Bathroom Design Ideas

Electric underfloor heating can be fairly easily installed and there is a choice of different systems to suit everyone. They can be used safely in kitchens and bathrooms as the cable is protected with a waterproof layer. If a room is a standard shape, it may be best to use mats which have electric cables already spaced out correctly. For unusually shaped rooms, you can obtain free-flowing cable to lay out yourself. Twin conductor cables only have to be connected at one end, rather than starting and finishing in the same place. To ensure the efficiency of your underfloor heating kit you will need some kind of insulation underneath it.

Electric cables should never be touching or overlapped, and must always be at least 50mm away from walls or fixed structures. Where an electric underfloor heating kit comes fixed to mats, you can cut the backing away but never cut the cable itself. The temperature of each circuit or zone is controlled by an underfloor heating thermostat. These range from simple manual versions to fully programmable digital ones. They use air sensors, floor sensors or a combination of the two. If you have a floor probe it should be positioned in a space between cable loops.

Once your DIY underfloor heating cables are fixed into position, they are usually covered in a layer of cement or latex screed before the floor covering is laid. If you have under tile heating, flexible tile adhesive should be spread over the cables.

Underfloor heating is one of the oldest methods of heating buildings (other than burning material inside) having been invented by the Romans. The modern day forms of underfloor heating are either hot water or electricity based. For the former, a series of underfloor water pipes are laid; for the latter, electric cables or mats are used. Both water and electricity underfloor heating systems can be installed professionally or on a DIY basis.  There are kits available for the DIY option.

The main advantage of an underfloor heating system is the greater efficiency when compared with standard radiator networks or room installed wood, coal and gas fires, or oil fired boilers. Placing all the equipment underneath the flooring also saves space. Underfloor heating heats a room gradually and on a widely distributed basis, in contrast with the freely circulating heat emitted by radiators and fossil fuel burners. In the long term, underfloor heating systems have often been shown to achieve the same or better level of heating at a lower cost than radiators, etc.

Further, in terms of thermal comfort, water and electric underfloor heating naturally achieves a highly desirable effect in terms of heating: warming the lower body but leaving the upper body, and especially the head, relatively cooler. This directly contrasts with radiator and burner types of heating.

As the entire floor effectively operates as a radiator by using underfloor heating, less power compared with forced air heating systems such as radiators is needed to achieve comfortable levels of heating.

Water underfloor heating systems work in a similar way to conventional systems by circulating warm water in pipes, but in a more efficient way, heating the large surface area of a floor, rather than the small surface area of a radiator.

A gas boiler usually creates the heat, although you can also get water underfloor heating kits to use with solar panels or geothermal pumps. The temperature of the water is lower than that required by traditional central heating, typically 50 degrees rather than 60 or more, and usually a separate pump is required to enable controlled circulation.  Each area of the house is divided into zones which are individually managed, by thermostats. Hot water circulates through continuous pipes made from high quality polyethylene, via a series of valves. A manifold automatically controls valves which combine hot and cold water to achieve the correct temperature for a particular zone, as determined by its thermostat. The system works automatically and allows complete flexibility.

The maze of pipes can be either embedded in a layer of cement, or simply attached with a dry fixing to the underneath of your floor covering. They are spaced out evenly so that the floor is uniformly heated. The method of installation will be dictated by the type of flooring, and a layer of insulation is usually needed beneath the pipes. There are no joints in the pipes beneath the floor, and floor coverings are laid directly on top.

Heating wire systems are useful for rooms where heating mats cannot fit.  If you have any irregular shaped rooms in your home, then you may want to opt for a heating wire system.  Like heating mats, wire systems are also easy to install.  They are suitable for small or large rooms.

Wire systems come as part of a kit, which usually includes tape, primer and an installation guide.  An underfloor heating thermostat is also included and varies in size depending on the size of the room.  For the wiring, you will need the help of an electrician, but the rest of the installation is easy.

Wire systems are suited to floors such as stone, ceramic, tile, hardwood, laminate and carpet.  Different types of systems may be suited to a certain type of floor, so you may need to check which type is the most suitable for the room where you wish to install it.

As with a heated mat, wire systems offer lots of space, allowing you to keep your rooms tidy and clean.  The only thing that will be visible is the thermostat, but these are offered in a variety of styles.  Further, they do not take up as much space as a radiator.

If you are looking for an environmentally friendly option, then a wire system is a good choice.  The wire system provides comfort while operating at a low temperature, using less energy and allowing you to save money.  Wire systems are also maintenance free, so you will not have to worry about replacing your underfloor heating system.

One of the reasons that underfloor heating is increasing in popularity is the fact that the maintenance is very low, especially when compared to a more traditional radiator based system. Normal electric central heating systems need annual maintenance, while gas fired systems not only need annual maintenance, but also have potentially deadly consequences if they go wrong or are not maintained properly.

Even though the water underfloor heating system has water running through it, unlike radiators it does not need to be bled in anyway and is therefore much easier to live with. There really is little that can go wrong with these systems and they are therefore a dream to run. The electrical underfloor systems will not rust or corrode, which means there are really no maintenance issues here either. The fact is, they can run at much lower temperatures than conventional radiator systems, which is a bonus, but it also means that they system is less prone to needing maintenance, as it is just left ticking over at lower temperatures.

The main area that may require maintenance will be the electrical system of the house, which you would still need to carry out with normal radiators and the boiler of a water underfloor heating system. However, these power systems do more in the house than just support the underfloor heating, so it is little wonder that you will need them maintained annually. The fact cannot be ignored; underfloor heating systems need only minimal maintenance.

Underfloor heating is an increasingly popular way of heating a home and is being used more and more in new build and renovation properties, thanks to its many benefits. Underfloor heating systems are invisible, which means there is no need to give up any valuable wall space for radiators and no need to spend hours trying to find a heater that you like the look or that is most efficient.

Unlike radiators the system is maintenance free, so never again will you have the hassle of walking around the house to ‘bleed’ each radiator before the winter hits, which is a real bonus. The system runs off hot water and is perfect for use in new builds where a condensing boiler is to be used. What’s more, it is a cheap way to gain effective heating to the home. Remember heat rises, so by having floor heating you are going to create lovely warm floors that slowly heat the room from the ground up.

Conventional wall heaters are normally already a good two or three feet off the ground, which means that the lowest part of the room is never heated at all. This is definitely a bonus for those with young children who spend a lot of time crawling on floors playing, it means that in the winter they are not going to get cold, in fact you may well want to get down and join them as the floor will be lovely and warm, so kick off your slippers and enjoy the heat.

When having an underfloor heating system installed in your home, don’t forget to consider insulation when ordering the materials you will need. Insulation should not be thought of as unimportant, as it really does serve a key function and is used slightly differently, depending whether you have wet underfloor heating or electric underfloor heating.

When using a wet underfloor heating system you need to have a layer of insulation boards on top of the concrete screed, which can support tile and wooden flooring options. It will help dissipate the heat across the floor and ensure that the system is working effectively. You need to prevent the heat being lost by escaping in the wrong direction.

Electric underfloor heating works best if you have the insulation boards under the heat element, regardless of whether you are using a heating mat or a wiring system. The insulation boards can be stuck to the floor using a tile adhesive and the heating wires can then be taped to it. Alternatively, the heating mat can be laid on top, with the tile or laminate flooring being fixed over the top. There are lots of insulation companies out there, Marmox being one of the leading players, but if you choose to have your underfloor heating system installed by a specialist company, you may have to be guided by the products they use. This shouldn’t make any difference as long as the floor is insulated properly.

Floor heating is an excellent option for that extra room in the house, such as a bathroom. It means you do not need to take up wall space with radiators, which can also be a pain if you are adding a new ensuite as you will need to get the central heating company in to move pipe work and install new radiator points.

Underfloor heating can take away all of this hassle and can be incredibly simple to fit, especially if you go down the route of using a heat mat electric system. This has no moving parts and is installed on top of a layer of insulation, for example Marmox, before the floor tiles or laminate are fitted on top. You then need the services of an electrician to connect up the heating mat and the thermostatic controls. This solution helps create warmth in the bathroom, which means the room can be used for more of the year than you may initially have thought, especially if you ensure that any solid walls are also well insulated to prevent heat loss.

You could also choose to have a wet underfloor heating system installed in your bathroom. This system uses heated water fed into pipe work, however it must be installed at build stage as it needs to be set into the floor, and then the concrete screed is poured over the top. However, it will add an extra degree of warmth that will make the room welcoming for longer periods of time when your relaxing or unwinding.

This is the million-dollar question, just how easy is it to fit underfloor heating and can you do it yourself? Quite simply, it really depends on your own skills and knowledge. Electric underfloor heating is the easiest system to fit, especially now that the use of heat matting has been introduced. The matting is very thin, which makes it a good choice for an existing room, as you can take the carpet up, add insulation and heat matting to the top and then re-lay a floor of laminate over the top. The finished floor level will not be too different from the rest of the house; you may have a small lip between the rooms, but nothing more prominent.

Underfloor heating is more appropriate for new builds, as the upheaval in an existing room would be phenomenal. The whole floor would have to come up and pipe work has to be set into the floor, so this really isn’t the best option for existing spaces or for the DIY enthusiast. In the case of a wet underfloor heating system you are looking at skills in plumbing and electrics, while for heat mats or cables, only electrical skills are required. If you can employ an electrician and help with some of the foundation work yourself, installing an electric underfloor heating system may actually be quite straightforward. It then becomes simply a question of whether you have the skills required to lay the floor covering.