Radiators or underfloor heating ?

6 years ago

Can anybody tell me is underfloor heating good enough to replace radiators & if so what type & cost to run compared with rads.

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User

6 years ago

Also just to add, when you are wondering if it is good enough to replace radiators. You are essentially turning your whole floor into the heater, and because it is at floor level and evenly distributed across the floor, you don't lose heat as quick as you would from radiators. The only place we have kept any traditional radiators is the bathroom where we have towel rails

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Comments (10)

GJ Dee
6 years ago
We put it in our kitchen, shower room and laundry room. My husband says it is the best thing we've done and he was totally against the idea to start with. Laundry dries amazingly quickly and these areas are now the warmest in the house. I was worried we would miss the radiators but not at all and we also have more wall space. We put in water rather than electric to save on bills, though more expensive to do. We love it.
andy read
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks so much for your reply, I am completely modernising a whole house & was thinking of the possibility of using it as much as possible to get that clean uncluttered look. Is the electric version expensive to run?
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PRO
Caldicot Kitchen & Bathroom Centre
6 years ago
Would certainly recommend underfloor, and no issues with heat output - you can always check with a bit of simple arithmetic to check what BTU or kW output you need.

As to running costs - a gas fired, piped water system will probably be a little cheaper in the long run, but who can predict energy costs? The electric systems needn't be expensive to run, especially if you opt for a higher spec controller - which I would strongly recommend, given the minimal uplift in cost.

We ourselves recommend and fit Warmup systems, and find them to be excellent. With Wifi linked controllers you can manage from your mobile, you can control it really easily and ensure you get just the right amount of heat when you want it - and don't waste heat at other times!

Costs to run shouldn't be too different to rads - if the area you are doing is on the ground floor, make sure you insulate beneath properly to ensure the heat is for you home, not the ground!

Caldicot Kitchens
User
6 years ago
It is definitely good enough, and in most cases I would argue that it is better but I only have experience of a wet system and I know that electric is more expensive to run. I imagine you will notice a different in cost if you move from radiators to electric UFH.
andy read
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks so much for your comments.
PRO
Caldicot Kitchen & Bathroom Centre
6 years ago
Yes, would agree with the comments on wet systems v electric, though if you have (or plan for the future) any solar in your home, this needn't be the case.

Caldicot Kitchens
nstomo
6 years ago
I can't comment on it technically but we had underfloor hearing downstairs in our old (new self build) house and radiators upstairs. In the new barn conversion we have underfloor in all the living areas under tiles and bathrooms, with radiators in the bedrooms and the snug. I would recommend underfloor in all the tiled areas as it's so nice on your feet. I always feel cold at my friends houses on tiles!
PRO
Feature Radiators
6 years ago
Trying to be unbiased....lol....

Check your ceiling heights, underfloor often is a great option if you have lower ceilings and good insulation but in Victorian properties with 3m high ceilings for example, underfloor is unlikely to meet the heat output require.

Also bear in mind reaction times, underfloor takes hours rather than minutes to heat up so you should have it on all the time in theory even if just on low.

My parents have a Victorian house and have electric underfloor in their basement kitchen/diner, but have a small vertical radiator with hooks on for tea towels and a traditional style column radiator as well. They have the radiators on most of the time as per their central heating programming but they "turn the floor on" when they are planning on doing loads of laundry or its really cold (like today!); it does really speed up drying times. It definitely feels nice having it under the tiles They don't have it on all the time as it is expensive to run.

So if you are doing the whole house and decide to go with underfloor, I would definitely try and go for the central heating underfloor as the running costs would be very expensive if electric.
PRO
Casa Colori
6 years ago
It is not an easy answer it depends on Do you live in a modern house or old building? The underfloor heating needs a good insulation underneath so that the heat is not wasted. Which flooring will go for?

Radiators or underfloor heating ?

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GJ Dee

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Radiators or underfloor heating ?

Comments (10)

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