Underfloor heating provides a comfotable, highly efficient type of heating. It can offer significant benefits over traditional central heating systems and is becoming increasingly popular in both domestic and commercial applications.
Underfloor heating can now be readily installed by professional plumbers, particularly in domestic properties and extensions.
Benefits
The major benefit of an underfloor heating system to the end user is the comfort level provided by this form of heating.
A typical underfloor heating system utilisies low temperature hot water, usually 40-55ºC unlike flow temperatures of 80ºC from traditional heating systems such as radiators.
The warm water is circulated through pipe circuits providing an even heat distribution across the whole installed area. This warms the floor to a maximum surface temperature of 29ºC in normally occupied areas with a room temerpature of 20ºC and 23ºC in bathrooms with a floor temperature of 24ºC. Comfort conditions are therefore achieved with an air temperature 2ºC below what would normally be anticipated with general forms of heating.
The only type of heating which delivers this is underfloor heating. As a consequence energy costs are significantly reduced, typically in domestic situations by in excess of 20% and in larger buildings such as factories and warehouses, savings of up to 50% are not unusual*.
*Source: Hepworth Plumbing Products
Advantages
- Removing the need for radiators maximises useable room space
- Energy efficient 'invisible' warmth
- Uniform heat and level of comfort
- Compliment the operation of condensing boilers
- Safe for children, the elderly and less able - no exposed hot surfaces
- Low allergy - convected airborne dust levels are reduced
- Silent running
- Ideal for high ceilings
Floor Types
Underfloor heating can be used on any of the typical floor constructions commonly used in the UK, although the configuration of the system may vary. The three most common types of floor construction are:
Solid Screed Floor
maximum heat output is normally 100W/m²
Timber/Intermediate Floor/Joisted/Suspended
maximum heat output is normally 70W/m²
Floating Floor
maximum heat output is normally 70W/m²
Some of the underfloor systems available from Wolseley are featured below: