Blog / electric underfloor heating

The cost of underfloor heating depends on the size of the installation and the individual conditions in your home. The cost of installing underfloor heating in your home depends on your answers to several questions. Do you have the necessary skills to install the system yourself, or will you require professional installation? How big is the area where the heating system will be installed? What type of system will be installed? Wet underfloor heating systems, in which hot water produced by your boiler is pumped through pipes laid beneath the floor, are often more expensive to install than dry underfloor heating systems, in which electric wires supply the heat. However, wet systems are more efficient and therefore have lower running costs.

Underfloor heating can be fitted underneath carpeted floors, but there are some factors that you need to take into consideration to work out whether underfloor heating is a good choice if you have carpet. If your carpet is too thick and insulating, you won’t feel the benefit of the underfloor heating because the heat will not be able to penetrate through into the room. Instead, the heat will be trapped beneath the carpet where it could cause overheating.

Underfloor heating could hardly be described as a new concept when the original concept can be traced back to the Neolithic period. The inhabitants dug trenches under their floors and used the smoke to heat the floor stones, a method that is unlikely to get past today’s building regulations. This original idea however has evolved into the two main systems used in present times, which use fluid filled pipes or electrical cables and mats.

When analysing the cost of underfloor heating you really need to break it down into two areas: Installation Running Costs   Installation Costs The installation costs are dependent on many factors, including: Labour / Geo location of the project Project type - New build, Renovation, Home improvement Floor type - i.e., solid or timber Size of project - Square metre of the rooms / number of rooms Physical cost of the goods - i.e., electric mats or wet underfloor heating system