What is Underfloor heating?

[webmaster]

Without a doubt this has been the most emotive and most frequently discussed subject on the SelfBuild group, and also the area where the SelfBuilder can save a large amount of money, as this is usually one of the major tasks they undertake themselves.

With Underfloor Heating (UFH) it is possible to completely do away with radiators, this can have considerable benefits with useable space in a room - radiators often forcing the furniture position. The general accepted best UFH systems are those that have a pipe-in-screed system, here the pipe is laid on top of insulation, and then a sand & cement screed is laid on over the pipes, typically a minimum of 65mm thickness.
Or thinner if using reinforced screed.

The reasoning behind this design is to use the complete floor area as a radiator; it also has considerable thermal mass which helps even out temperature fluctuations. The whole floor is run at a low temperature, which is claimed to have even warmth, which avoids the hot spots near conventional radiators. This is also alleged to cut down on draughts due to the reduced hot air thermals rising in the room from a hot surface.

When we move to the upstairs then the situation becomes more contested - some systems use UFH pipes on both floors, the only rads being heated [url=http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/14-0000]towel rails[/url] in the bathroom (typically run off Hot water circuit). Whereas a minority of companies advise their system is best used with normal radiators on the first floor.

From a practical perspective if you are installing UFH, it would seem logical to install it on both floors, thus avoiding the need of a plumber if you are own-handing, but as a SelfBuilder the choice is yours.
The following is a link to picture of UFH installed on 1st floor deck.

http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/UK_Selfbuild/files/Rick%27s selfBuild/UFH pipes.JPG

The author has installed UFH on both floors and while this was not rocket science, please do not underestimate the time it will take – it is not hard, but it takes an incredible amount of time.
However I consider my time ‘free’ and therefore this is a possible big cost saving to own-hander Selfbuilder.


Regards, Webmaster
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Regards, Webmaster