Benefits of Under Floor Heating
Underfloor heating has been around for thousands of years
2000 Years ago, the Romans had mastered the technique of warming a large floor surface at a low temperature. Whilst the technology has certainly changed in modern times, heating the floors in your home at 21-25°C provides the most comfortable and efficient form of heating possible.
Modern under floor heating provides many advantages over traditional convection based systems and reverse cycle air conditioning.
Where large surfaces such as the floor exist, it is possible to achieve ideal comfort conditions with a slightly lower ambient air temperature, resulting in more comfortable conditions, greatly reduced dust circulation and lower energy usage.
These advantages are even greater in rooms where traditionally cold floor surfaces such as tiles, stone or polished concrete are used, since these become your heating system rather than creating drafts and cold spots.
Radiant Heating versus Forced Air Heating
With convection heating, the heating element heats up the air, which flows upwards towards the ceiling and then comes back, partially cooled, to the floor. This system of heating is inefficient, as the warm air rises and the cool air remains at the comfort height.
In the case of radiant heating, the ratio is the opposite – the radiation doesn’t heat the air (it passes freely through it) and the distribution of heat takes place mainly via radiation.
The entire floor space is a radiant heater
The heating elements are laid under the entire required heating floor area. This results in the entire floor generating rising radiant heat to the occupied zone of the room and not straight into the ceiling. You can use any kind of floor surface – all sorts of tiling including ceramic, slate, limestone, marble, porcelain, stone, terracotta, wood, laminate & vinyl. You can also lay the heaters in slab and screed applications.
The Type of heat to expect
Your feet are warmed which in effect warms your body so you do not need high temperatures with low humidity that makes for a stuffy dry noses. There are no drafts as there is no forced air applied circulating around the room.
Clean and Efficient
With no vents or ducts or bulky noisy units needing regular cleaning that are associated with forced air heating systems as there is no dust or allergens that are blown around the room.
Design and maintenance friendly
With no visible units you are free to design your room without consideration of where heaters need to or could go. Furthermore high design radiators are not cheap and probably the cost of the underfloor heater if not more. A further benefit with electric underfloor heating is there is no maintenance!
Controllable thermostats for energy efficiency
You can easily control temperature and operation with the Thermostat or control a time and day schedule with a programmable unit. This means that you have complete control of the heater functionality and control of your energy expenditure. As underfloor heating does not require high output temperatures you can run underfloor heaters with energy efficiency and keep your energy costs under control. You can now you heat the rooms you want, when you want and for how long you want.
Other Benefits of Electric Under Floor Heating
- Comfortable, evenly distributed temperature throughout the room
- Warmer at your feet than your head
- No maintenance
- No drafts
- No ugly bulky heating units in the way
- Child safe & Pet friendly
- Greatly reduced dust circulation (perfect for families with allergies
