# Pros and Cons underfloor heating?



## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

Underfloor heating sounds great. Any experiences or thoughts?


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Ages to heat up. Can't switch it off once it's on.

I'd like to have it though.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

What happens if something goes wrong with it? Do you have to dig up the floor to fix it?


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## Gran Erry-Bredd (Nov 1, 2016)

What sound does it make?


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Lynn R said:


> What happens if something goes wrong with it? Do you have to dig up the floor to fix it?


Hi,
We have it in our UK house.
It's really great - but there are a few limitations.
Firstly - it took us a while to sort out the settings - as you need to heat up the floor above the sunken pipes.
We set it to come on two hours before we wake up or are coming home from work - so that floor is warm when you need it.
It works great with ceramic floors, OK with wood laminate floors (with proper thin underlay) but is terrible on carpeted floors (they effectively insulate it and prevent you from feeling the heat!)
Pipes were installed when house was built. No joints under the floor - all joints are at manifolds in under stairs and airing cupboard.
Great with young kids - no radiators to get burnt on.
Great in bathrooms on cold mornings - lovely warm floor when you get out of the bath or shower!
Cheers
Steve


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Good quality slippers are a cheaper option then (given the above)


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Kikie said:


> Underfloor heating sounds great. Any experiences or thoughts?


Ghastly idea! Draws your feet terribly. Unless you are in a particularly cold part of Spain, largely unnecessary. The fact that the large mass of concrete that you have to heat/cool down with changes of temperature/need means that the response is really sluggish so that the resource (gas/electric/oil/, etc) is wasted. Far more effective to use invertors so that you get aircon in summer and heating in winter with quite rapid response times.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Expensive to run, I've heard, with Sanish electricity bills being some of the highest in Europe.

Also a devil of a job if repairs are needed.


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## Townfanjon (Jan 2, 2016)

As an English heating engineer, I can only say UFH is without a doubt the best way of heating a home , thats with gas or a heatpump , 
Kikee doesnt say if its electric i.e wired mats etc. or "wet" UFH , the electric mat type is a no go .

I have no idea what areas of Spain have mains gas , without it, its a heat pump that is needed and then you are back to the electric . 

The most important thing to address is insulation , whatever is providing the heat source without adequate insulation is never going to be cost effective.


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

Hmm. I'm beginning to think it might not be the best option for us in Spain. I hadn't realised it is laid under concrete, I thought it was under the tiling or wooden floors. Plus insulation is not exactly a big thing here, with earthquake regulations meaning damp courses aren't allowed.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I know people who have it here in Cyprus and don't use it anymore because they say it takes a long time to warm up the house initially so if you get a sudden cold snap you can be days before you feel the benefit.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Kikie said:


> Hmm. I'm beginning to think it might not be the best option for us in Spain. I hadn't realised it is laid under concrete, I thought it was under the tiling or wooden floors. Plus insulation is not exactly a big thing here, with earthquake regulations meaning damp courses aren't allowed.


Hi,
Just to be clear - there are two distinct underfloor heating systems available.
The first uses buried water pipes - that have hot water running through them. This water is at a much lower temperature than with conventional radiators - so is ideal when used with heat pumps.
This system is generally installed when the house is built - or at major renovation time.
Ours was installed when the house was built and we bought the house when it was 3 years old.
The second system uses electrically driven heat mats - a bit like an electric blanket for your floor! These are normally retrofitted at the same time as new flooring but can be very expensive to run - as they fully rely on electricity to heat up.
Cheers
Steve


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## Townfanjon (Jan 2, 2016)

The electric type mats are what you are thinking , definitely not a good idea , but they are ideal for a small room , a bathroom for example .


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## expat16 (Jun 11, 2016)

I have it here in the Netherlands. Takes a while to heat up, but days?? No way. It takes perhaps an hour to really feel it, but once it's warm it's great. Love the warm bathroom floor too. I make sure to keep the floor clear as much as possible but it's great when you are too lazy to hang laundry and don't have a dryer, just throw my laundry on the floor 

I have laminate flooring and you need a heat foil layer instead of regular one (that is, one with little resistance).


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