Underfloor heating in properties, especially in new builds and new developments is an increasing trend. The luxurious feeling of your toes warming up from the floor sounds appealing but maybe perceived too costly to consider for a ‘normal consumer’ on a small budget. We looked deeper into the benefits of underfloor heating; what makes it more appealing than conventional radiator heating systems and if it is worth of investing in?

We asked people who have installed underfloor heating in their property to give their arguments on why underfloor heating should be something to consider when renovating or building a new home. The most common answer was also the most obvious: Underfloor heating feels cosier and warmer than radiators in the middle of winter. Let’s look at other aspects that were mentioned to demonstrate why installing underfloor heating is worth considering for anyone looking to improve their home. Is underfloor heating at home more of a desirable than an essential?

1. Fast heat-up time

There are two types of underfloor heating systems; warm water systems (known as hydronic or wet) that heat the floor with hot water pumped through pipes, or electrical underfloor heating where wires are installed beneath the floor to heat the floor up. Both systems provide comfortable radiant heat from the floor for a lifetime. Water based systems take more time to reach the desired temperature, but cost less to run than electric underfloor heating systems. The latter gets to the desired temperature in under 20 minutes. Conventional radiators are far less efficient because they heat the air around them initially, leaving any space away from the radiator cold, whereas underfloor heating heats the floor evenly across the whole room through radiant heat, heating objects rather than air. Finally underfloor heating heats the entire room far quicker than radiators.

2. Decorating heaven

Radiators take up wall space. Even the slimmest and most efficient radiators still take up some space on the wall, and guards are fitted too, you’re looking at a solution that essentially makes the rooms slightly smaller. You don’t want this. Instead, and as a clear alternative, underfloor heating throughout the room means that you are able to claim that space back. No longer will the radiators eat up the inches; on the contrary, there will be more room to enjoy every inch of your space. Next time you are looking look at walls thinking how to give them an entirely new look, think about the possibility of underfloor heating. With the radiators gone, there is a complete freedom to make those walls shine, take the opportunity to introduce bold colours and finally get that ‘feature’ wall you or your customer always wanted. It’s possible with underfloor heating.

3. Style

Style is one of the most important factor in defining how homely a living space feels to a person.  Home is a place people spend years making their own. Style will not suffer if underfloor heating is brought in. Whether it’s tile, laminate, carpet or wood, underfloor heating seamlessly integrates, heating the floor to the perfect temperature. The large range of different underfloor heating systems available allows everyone to choose the floor finish of their dreams combining it with the most suitable floor heater underneath.

4. Clean and clear

Underfloor heating does a great job of ensuring that the air in your rooms is not stuffy. The air is not overheated, which can happen when you have conventional radiators fitted. Not overheating the air makes it clearer, therefore less stuffy. It’s a small feature in a way, but it adds to the overall impact. Furthermore, radiators tend to absorb dust and clutter, being an unwelcome inconvenience to a person suffering from allergies. Underfloor heating is a desired heater for people who suffer from many allergies and need an alternative heating system.

5. Child-friendly

When safety comes up, the concern with radiators are those metallic edges that can mean that the younger members of your household could find themselves at the wrong end of something sharp. Underfloor heating, for obvious reasons, doesn’t have this problem.

6. Quick and easy to install

Electric underfloor heaters are easy to install beneath the floor.  What’s more, for people with smaller budgets, underfloor heating can be laid down in the floor construction as a DIY project. Warmup provides a pressure sensitive, adhesive StickyMat solution with the electric wire already applied to it. Laying down an underfloor heating with sticky mat ensures a 35% faster installation speed compared to similar products. The ease and speed of installation results in significant cost reductions. Although electric underfloor heating is a great DIY project for an advanced DIY practitioner, it is still essential to have an electrician to test that the resistance in the wires is sound and everything works correctly.

7. Less costly

Radiators heat the air, pure and simple. This can often lead to the need to open a window to bring the air temperature down resulting in the wasting of energy and expensive energy bills. Underfloor heating simply heats the floor, which means that you can enjoy the same levels of warmth that a radiator brings, but without the air feeling hot and stuffy. Higher heating costs that come with conventional radiators are also due to their extremely high temperature, usually between 65-75°C. Underfloor heating on the contrary does not have to be heated any higher than 29°C, or, in some cases an even lower 27°C for delicate floor finishes, to warm you up. Therefore, underfloor heating does not use as much energy, bringing your heating bills down.

8. Heat, at it’s best

Underfloor heating warms a room in a rather unique way. You may be used to radiators heating the air but underfloor heating warms from the ground up. This is less wasteful, makes sure that one gets more for their money, and ensures an all-round more pleasurable heating experience. The reason; when a radiator heats up, the heat moves along the walls upwards. The thermal current of hot air cools as it rises and subsequently drops. This creates an air cycle, meaning that you can feel the hot temperature reflecting from the radiator when close to the radiator or on the other side of the room due to the air cycles created by thermal currents. However, in the middle or on other sides of the room, the temperature remains cool and you can physically feel cold spots. Underfloor heating on the contrary warms up evenly across the room leaving no cold spots.

9. No Maintenance

This may bring us to our last point. Harping on about the gentle warmth that the underfloor factor brings seems easy, but the best reason is without questions the long-term cost savings. Underfloor heating, when installed correctly, doesn’t need any maintenance for a lifetime. Once the heater has been laid down in the floor construction underneath the floor, it will be up and running for years to come. For people with long-term financial thinking, the investment pays itself back. The room is heated more effectively, and allows you to save money every year on your heating bills. Underfloor heating can spare you up to 15% on your heating bills.

So there you have it. Nine reasons why underfloor heating should really be your next choice when it comes to home improvements. To get a quote visit http://www.warmup.co.uk/get-a-quote/