can anyone tell me about electric underfloor heating?

[MamaChris]

we are thinking about converting our detached garage into extra living space. would love to do underfloor heating, but it would be too difficult to run pipe from boiler, so it would need to be electric. will this actually heat the space enough or will it just make the floor warm to the touch?

electrician we had round said it would never heat the space (we do plan on insulating lots), but he also suggested a couple of things I don't believe, so am hoping for evidence pro electric underfloor heating from MN! it would need to be warm enough to work in (sitting at a computer), even in deepest darkest winter.

anyone have experience of this?

[saladsucks]

I have gas underfloor heating (i.e. water pipes under the floor, heated by boiler) downstairs in my house and electric pads in the bathroom upstairs. I totally agree with the view that the electric underfloor heating will not heat up your space, it just means that the tiles on our bathroom floor are not too cold to walk on. We need a heated towel rail to make the bathroom warm (it is a tiny bathroom).

Feel free to ask more questions (just don't know what information you need)

[MamaChris]

thanks - I think that answers it saladsucks - electric underfloor heating won't be enough - we will have to go for convection heaters. blurgh. but good to know electrician wasn't spinning us a tale!

[ChasingSquirrels]

we have electric underfloor heating in our conservatory.
It is difficult to say if it heats the space as their is so much glass for the heat to escape from, but is is definately nice on the floor.

I know someone who has underfloor heating in the kitchen and that is always lovely.

[suwoo]

We have electric underfloor heating under our slate tiles in the bathroom. It is enough to heat the whole room but it is tiny ie 5 foot square. Its bloody expensive though- so do take that into account if that might be an issue.

[saladsucks]

what about cheap boiler in the garage? I am a huge fan of underfloor heating (which explains why I ripped up all the floors in my house to put it in) and would say that it is great for heating a room where you barely stand up as you only have to heat to waist height and because your feet are warm your whole body feels warm.

[saladsucks]

I agree with suwoo - electric would be v expensive too.

[MollieO]

We have electric underfloor heating in our garden room/kitchen. The architect tried to persuade me that it would be warm enough not to have radiators. It probably would be if I had the tiles so hot that they would be too hot to walk on. Instead I got two radiators as well and glad I did. The room has one wall of glass and high ceiling so a large space to heat.

[ProfessorCalculus]

We had it in the kitchen/dining room in our old house and it definitely wouldn't have been enough on its own. It made the tiled floor nice and warm but we still very much needed the radiator.

[MamaChris]

well a clear consensus that underfloor electric is not the way to go! a cheap boiler sounds like a good idea saladsucks. will have to ask how much to lay extra gas pipe. otherwise convection heaters.

[spinachrisotto]

hi, we're thinking of electric underfloor for our bathrooms, suwoo how expensive is it to run? our bathrooms are small floorspace around 2mx2m? we've been quoted £300 for installation including mats for both, tiles seperate. hmmm wonder if its worth it now...

[stealthsquiggle]

Electric underfloor heating definitely helps keep our kitchen warm but I agree it wouldn't be enough on it's own. We didn't have the ceiling height to consider plumbed underfloor heating.

[saladsucks]

stealth - what does ceiling height have to do with it?

MamaChris - look at Myson's website, I taught myself about all types of underfloor heating on there and it is great (am not on commission!)

[trixymalixy]

My friend just put electric underfloor heating in her kitchen extension/family room and they have a blower heater on all the time as well as it is not enough to heat it. They are going to get their plumber to put in an extra radiator eventually.

[Mumsnut]

Electric heating by Infrasol definitely keeps our 40sq m kitchen lovely and warm. Our builder says it is the only electric underfloor heating that does the job. However, it is being laid soon in our freezing sitting room, where the rads have never got more than lukewarm. This is a very high room with lots of windows - will let you know if it works ...

PS: put lots of insulation in the garage when you convert it ... the warmth difference between our 'old' (3 years ago) and 'new' (last year) extension is very decided, and insulation regulations changed in the meantime.

[MamaChris]

Thanks Mumsnut - let us know how it goes? Am asking for the MAXIMUM possible insulation (which is practical). Much better to spend money once on getting that right than give it to those thieves British Gas

[stealthsquiggle]

Saladsucks - installing plumbed underfloor heating on an existing (concrete) floor will add at least 2-3cm to the floor height - DH bumps his head on the beams in our kitchen as it is, so we couldn't do it - hence electric underfloor heating + funky radiator instead.

[procrastinatingparent]

We have just converted half our (double) garage and used electric underfloor heating - and the room is quite warm enough. Actually it is too hot sometimes so we have turned it right down. We put in so much insulation and really good windows that it hasn't been a problem.

We also have electric underfloor heating in our huge new kitchen extension, and again it is great. No radiators, and saved money on the plumbing.

[MrsMattie]

We have it in our bathroom. Lovely and toasty. I don't know how it would fare in a larger space.

[MamaChris]

procrastinatingparent - that's interesting. Maybe there's hope yet! We're also going for LOTS of lovely insulation and new windows. Can I ask what brand you used?

[procrastinatingparent]

We used www.floorheatingonline.com, and it was their heating for laminate floors, which we used under our engineered wood floors. (Beware, we think a combination of poor installation of the floors [not done by the heating company who were very helpful] and having the heating too high has caused the wood to shrink!). But it has certainly not been cold, even with the heating lower. The insulation requirements are so high for buildings these days.

Having said all that, I notice your garage is detached, whereas ours is part of the house - that may make a difference. Good luck!

[Biggles123]

It totally depends on what wattage you use i.e. 100, 150 or 200, all of which depend on how much heat you want to generate and what floor covering you are going to use i.e. engineered wood, laminate, tiles etc. I would get a second opinion from someone who fits underfloor heating day in and day out.

[2803alan]

When we get out of our shower the air strikes cold. Does anyone know if electric underfloor heating will overcome this, or will it only make the floor warm to the topuch?

[frostyfingers]

Are you somewhere you could have a wood burner? We have a 24'x12' double height room which we heat mainly with woodburner, and have electric underfloor for back up when cold or when we are away? Currently wood is cheaper than electric too!

[popolll]

We have electric underfloor heating in our conservatory which is adequate except in the depth of winter. But and it is a huge BUT the controller is an aube TH132 which is all but incomprehensible. A friend who is an electrical engineer came to help. Luckily he is both kind and patient. He sat for over an hour studying the instructions and then managed to do a set up for us. There is no chance that we could ever change or modify the settings and we are not stupid. If you are offered an aube TH132 refuse. Your life will be much calmer and better without it.

[wonkylegs]

Its an expensive option - but if you over insulate the space, electric would probably be ok, but would cost a fortune to run. But agree you may be better putting in a separate boiler. I would still spend my money on insulating the space to the best degree possible as this will cut down the running costs and mean for large chunks of the year you wouldn't need to heat it at all.

Interesting fact (ok probably only if you work in construction ) if we built and insulated our houses in the UK to Scandinavian standards most of the time we wouldn't need to heat them at all!!!