Both use radiant heat technology to gently warm a room from the floor up and into the people and objects in a room as opposed to central heating systems which focus on heating just the air of a room wasting energy.
Electric or water underfloor heating system.
Dry or electric systems meanwhile feature thin cabling or mats connected to mains electricity which generate heat when turned on.
Electric underfloor heating systems.
Heating a large area with electric underfloor heating may not be desirable as energy efficiency is achieved in large areas with water underfloor heating used with an air or ground source heat pump.
Electric systems are perfect for use as primary heat sources in small rooms such as bathrooms or as secondary heat sources in larger spaces.
The system will be connected to the heating via a manifold.
We cover the pros and cons of electric systems and hot water hydronic systems for comfort and space heating.
There are two kinds of underfloor heating systems that you can install in your project.
Although the screed is a relatively good conductor of heat it does take a while for the warm water underfloor heating pipes to heat the screed before the room can be heated.
Radiators for example require 60 80d flow temp compared with underfloor heating that can be as low as 35 40d which matches that of a heat pump.
When we called installers across the uk and water underfloor heating some mentioned needing to get a new more efficient central heating system.
Choose the best infloor heating system.
Installation costs can vary hugely depending on whether you choose an electric or water based system the number of rooms you want to heat whether you re fitting a new build home extension or an older building and what kind of flooring you have.
In the case of an electric underfloor heating mat a thin layer of insulation is placed on top of the concrete floor to reflect the heat upwards.
Running costs are likely to be much higher however as the cost of electricity per unit is much higher than gas or a heat pump.
Prices for roll out mats for underfloor electric heating start at about 180 for 10 square metres.
Sometimes referred to as wet heating water underfloor heating systems pump warm water from a boiler or heat pump through underfloor pipes.
That said you should always conduct a heat loss calculation and choose an underfloor heating system that provides more heat output than the maximum.
Hydronic are ideal if you already have a boiler.
Water or electric systems.
Electric are easier and usually cheaper to install.
What will underfloor heating cost to install.
Heating a large area with electric underfloor heating may not be desirable as energy efficiency is achieved in large areas with water underfloor heating used with an air or ground source heat pump.
Electric underfloor heating costs much less with some systems as cheap as 20 per square metre.