Once again we have the Romans to thank for todays home interior smash hit rising star - underfloor heating. With Roman hypocausts (a version of which is still installed in homes today - a type of centrally controlled hot air heating system). Underfloor heating today comes in several guises and costs associated with that. Ranging from huge copper (or plastic) piping which snakes around a home under the floor, normally laid under the solid-screed flooring, to more cost effective quicker to install underfloor electric heating, commonly sheets of thin electrical mats which are rolled out onto the floor before being covered in the final material.
There are variations and considerable differences in cost between underfloor heating types, ongoing energy costs should also be considered when sourcing underfloor heating suppliers, particularly in todays ever demanding green interiors environment. Electric under floor heating systems will need to be mains connected with a thermostat - one thermostat might not suit all rooms, ambient differences in temperature and insulation will partially dictate the floor heating requirements of any room and electric can of course be expensive. On the other end of the scale we have underfloor heating with higher upfront costs with hundreds of meters of piping to be laid, which is commonly connected to a hot water system, providing potentially far lower ongoing costs.
On the whole, underfloor heating can also meet the demands of either ambient room temperature control, in other words, supplement the regular heating system and create warm toes, but not a warm body! Or in high end heating systems can replace the need for any other form of heating which would be very nice indeed.
Many elements are worth considering when choosing an underfloor heating supplier, such as lifespan required (10 years guarantee can appear long, however do you want to rip out your floors every 10 years!), materials used can have an impact, the time you hope to stay in your property will also be a deciding factor for your choices in underfloor heating. Remember when choosing a floor heating supplier to check that they are Part P for electrical or Corgi regsitered for gas work.
Take a look through our directory of suppliers, do as much research as possible, and choose your floor heating system carefully using an appropriate budget where possible.