Electric
Underfloor Heating for bathrooms
 Underfloor heating is a great way to warm up bathrooms. Underfloor heating is simple to install, reduces condensation, saves space, provides heat across the floor and feels lovely and cosy under bare feet. Undefloor heating can be used under tiles, laminate floors or carpets and requires no major works.
Underfloor heating in bathrooms provides the benefit from the practicality and style
of ceramic or stone flooring coupled with
the luxury of underfloor heating in any room
of the house thanks to Warmup Underfloor Heating.
Used either as primary heating or simply to
keep the chill off, Warmup underfloor heating unobtrusive,
inexpensive and easy to install. Warmup underfloor heating can
be installed in hours without the need for
specialist tools or skills. Underfloor
Heating Installation >>
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The Underfloor Heating Concept
What are the advantages of underfloor heating?
Underfloor heating uses radiant heat to gently
heat the room from bottom up. Traditional
systems heat from the top down and have
a tendency to over-heat your head, leading to
stuffiness. Underfloor heating gets round this
problem. Using Warmup Undertile Heating
has two main advantages:
1) Vertical Heat Stratification:
Warm feet & cool head, in line with our
body's requirement. Traditional heating systems heat
from the top down. The heat is concentrated
into relatively small areas (e.g. a radiator)
and the heaters heat the air next to them.
The air then rises up the wall, along the ceiling
into the centre of the room. When it reaches
the centre of the room, it cools slightly, and
then descends towards the floor.
The result is a warm head and cool feet. To get warmer feet, you may need to overheat the head; as the feet naturally act our 'thermostat' warm feet generally means we feel comfortable.
Undefloor heating ensures the whole floor area is heated resulting in
the opposite vertical heat stratification -
warm feet and a cool head. The vertical
heat stratification generated by underfloor
heating suits our body's natural requirements.
We tend to emit a high proportion of our body's
heat through our head, so it is warm anyway.
On the other hand, our feet are at the extremities
of our body, so need a bit more heat.
2) Radiant Heat:
Underfloor heating is the most comfortable form of heating. as it spreads heat over the entire floor area
resulting in about half the heat being emitted
as low temperature radiant heat. This
gentle source of warmth reduces the heat loss
from our bodies without overheating the surrounding
air.
Radiant heat is considered the most comfortable
form of heat. It gently and evenly warms
us in the same way as the sun; it mimics that
the type of warmth we associate with a perfect
summer's day. Warm, but not stuffy.
Is underfloor heating efficient?
There is a lot of confusion as to the extent
of the energy saving abilities of underfloor heating (also called
radiant floor). Results from various studies
put the energy consumption of runderfloor heating
anywhere between 52% less and 10% more than
conventional systems. The confusion is
caused by the extent of the reduction in ambient
air temperature.
With radiant systems, approximately half the
energy is emitted into the room as low temperature
radiant heat. This process is very efficient
as it provides a lower ambient air temperature
allowing you to feel warmer at a lower temperature
because the radiant heat is lowering the heat
loss from your body. However, you will
not fully benefit from this energy saving if
you overheat the room to maintain the ambient
air temperature you are used to with conventional
systems.
Underfloor heating energy savings vary depending on the insulation,
usage patterns and personal requirements of
the occupants. Other factors to bear in
mind include the cost of the power source.
In the UK, electricity is more expensive per
unit of power than mains gas.
That said, the conversion of gas to heat is
far less efficient than electricity due to heat
through the venting of the boiler.
Electric heat tends to be controlled on a room-by-room
basis (rather than one central thermostat for
central heating). The difference in running
costs between gas fired central heating and
underfloor heating systems will vary according to the thermal
characteristics of your individual house, the
age and efficiency of your boiler and radiators,
your usage pattern, the control systems implemented
and your particular gas and electricity tariff.
Underfloor heating has many variables which make it impossible to provide
a reliable rule of thumb. However, the
difference in cost price between gas and electricity
will probably eliminate the 10-15% energy saving
you will get by switching from a conventional
system to a radiant system, and may lead to
marginally higher costs.
As a general principle, Warmup underfloor heating providers a 10-15% energy
saving should be possible when compared to conventional
electric systems |