What is it?
Under-floor heating has become a very popular with self-builders over the past few years mostly because it can be very cost effectively install in new builds as floors and walls don't have to be uprooted.
It is an efficient home heating system, which can be used as the main source of heat or combined with another heating system. It is most commonly installed in kitchens and bathrooms where tiled floors are common, but can be used to heat the whole house. It can operate with heat pumps, a condensing boiler or from an electrical source.
There are three types of under-floor heating:
- Hydronic or wet (heated water is circulated through piping embedded in the floor);
- Air or dry (heated air is circulated through under-floor ducting) and;
- Electric (heating elements are laid under, or in, the floor)
The main advantages of an under-floor system is the even spread of heat through all of the floor, with no cold spots, and there is no loss of space to radiators as everything is beneath the floor and removed from sight.
How does it work?
Wet System
The wet system operates using a system of continuous pipe loops embedded in the floor, through which water continuously circulates. The pipes contain no joints to ensure that no leaks occur, and temperatures settle at an average of 27...
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