Underfloor heating: How does it work??

[ampere]

Am seeing loads of people suggesting one puts down underfloor heating when replacing say a bathroom floor. It looks like silver tiles in the DIY shop!

How does it work? How does one physically 'plug it in'? Assuming it's electric! Does it have a thermostat? A timer?

I know nothing- educate me please!

It is basically wires under the floor. Comes either in 'loose' form or as a mat. Wires in, not plugged in and you usually get a thermostat/timer.
We have got in hall/downstairs loo/kitchen and I love it.

Do you have any other heating in the rooms with it or is it enough on its own?

Also is it expensive to run?

We do but only because those radiators were there before - we keep them turned right down!
Not sure on cost but they will give you the wattage of your floor so you can work out how much it costs per hour. Ours is slightly more than before but worth it

We have it in the kitchen/utility room, I adore it and frankly don;t give a toss about the extra cost (its not a huge cost more) but well worth it for warm tooties. Also I pop a rack in there with clothes on and they are dry in a couple of hours hence saving on tumble dryer bills Thats my defence and I'm sticking to it !!!!

It depends on the type you have - it can also be hot water based in which case it's cheaper than radiators to run. Needs to be laid as part of a concrete screed though, so only possible if doing major building work, not just a room renovation.

When we had electric underfloor heating we did find it very expensive to run, even though it was only over a small area.