FAQ’s

Underfloor Heating Guide

We have brought together a collection of useful faq’s and answers to the most common questions you may have. If you can’t find the answer here please try our Knowledge Hub or Contact Us for further assistance.

Q. What does Electric Underfloor Heating do?
A. Electric underfloor heating warms an area using a thin heating wire placed under the surface of your floor. The wires heat up when switched on, radiating up through your floor surface to warm a room. The floor will feel warm underfoot too.
Q. Is electrical underfloor heating expensive to run?
A. It costs less than 10p to run 1m² of standard underfloor heating at full power for six hours. Although some people still expect underfloor heating to be expensive to run, the reality is that both the initial installation cost and the ongoing running expenses can represent great value for money.
Q. Should I leave electric underfloor heating on all the time?
A. It is advised that in the depths of winter, an underfloor heating system should be kept on at all times. Although it should be at different temperatures depending on usage and activity in the house. This is because underfloor heating can take two to three hours to warm up, so it is best to not completely turn it off.
Q. Can electric underfloor heating replace radiators?
A. Electric Underfloor heating is a popular heating method and ideal in bathrooms and kitchens, but it can be used anywhere in the house. Using underfloor heating instead of radiators is possible and depending on your heat loss, you can even get rid of radiators completely.
Q. Can you carpet over underfloor heating?
A. Many people assume that underfloor heating only works with hard flooring such as tiles and laminate, but carpet is also a suitable floor covering choice for underfloor heating.
Q. What type of flooring is best for underfloor heating?
A. The best flooring for underfloor heating is one that efficiently transfers heat from the UFH to the surface of the floor. Hard surfaces like stone or ceramic tiles, or engineered wood, offer the best heat transfer as they are the most thermally conductive, but many other options work well.
Q. Should I turn off underfloor heating in summer?
A. Underfloor heating can be switched off during Summer when the outside temperature is warm enough. This is because it takes longer to warm up and cool down than other heating methods, making it harder to adjust your settings when the outside temperature is warming your home.
Q. How efficient is electric underfloor heating?
A. Electric Underfloor heating systems are very efficient because they distribute the heat uniformly and gently, at a low temperature, from the whole floor surface, concentrating the heat in the lower half of the room. There is neither heat loss, nor wastage of energy and you can heat the rooms you want, exactly when you want.
Q. Why should I use insulation boards on a concrete base?
A. The way the insulation boards are fixed to the subfloor depends on the base type. On a concrete base, the insulation boards are put down with a suitable flexible tile adhesive. The boards should be laid with staggered joints and once the flexible tile adhesive hardens, the joints should be re-enforced with glass fibre tape. On a wooden subfloor, the insulation boards should be put down with a suitable flexible tile adhesive and as with concrete subfloors, the insulation boards should have staggered joints. When the adhesive has set, but not necessarily dried completely, the boards should be fixed using wood screws and washers. The insulation boards should be screwed down at 200mm centres, the screw washer fixing needs to be tightened into the board until the screw head is flush with the surface. After, the joints should be re-enforced with glass fibre tape.
Q. Can I install a thermostat myself?
A. While electric underfloor heating installations can be completed by a competent DIY, thermostats require electrical work which must be completed by an electrician. All wiring and electrical work must be completed by a qualified and certified electrician only.
Q. Can I use electric underfloor heating as a primary heat source?
A. All Underfloor Heating World heating systems have been designed to be suitable for use as a primary heat source requiring no radiators. This is providing you install a minimum of 150w/m2 over 70%+ of the floor area. The floor and room must have suitable insulation fitted whcih will mean no additional heating will be required.
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