Underfloor Heating (UFH) has more recently become the preferred form of heating within the residential sector, but it is also becoming more commonly specified for schools, medical facilities, offices and factories.
The most common forms of UFH all involve circulating water through high-performance plastic piping set within the structure of the floor. The water can be efficiently heated by a conventional gas or oil boiler or even solar thermal panels. The water can also be heated or cooled efficiently using a heat pump; meaning that if you circulated cold water through an UHF system during the summer you could also create a comfort-cooling system.
Benefits
• UFH is simple to install;
• Due to lower flow temperatures, it is around 25% more efficient than radiators;
• Because it uses lower temperature water, it makes the prospect of obtaining this from renewable energy sources, rather than fossil-fuels, more possible;
• It frees up wall space;
• Heat rises gently from the entire floor creating a constant room temperature without any hot spots or draughts.
New build properties are perfect for UFH as it is simple to drop UFH into the build schedule before the screed is laid. Screed UFH is affordable and simple to install. It is also a highly efficient solution as screed conducts heat very effectively, providing an even floor temperature through to the room above.
It is also possible to install a retrofit system, as these are simply laid directly on top of the existing floor and can easily be installed in single-zone areas rather than throughout a whole property. However, when installing a retrofit system, the following should be taken into consideration:
Subfloor
The type of subfloor will dictate whether insulation is required or not. If the subfloor is concrete there is no need for insulation, as a minimal amount of heat will be lost downwards. If the system is laid over an uninsulated suspended timber floor then insulation will be required between the joists, otherwise most of the heat from the UFH would be lost making it highly inefficient.
Height Build-Up
Many retrofit UFH systems are low profile due to concerns around additional height build-up. So, it is important to check the overall height build-up of the system before adding on the height of the floor covering; as this will affect the overall floor to ceiling height.
Insulation
With any renovation project, you should check the fabric of the building and how well it is insulated – single or double glazing? Suspended timber floors? Cavity wall and loft insulation? As this will affect the amount of heat loss. Whether a UFH is a plausible option or not, very much depends on whether the property has a reasonable level of insulation or this can be improved on.
Room Shapes
More unusually shaped rooms may make it necessary to use a more flexible fixing system.
If you would like to find out more about Underfloor Heating or how Robinsons can help you with other heating solutions, please contact us to discuss further.