Advice on fitting electric underfloor heating

jscott08

My flat has no central heating so i want to install electric underfloor heating. Ideally i would like 3 separate zones that could be controlled independently - bathroom (taking in to account where the shower will be), bedroom, and kitchen/ lounge (with the heating not going under the kitchen units). The picture attached shows the zones i would like. How easy would this be for me to fit under laminate flooring, and a small strip under tiles in the bathroom? I've fit laminate floors before with no issues and I would be getting an electrician to connect the heating up to the mains.

fezster

Aside from electric being very costly compared to gas, you just need to make sure you buy heating mats appropriate for the area you want to heat. You can buy mats upwards of 150W/m2 and there are online calculators for the various brands to establish which you will need. Each mat will have it's own thermostat/programmer.

In my experience, electric underfloor heating is good for taking the chill off of a tiled bathroom floor, but not very good for heating the room up. For that, I prefer a traditional radiator. Make sure you use good quality insulation boards underneath the mats to allow them to retain heat and warm up faster.

jscott08

The building is electric only, no central heating. I don't think there is a more efficient way of heating the place than electric underfloor.

Is there a way for all of the mats to be controlled from one panel?

jscott08

Anyone else have any advice here on how easy electric underfloor heating is to fit? Also, which mats would be best to buy or is there not much difference between brand?

fezster

Warmup, for example, allow multiple mats to be connected to one thermostat up to a 16 amp limit. Other manufacturers will be similar, you'll just need to ask them.

kev25v6

We got ours from screwfix for the bathroom floor, warms up pretty quickly and is nice and toasty. Got water ufh through the rest of the house and it keeps the house warm without needing radiators. Easily sits at 24 degrees.

Owain_Moneysaver

jscott08 wrote: »

The building is electric only, no central heating. I don't think there is a more efficient way of heating the place than electric underfloor.

Unless you have at least 2" of insulation below your heating mats you'll be sending about half the heat to the flat downstairs.

Also you will be paying peak rate electricity prices which are about 3x as much as off-peak using night storage heaters.

If the load is more than one thermostat can handle, or you want to use a central-heating style programmable thermostat / Nest etc, you control the heating mats through a contactor. Your electrician will advise.

jscott08

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Unless you have at least 2" of insulation below your heating mats you'll be sending about half the heat to the flat downstairs.

Also you will be paying peak rate electricity prices which are about 3x as much as off-peak using night storage heaters.

If the load is more than one thermostat can handle, or you want to use a central-heating style programmable thermostat / Nest etc, you control the heating mats through a contactor. Your electrician will advise.

I'm on the ground floor so no flat below. I have the floors up so can put whatever insulation needed underneath them. I was under the impression underfloor heating would be the most economic way of heating the flat given theres no gas? The flat is less than 400 sq ft, and i wanted separate zones to be programmable so i wouldnt need to have it all on at all times.

lstar337

jscott08 wrote: »

I'm on the ground floor so no flat below.

I assume your flat isn't floating off the ground though?

If you don't insulate below then the heat will just be absorbed into the ground.

IMHO, Electric underfloor heating is just about the worst (save for wet electric heating) form of heating possible for a dwelling.

jscott08 wrote: »

I was under the impression underfloor heating would be the most economic way of heating the flat given theres no gas?

Sorry but no. The most economical way to heat the space would be night storage heaters on an E7 tariff.

How is your water heated? If you are already on E7 then underfloor electric would take the number 1 spot for worst heating option IMHO.

jscott08 wrote: »

The flat is less than 400 sq ft, and i wanted separate zones to be programmable so i wouldnt need to have it all on at all times.

Then possibly programmable convector heaters would be better.

Also, zoning is almost completely pointless unless you keep doors between the spaces closed at all times, and operate your home like it has an airlock system between rooms. For such a small space you are probably better just heating all of it. Also, not heating certain areas can lead to damp issues.

jscott08

lstar337 wrote: »

I assume your flat isn't floating off the ground though?

If you don't insulate below then the heat will just be absorbed into the ground.

IMHO, Electric underfloor heating is just about the worst (save for wet electric heating) form of heating possible for a dwelling.

Sorry but no. The most economical way to heat the space would be night storage heaters on an E7 tariff.

How is your water heated? If you are already on E7 then underfloor electric would take the number 1 spot for worst heating option IMHO.

Then possibly programmable convector heaters would be better.

Also, zoning is almost completely pointless unless you keep doors between the spaces closed at all times, and operate your home like it has an airlock system between rooms. For such a small space you are probably better just heating all of it. Also, not heating certain areas can lead to damp issues.

The floor would be insulated, sorry that wasnt made clear. I have heard terrible things about storage heaters which puts me off putting them in. If i was going down that road i would probably just go with electric radiators. The flat is fairly well insulated and i will be getting the new double glazing in shortly which should mean it doesnt need a tremendous amount of heating. How would convection heaters be more economical than ufloor heating?

As for the hot water, previously it was an electric shower, with the kitchen sink having a small water heater (the bathroom sink had no hot water). That has all been removed now, with the plan being to install an unvented cylinder to supply the hot water to all taps.

lstar337

jscott08 wrote: »

The floor would be insulated, sorry that wasnt made clear. I have heard terrible things about storage heaters which puts me off putting them in.

Storage heaters get a bad rap because they are misunderstood. A lot of people don't understand how they work, and don't take the time. Luckily, improvements in design mean that modern storage heaters have more user friendly controls.

jscott08 wrote: »

If i was going down that road i would probably just go with electric radiators. The flat is fairly well insulated and i will be getting the new double glazing in shortly which should mean it doesnt need a tremendous amount of heating.

Well if your heating requirements are low, then convectors can be a good choice.

jscott08 wrote: »

How would convection heaters be more economical than ufloor heating?

Generally, convection heaters are much cheaper up-front than underfloor heating, and you don't have to worry so much about the floor insulation.

jscott08 wrote: »

As for the hot water, previously it was an electric shower, with the kitchen sink having a small water heater (the bathroom sink had no hot water).

I only asked because most all-electric properties have E7 hot water because it is easily the most economic way to do hot water in such properties. If you have E7 hot water then your heating should be E7 too, and that rules out a lot of heating options.

jscott08 wrote: »

That has all been removed now, with the plan being to install an unvented cylinder to supply the hot water to all taps.

Hmm... If you are using direct electric then that could be pretty costly, and if E7 then your heating will be costly.

It's obviously your place, your decision, and I can only offer advice, but it needs to be thought about. All E7 (heating/hot water) is pretty much always the cheapest to run, but can be a little costly to install. All direct electric can be suitable if you have low energy requirements, and it has the bonus of a (usually) low install costs. A mix of E7 and direct electric is usually the worst of all scenarios, with a high running cost and high install cost.