Talk to me about under floor heating

[WhyIsThatThen]

I want under floor heating in my new (yay) kitchen. It will be ceramic tiled. The room is modest, 12ft by 10ft.

Thanks.

Hot water is the best and most efficient. therostate controlled.

This means new floor and thick insulation.

I wouldnt recommend electric, expensive to run and lack proper heat which means that you'll need an additional radiator to heat the room especially if its north facing. Electric is ideal for ensuite.

Ceramic tiles are brill for underfloor.

We've just put electric into our new kitchen. The brand is 'WarmUp' and it's under Amtico. It works very well and makes a huge difference to the room temperature. It has a digital thermostat with time settings etc. If you have ceramic tiles you can crank the heat up higher than we can with the vinyl, so should work even better. Apparently if you're just putting it in one room it's less of a palaver to install than the hot water type. It just goes into the screed under the tiles. We do have a radiator aswell, but it's a really big room. With the radiator alone it always felt cold; now it's really cosy.

We have warmup too under tiles. Tis fab, no other heater - though radiator in utility room. Fantastic in winter, cosy toes ....

Thank you all, so far!

So when you install the under floor electric heating did you pour screed over the loop, then tile?

I think I edge on electric being the one we will go for. It is only one room and despite wanting a cavernous kitchen its only about 10 by 12ft so a small amount of space to fill, there is no heat in there at all, at the moment....brrr.

I'm paying the deposit today on the kitchen.....woohoo

Not entirely sure I'm afraid. I used a tiling company for the Amtico who also supplied and fitted the heating. Warmup have a website and help desk so that could be a good place to look.

Electric is fine for a small space. We have it in our bathroom, have just started using it on a timer for the mornings, and it is seriously toasty and lovely. We were told to get the hot water one for our kitchen, too. Decided against in the end, but were led to believe this would be the best, most cost effective way with larger spaces....

I have electric underfloor heating. It went on directly on top of the concrete floor then the tiles went over the top, so it was in the tile adhesive. No extra screed required.

We've got electric underfloor heating in our (single storey) new kitchen. Because of the size of the area (see designer's plan on my profile) we would normally be recommended to put in the wet version, but we went for the electric type partly because it was easier and partly because there were concerns that our current boiler might not cope with the extra load. But because the whole project was practically a new build (new roof, old floor dug out several inches) the builders were able to put in vast amounts of insulation all around.

We also have ceramic tiles which are much better for holding the heat than vinyl. We don't have a radiator, and even with the current temperatures that part of the house is very comfortable to be in.

In terms of costs, we'll have to see how the electricity bills work out over the winter, but in our case they're likely to be less than before, seeing as we don't have any draughts any more.

I think in terms of what people choose it's almost a case of 'how long is a piece of string'. Given the dimensions of your kitchen, I personally would go with whatever is quickest to install.

Dont forget the heat doesnt go under the units so you floor area may be very small so the actual heating surface may be very small.

It also depends on whow old the home is and how well insulated the walls are.

Taking into account that we have had some very mild winters I wonder if the electric will be able to compete on its own without an additional rad in extremes that we are having now.

What is the smallest area any of you have underfloor heating in? I'm thinking about getting it done in the kitchen and bathroom when I get around to doing them - but they are both very small rooms and I don't know if it's worth it.

A friend had it done 2 years ago - but it is hopeless and takes hours to warm up. What could she be doing wrong? I have had it in a previous house but the kitchen was HUGE, it heated up really quickly and was lovely, but there was also a radiator.

I would speak to a good independant heating expert as you dont want too much sales blerb.

When working out the heating from the room ob you need to work out the area cubed and a must is the orientation of the house.

Running costs have to be taken into account. I worked for a famous consultant enginering company and they were very anti electric heating. Its ok to heat the floor but not the room. An ensuite is perfect as you dont live it in, the door is shut and little heat loss.

Bacon - how do you find a 'good independant heating expert'? I need a new heating system (water & house) but they are all 'attached' in one way or another to what they sell/install. I could really do with an unbiased, but knowledgable opinion!

'and a must is the orientation of the house' pardon? Can you try that again?

Our electric heating definitely heats the (large) room, and not just the floor. Maybe it depends upon the particular brand? You can also get insulation boards that go under the heating wires. I didn't bother as didn't want to raise floor level any further.

Water underfloor heating is better.

Downstairs we have a large open plan kitchen/family room. Dimensions 5.5 metres by 8 metres?

Slate floor tiles.

We have no radiators - just the Rayburn and the underfloor heating. Always toasty warm. We also have a thermostat just for that room which means we can make it hotter in there than in other rooms we are not using.

If we whack up the Rayburn and whack up the thermostat it can literally be boiling in there!

And this is on a hill in Cumbria too.

ChippingIn - Yellow pages or go on an eco website and link to an approved dealer. Some are tied to manufacturers but if that professional will sway you the correct way. We use a company that are very much up on eco systems, he's passionate about it so is totally up-to-date with whats new, whats not as good as advertised etc.

Orientation is very imporantant - You must know which way yr house is facing? The kids usually have some sort of device to confirming this.

We are also looking at underfloor heating for our kitchen/diner/family room extension. The quote for wet under floor was ENORMOUS. The electric one was much cheap, but electrician hasnt got back to me with running costs yet. Husband wants tiles, I want wood flooring - anyone experience with under floor heating and wooden floors. The builder put his grumpy face on and said it wasnt good when I suggested it.