Under Floor Heating

Saves You On Energy Costs And Keeps Your Home Warm

Under floor heating (UFH) involves installing a heating system of either hot water piping or electrical wiring in the home that causes heat to rise up from the floor instead of being forced into rooms from wall radiators and then rising up to dissipate through higher windows and the ceiling. There are definite advantages to having an under floor heating and cooling system in the home, not the least of which is total savings on energy costs.

You see, under floor heating systems give off ambient or radiant heat. Furthermore, this heat first comes into contact with the feet and so passes up through the head and eventually rises up out of the house.

Since it started in the floor, the heat has farther to go before it eventually dissipates, meaning that it reaches much more of a room before expiring. As far as the importance of foot-first contact, the fact of the matter is that it’s our feet that act as our bodies’ thermostats. If our feet are cold, we are uncomfortable.

Traditional heating systems in houses cause the head to be heated, but not the feet. In order to make up for this, the heat must be turned up to flood the room with so much heat that more air molecules get heated up and eventually provide a little warmth to the feet.

Even with that technique, you may very likely find yourself needing to wear thick wool socks in colder months inside your house. Clearly, this way you don’t get the fullest possible comfort. Also, you drive up your heating bill even though you’re not getting the fullest possible benefit from your heating system.

UFH could allow you to go around in light socks or even barefoot in the bleak mid-Winter in the comfort of your home. This means, besides added comfort, more heat for your body as you are not feeling as cold as you otherwise would and thus you don’t need to turn the thermostat up so high.

The central heater also doesn’t have to come on as often. What this means for you is greater comfort, greater efficiency…at less cost.

There is even an aesthetic aspect to radiant under floor heating. With one in place in your home, you don’t have to worry about where you place your furniture or other decor. There are no unsightly (and typically filthy) heating vents that you need to worry about not blocking off. You home looks more beautiful and your furnishings go exactly where you want them to go, not where you think you “need to” place them.

The predominantly radiant heat produced by underfloor heating systems does away with the need for the recirculation of air that traditional vented systems give you. This means that your home’s interior is cleaner, for dust particles and microorganisms and other allergens and cloggers of good air are minimized. You can breathe easier, thus being less susceptible to sickness and allergies.

Saving you on energy bills with a lower under floor heating cost

We’ve mentioned that you can keep the thermostat set a little lower with UFH and thus save on energy bills. By how much? On average, by four to six degrees (F). So, if you need to keep your thermostat on 72 in the winter for comfort now, with an underfloor heating system you would just keep your thermostat at 66 to 68.

You probably know already that that adds up to substantial annual savings on fuel or electricity. And if you use a water piping based UFH system, you can typically keep your central water heater’s temperature setting at up to 20 degrees (F) lower than is typical. It’s not hard to imagine the wear and tear on your water heater that this saves as well as the money it saves on your bills.

The underflow temperature of the space beneath your floor with a UFH system will be 95 to 140 degrees. This means that a UFH system is a perfect companion to other thermal heat sources that you may be using such as solar heating. So you can see that under floor heating systems are economical and ecological.

Modern buildings use radiant floor heating where the pipes, floor heating cables or floor heating mats, such as the Suntouch mats, are embedded into the floor screed. But in older buildings, steps have to be taken to ensure that the heat is able to escape the excellent insulator that wood is. If your floors aren’t wooden, there are yet other considerations. But any kind of floor can be fitted with underfloor systems due to the under floor heating efficiency.

Under floor heating systems beautify your home, save you money on heating bills, and keep your home cleaner on the inside. What more could you ask for?

Under Floor Heating Articles

Installing Under Floor Heating - Installing under floor heating in your home produces radiant heat. Why would you want to take the time and trouble to install this? Read this article to find out.

Electric Under Floor Heating - So why the need for an electric under floor heating? We all want to have a home that is warm in the winter. There are many different kinds of heating systems for your home, all with advantages as well as drawbacks. Having a furnace heater, even when they are brand new, have problems

In Floor Heating Benefits - Why the need for in floor heating? With the rising cost in fuel more and more people are looking at ways to cut their bills and help the environment.