Electric underfloor heating

[Pecker]

Hi all (again!)
As swmbo makes the final decisions on the new kitchen, she has now decided she wants to do away with the night storage heater in there and have underfloor leccy heating (the electric mat type that goes under tiles).

The floor is concrete, so no prob there.

has anyone got this? whats it like? is it expensive to run? (no I don't beleive the blurb they put out!)
Does it make the room feel warm or is it just background heat?

as usual, any comments much appreciated

Kind regards
Woody

 

[tiler99]

I do this quite a lot in my trade and while it does heat the floor, it wont add anything IMHO to the room temp.
Check www.warmup.com they have info and videos. Its pretty honest again IMHO

 

[tim]

It does depend on the quality of the insulation underneath and the rating of the mat. You need 200 w per sq m for room heating (as opposed to tile warming). We have a stone lean to porch/ scullery at one end of the house which is exposed and has no other form of heating. In the winter its often the warmest room in the house and it warms up within a very short period of time 30 mins or so.

As to expense in running, I didn't notice any significant increase in bills. Compare that with the mats I put under the kitchen floor tiles 8 years ago without insulating boards underneath - ended up being on all the time and never really got warm. Got turned off 7 3/4 years ago never to be turned on again!

IIRC both were warmup mats.

Cheers

Tim

 

[davy_owen_88]

If you don't have insulation under the heating mats you might as well heat the kitchen by burning cash... Concrete will absorb most of the heat given off so it will take a considerable amount of time before any warmth is felt. You want to stop the heat going down, and sideways (to the walls) if you want the UFH to be anything but a money waster.

 

[Pecker]

Due to a fairly low ceiling level, I was going to try and use 10mm underlay, but perhaps I should use 20mm?

Some companies are syaing that 150w is as good as 200w on ufh, anf indeed they are much cheaper so i was going to go down that route, but...

umm, I can see thi snot being a good idea, trouble is we desperatly want the space backf from the e7 storage heater. (cant have gas).

woody

 

[DarrenW]

Hi,

I put this into my bathroom a couple of years ago. First.... it does not heat the room from my experience..... I also have a radiator in there.

Our bathroom is down stairs, on a concrete slab, and wanted to have a tiled floor. Having walked across the unheated kitchen tiled floor in bare feet it definately needs heating for it not to feel uncomfortable, especially in winter. So thats all we use it for. Set the temperature to foot temp, and its is like walking on carpet from a warmth point of view.

Cost wise, didn't notice it myself. Ours is only a 2msq mat and so consumes about 300W at full power. Its on a thermostat so doesn't use anything like as much as that. I would say equivalent to a 40-60W bulb on all day, ish. We also turn it right down in summer, a cold floor in the summer can be nice and cooling on a hot day.

As for the underlay we used 'aquapanel' tile backing board, its 10mm thick and has an insulation layer built in. Does the job a treat. You can pick it up from B&Q... well you could in our store.... was near all the loft and polystyrene insulation.

A friend of ours didn't put the insulation under a small section in their house. That section is always cold, even when the rest is nice and warm.

In my view its worth having the heating just to take the 'edge' off the floor, but as a sole heat source forget it.

Cheers

Darren

 

[andrewm]

umm, I can see thi snot being a good idea, trouble is we desperatly want the space backf from the e7 storage heater. (cant have gas).

woody

Have you looked at some of the under plinth electric fan heaters? While probably not a 'trendy' as UFH they would at least give you back the space from the storage heater.

Andrew

 

[DarrenW]

We also have one of these radiators in the bathroom (in white), its tall(1.8m) and slim(W=28cm Depth=14cm) so doesn't take up too much space. Also kicks out a good amount of heat. Not cheap.... but looks good

Darren

 

[tim]

but as a sole heat source forget it.

Simply not true - the 200w mat works brilliantly in our scullery - but you must using insulating boards. If you want the space back from the storage heaters then I would say its probably the best way to go but don't go for the lower wattage mat. They aren't designed to do anything other than warm the floor.

Plinth heaters are also a possiblity as suggested but they do blow dust about and personally don't like blown hot air as a heat source.

Cheers

Tim

 

[Pecker]

I dont want hot air heaters due to running costs, since they would have to be main source of heat, thanks.

will look more into 200w mats, cheers

woody

 

[RogerS]

I dont want hot air heaters due to running costs, since they would have to be main source of heat, thanks.

will look more into 200w mats, cheers

woody

Don't quite follow your logic, Woody. If it needs x kW per hour to heat your kitchen then surely the cost will be the same whether it's supplied via a plinth fan heater or by UFH?

 

[jasonB]

I've put this in a lot of bathrooms but always just to take the chill off the tiles as there is always a towel rail and / or radiator in the room.

Do have one client who had her large kitchen/breakfast room and hallway done with slate with the UFH by someone else as the only heat source, It cost so much to run she does not use it and has put radiators back, and she certainly is not short of a bob or two.

At the moment I mostly use the Devi Mat as its sticky all over so easier to lay than the warmup, have also used the ribbon type but they don't lay very flat which makes tiling a pain.

Jason

 

[Mike Saville]

Hi, I've used Warmup and thin plastic matt (can't remember the supplier) and would concur with the views above that whilst good for taking chill off the floor they do not provide sufficient heat to warm any reasonable sized room.

If you want nice warm tiles underfoot in the bathroom/kitchen then go for it - but expect to add another heat source as well to heat the room.

 

[Pecker]

umm, time for thought here guys. many thanks for all your input.
Swmbo will read this in two minutes....

(goodbye all, was nice knowing you :lol: )

woody