History Of Underfloor Heating

Underfloor Heating was first introduced by the Romans over 2,000 years ago. They had empty spaces under the floors, such as cellars, and would light a furnace and let the warm air circulate around the cellar and warm the floors of the rooms above. To heat the rooms on the first floor, the heat from the furnace would run up channels in the walls running to the rooms above.

Electric Underfloor Heating

Electric Underfloor Heating in the 1960s was the forerunner of how people think of underfloor heating today, but modern underfloor heating has progressed a long way since then. Back then, electric resistance cables were laid into thick concrete and were heated in the night using cheap electricity. This idea didn’t work well because the heating was poorly controlled and so the floor would be too hot in the morning and would have cooled down at night. This form of heating didn’t work well and was very expensive to run, unlike today’s underfloor heating.

What is Underfloor Heating?

Modern underfloor heating delivers a near perfect temperature profile between floor and ceiling due to a balanced combination of radiant and confected heat. By using radiant heat underfloor heating ensures you feel comfortable even at a lower air temperature than that produced by a more conventional heating system.With conventional central heating, the majority of heat is convected air, which rises, making the ceiling one of the warmest places in the room. However, 50% of the warmth generated by underfloor heating is radiant heat, where the floor releases heat evenly, which is then absorbed by people and objects in the room with very little managing to escape. Ideal comfort conditions are created – warm feet, cool head; just perfect for relaxation. If you walk into a home controlled by underfloor heating, you should be able to tell the difference almost immediately. There are also fewer floor covering restrictions and underfloor heating is suitable for use with all finishes including carpet, lino, hardwood, laminate and stone.

Underfloor Heating In Extensions, Conservatories and Cellar Conversions

If you are thinking of refurbishing your home, building an extension, adding a conservatory or cellar conversion, an underfloor heating system is an ideal solution. This is because the warm water underfloor heating system forms part of the floor structure and is built to last. You will be able to get the most out of your new extension or conservatory with a comfortable heating system that gives you all-year round use. Underfloor heating in single rooms are designed to work separately from the rest of the heating system. This is ideal for conservatories and cellar conversions because these rooms need to be heated at different times, due to the heat loss in conservatories. Cellar conversions usually have no solar gain in the summer which means you may want the heating on in your cellar and not in the rest of your house.

How does Underfloor Heating Work?

Warm water is circulated from your heat pump or boiler to the electrically operated zone valves (radiators, hot water, underfloor heating) with a conventional heating system, heat pump or (radiators, underfloor heating) with a combi boiler. When the room stat calls for heat the water passes through the zone valve and then onto the manifold where the water is circulated through continuous lengths of pipe embedded in the floor, that run at a lower water temperature (typically 40 to 50°C) than the radiators (70°C).

Pipe Installation Within a Screeded Floor.

*Conservatories
The provision of an underfloor heating system in a conservatory will extend the period of use throughout the year and greatly enhances comfort conditions within the room, especially when compared with more conventional forms of heating. However due to high heat loss in conservatories, internal design temperatures cannot be guaranteed. During periods of very cold outside temperatures and limited solar gain, supplementary heating may be required.