There are both pros and cons to underfloor heating. The installation is more expensive than with a radiator system, and the response is slow.
But the heating system ensures that there is a high level of comfort and that heating costs are low. We’ve looked at the pros and cons of underfloor heating and will give you a full rundown in the following sections.
Hydronic heating: The function is briefly explained
When thinking about the pros and cons of underfloor heating, it is important to understand how the technology is put together and how it works.
Heating systems that connect to central heating are mostly made up of pipes that carry water through the floor of a room.
When the panel heating is on, a heating pump moves water through the pipes that has been heated by the boiler. These heat the floor first and then the room that goes with it.
A high proportion of radiation from surface heating
In contrast to traditional radiators, underfloor heating heats a room by radiating heat from the floor.
The thermal radiation, like the sun, goes straight from the warm floors to solid bodies and gives them a high level of thermal comfort.
The inertia of underfloor heating is a disadvantage
But because of how the panel heating systems are built, it always takes a while for the heat to reach the room.
Experts talk about how slow underfloor heating is at warming up the heating. A problem that regular radiators don’t have.
But solid floor structures are good because they can store things. So, even after the boiler has been turned off, the heating surfaces will still give off heat.
Solid underfloor heating systems are especially slow because the heating pipes are under the screed.
Thin-bed underfloor heating doesn’t have this issue because the heating cables are just below the surface in most systems used during renovations.
Underfloor heating: an overview of the disadvantages
There are several problems with how and why underfloor heating works. Aside from what has already been said about how the heating system works, the biggest problem is the high cost of installing the complicated technology, which can cause mistakes in installing underfloor heating.
This works perfectly well in a new building, but the old building’s top floors must be torn down first. Thin-bed underfloor heating, on the other hand, can make up for this disadvantage. This can be put down on the screed as well. The building heights are lower, and it takes much less time to put them together.
Another downside is that it’s hard to fix or replace underfloor heating because experts have to rip out the floor in whole or parts.
Older plastic pipes don’t keep oxygen out, either. That means that air can get into the heating system through the pipes, which can cause metal parts to rust. Experts think that the leaky connections on pipes or fittings are to blame for the higher air intake.
This system can be fixed by using a heat exchanger and a separate pump to separate the underfloor heating circuits from the rest of the system.
The following overview shows the most important disadvantages of underfloor heating:
- High costs to buy and put together
- Setup that’s hard (especially in old buildings)
- Surface heating takes some time to work.
- With old plastic pipes, oxygen can get in.
- Surface heating can only do so much and is not always enough.
- The installation heights need to be considered when putting in underfloor heating after the fact.
- Carpet and other floor coverings that keep heat in are less good.
- No longer can laundry be hung out to dry.
The following overview shows the most important underfloor heating advantages:
In addition to the problems already mentioned, there are also many good things about underfloor heating. The heating system ensures that the rooms are comfortable because it sends out warm heat pleasantly.
And even when the air temperature is lower, this means that heating costs will be lower. Another benefit of underfloor heating is that, because the heating surfaces are so big, the flow temperature of the heating out of the system is low.
This makes condensing and environmental heating systems work better and saves money on heating costs. Underfloor heating has more advantages than disadvantages in terms of interior design because it keeps the heat hidden and lets people set it up however they want.
- Another benefit is that there is a lot of radiation, so the underfloor heating doesn’t stir up much dust.
- High heat comfort through pleasant heat radiation and low dust turbulence is especially good for people with allergies.
- Flow temperatures don’t have to be very high on large heating surface
- The efficiency of condensing and environmental heating systems is improved by lower heating costs at the same level of comfort.
- The installation is hidden, which gives you a lot of design freedom when setting up.
- Tiles, carpet, laminate, vinyl, cork, and parquet wood floor is possibly on underfloor heating
- There are heating systems on the market that were made especially for old buildings.
Areas of application: When does the heating fit?
There are pros and cons to underfloor heating. If you add them all up, you’ll find that the modern heating system can be used in many different ways. Almost all new and old buildings can use surface heating.
However, it is crucial to understand that the minimal work that can be done in old buildings that have not been renovated is not necessarily sufficient. On really cold days, radiators that give off more heat are a solution.
Conclusion
Underfloor heating has pros and cons, just like any other heating system. For example, the installation costs and amount of work are not good.
Surface heating systems don’t work for every home and are usually slow. On the other hand, it’s good to have more comfort in life.
Underfloor heating is good for low-flow temperatures because it heats a room without bringing in much dust from the heat. So, it makes sure that condensing and environmental heating systems work well.