. They also take up valuable wall space in your home restricting furniture layout options and can look ugly.