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Original poster

Is underfloor heating worth it?

41 replies

Sorbustree123 · 27/02/2021 18:48

Bought a house with an old back boiler that's not safe to use so overhauling the central heating system with a new combi boiler, pipework and radiators, with all floors coming up to achieve this. However, a few people have now mentioned underfloor heating to me, which does sound great, but I have no idea where to start. Is it a lot more complex to install? How does the cost compare? Do you need a specialist? And can you have a mix of underfloor heating and radiators? Thanks!

OP posts:

TheLovleyChebbyMcGee · 27/02/2021 18:54

We have it in the bathroom, its amazing in there,but not so sure if its worth it elsewhere?

LittleOverwhelmed · 27/02/2021 18:55

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Janedownourlane · 27/02/2021 20:20

We had it throughout the downstairs and I'd never live in a house with it again. It took ages to heat up then ages to cool down so we ended up keeping it on the lowest setting all the time. It was always too warm and if you are menopausal then heat radiating up your body through your feet all the time is unpleasant!! I spent every evening with my feet up as I was getting hot flushes all the time!
You have to be careful with rugs as you can get hotspots. I was always scared that it would leak as that would have meant digging the whole flagged floor up to find it.
It would probably be ok in a bathroom? We didnt install ours so I dont know about costs. The pipework was called the manifold if I remember rightly and was an untidy mishmash of pipes.

LookItsMeAgain · 27/02/2021 20:28

I grew up in a house where we had UFH in the hall, kitchen, living and dining room and oh my god is it worth it. You can basically heat your room by setting it to use the night time electricity (which should be cheaper than day rate electricity) and you can walk around barefoot 12 months of the year. It's a luxury and something that if I had the opportunity to install it in my house I would. In a heartbeat!

Qc16 · 27/02/2021 20:38

We have electric underfloor heating in our en-suite and will have the same in the kitchen and the other bathrooms. We will also have radiators but it’s great having this as a back up especially if your boiler fails which it did in our last house.
We had trench heaters by the bifold doors in our last house which were great also - we did consider them again but had to draw the line somewhere!
@Janedownourlane we had an earlier version of electric underfloor heating about 25 years ago and we had exactly the same problem with it being too hot if standing for a while cooking but the newer version of electric underfloor heating is much better and easier to control.

applecatchers36 · 27/02/2021 20:40

Yes

chloechloe · 27/02/2021 20:58

We have UFH in the whole house (5 years old) and it’s amazing. The only radiator we have is a towel rack in the bathroom.

With UFH you just have it on at a lower temperature throughout the day - that is much more efficient than cranking it up and down at various times. I can’t say we have any issues with hotspots - it’s just a pleasant temperature all over - we have stone tiles and wooden floors.

I could never ever live without it (ok, slight exaggeration), but I do love it!

MiddlesexGirl · 27/02/2021 21:01

No. It never reacts quickly enough to changes in outside temperature.

Purplewithred · 27/02/2021 21:02

I built a house with wet ufh throughout. It was nearly worth staying married for.

Chewbecca · 27/02/2021 21:14

Electric ufh was a disaster in my kitchen area. Not very warm & very expensive to run. Then broke, mended it a couple of times, then broke and we don't know why without removing the whole floor which the kitchen cupboards are fixed on. Needless to say, we have given up. We now have oil filled rads, pending spending a lot of ££ on another solution.

MoreHairyThanScary · 27/02/2021 21:15

We have retro fitted it in our old lounge dinner and new kitchen ... I love it! The room heats as a whole no worries about blocking the radiator etc .

I would get it fitted again in a heartbeat!

MoreHairyThanScary · 27/02/2021 21:15

Ours is a wet system ( we had to dig the floor up)

HeyMicky · 27/02/2021 21:19

We have it in the en-suite and in the kitchen.

We have it set so that if it falls below X degrees, it heats up to Y degrees. Just takes the edge off in winter but not running all the time and not roasting hot

hollygoflightly · 27/02/2021 22:42

We have a wet system in our kitchen and I love it so much. Everytime I walk in there with no slippers on and feel the warm tiles under my feet it fills my heart with joy.

inmylifeIlovedthemall · 27/02/2021 23:11

I love my wet system downstairs. It is economical to run and the rooms always feel warm and cosy. I have laminate in the kitchen / utility and carpet elsewhere.

However, I loathe the electric pads in the bathrooms. It costs a fortune to run them and the floor is never the right temperature.

nimbuscloud · 27/02/2021 23:15

Yes. It’s fantastic, if done properly. It’s brilliant having no radiators.

Netaporter · 28/02/2021 07:13

I live in a period property. We have overfloor underfloor heating. This is designed to be laid over floorboards and is a wet system connected to an oil boiler. I have it everywhere and installed as part of a total renovation. the cost difference to heat a large house using this system is significantly lower than rads. House is also a constant temp. UFH also allows furniture placement to be easier. We used wundafloor. Wasn’t cheap but I’d say the savings we made in heating oil equals the cost since installation 7 years ago.

Sunflowergirl1 · 28/02/2021 07:24

We have done exactly what you are thinking of @Sorbustree123. The advantages of the underfloor heating which is connected to the boiler like the rest of the heating systems is:

Gentle heat that is really comfortable
Floor nice and warm
No radiators in the wall so less dust collection, no painting of them and walls with clean lines
Independent control of the extended bit which for us is kitchen and living area so if at home I often leave the heating off in the rest of the house
Apparently it is 20% cheaper to run than conventional central heating.

Downsides....yes you need the timer on and off at different times. So for example our UFH comes on at 3-4 am depending on season and switches off at 6pm as stays warm in the area u til well after we have gone to bed.
Yes is more expensive to install than rads. Can't remember how much but helped as we were having new floors as part of the work
Yes longer to heat up depending on time of year although suppose if you had on radiator installed it would speed up heat up times a d then switch off....isn't an issue for us.

I'm not sure how effective it would be if the rooms did not have the high levels of insulation they do...having said that we have 4.5 metre sliding doors and loads of Velux windows .

Overall...would I have again..definitely. Just not having all the radiators is great and meant more flexibility of kitchen layout

Coolandclamy · 28/02/2021 07:27

What was the increase in floor height? Apparently the height of the floor will increase if you install underfloor heating. Is the difference noticeable when you move from a room that has it to one that doesn’t?

weasle · 28/02/2021 07:28

Electric UFH is expensive to run but good for small areas. Wet is better I think. We are having in our new kitchen so no experience yet but everyone I know with it says it's wonderful.
If you are having a new system have you thought about a heat exchange pump instead of boiler? Much greener and I think cheaper to run. There may be some grants to get money off too.

Sunflowergirl1 · 28/02/2021 07:34

@Coolandclamy
"What was the increase in floor height? Apparently the height of the floor will increase if you install underfloor heating. Is the difference noticeable when you move from a room that has it to one that doesn’t?"

There is no increase in height. The new building floors are totally level with the old and some flooring like laminate crosses old and new

mommybear1 · 28/02/2021 07:40

We have wet UFH in our kitchen/hall/utility and wet room. I was skeptical as I've always had radiators and it's taken me three years to get used to it tbh. I find it slow to heat up and if it gets too hot it takes an age to cool down but it is very economical and it's nice to have warm tiles to walk on. We have radiators in the other downstairs rooms. Once you get used to it, it is worth it I just worry now if something goes wrong ......,,,

QuitMoaning · 28/02/2021 07:42

@Sunflowergirl1

You missed another downside

fixing faults might mean digging up the flooring which could damage it.

It is for this reason we didn’t install it when we renovated about 2 years ago. I don’t regret this.
I don’t think you can have it under carpet which some people like (my downstairs is all wood or tile) and I think you have to have traditional upstairs so you would need two heating systems if that is the case.

nearlynermal · 28/02/2021 07:45

One of my favourite things about UFH was being able to get rid of the radiators, and the better use of space that entails. And generally, yes, love it.

Sunflowergirl1 · 28/02/2021 07:46

@QuitMoaning
"- fixing faults might mean digging up the flooring which could damage it. "

Yes you are correct. However the pipes are all thick plastic with no joins in at all and they are pressure tested to 4 times the maximum pressure they could experience before any screed is poured to create the floor. I know as I asked the same question you did. Leakes on central heating pipes virtually always happen at joints apparently

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