Electric underfloor heating is suspiciously cheap... why?

[jon-]

I'm just about to lay 13m/q of tiles in my dining room.

I thought I'd have a peek to see what underfloor heating could cost, and it doesn't seem that much.

http://www.ambient-elec.co.uk/shop/under-tile-cabl...

£271 in parts.

I'm guessing as the tiles are currently up, installation wouldn't be expensive.

What's the catch? Expensive to run? Gimmick? House is otherwise gas central heated

[red_slr]

I am going to guess its cheap as its wire rather than matting.

[Rich135]

I think people normally use matting rather than individual wires. I believe it can also be a bit more expensive to run, but has a lovely effect (gives off a really nice heat, just where you need it).

[essayer]

It's pretty simple stuff.
But, 17sqm will be 1.7kWh to run, or about 20p/hr - if you are using it as the only heat source and the floor is not insulated, it could get expensive!
IMO it works well for making the floor pleasant to walk on

[chrisga]

essayer said:

It's pretty simple stuff.
But, 17sqm will be 1.7kWh to run, or about 20p/hr - if you are using it as the only heat source and the floor is not insulated, it could get expensive!
IMO it works well for making the floor pleasant to walk on

But that's presuming it's on for the whole hour though isn't it? In reality, once up to temperature the thermostat in the room will turn the floor off and then just use it to top up the heat when needed, so while that may be the max power figure it's not using that continuously if the system is being utilised correctly. Obviously the better insulation you can get down between the subfloor and the heating element the better.

We did our whole house (3 bed semi) with electric underfloor as we can't get gas where we are and love it. Only difficult/annoying part of the installation (which we did ourselves) was chasing out the walls for the power cables to and from the thermostat. As others said it provides a nice heat and you don't necessarily notice the warmth as it's spread evenly throughout the room but we've never felt cold yet. Plus, it's really nice getting out of bed onto a warm floor in the morning!

[Andehh]

It's cheap and easy to install, but long term running costs can add up very quickly.

You will need more then 100w per metre for full room temperature control, I'm sure 100w is recommended to take the chill off a floor, not warm the room.

Running it for several hours a day to warm the room, can add up to a couple of quid a day, which over several months a year can make a huge difference to your bills.

Electric is great for bathrooms, but you need water for large rooms and radiator replacements.

[ThomasH01]

We have it in our bathrooms - takes the chill off the tiles but you'd have to have it running for hours to heat / warm the room. We have towel rails for that - stupidly did the electric ones rather than the ones that have the hot water piped through them. Lesson learnt!

[hairyben]

If you've no choice but electric then underfloor's the best bet, besides that it's nice in a bathroom or as a secondary heat in a kitchen to dry floors etc but like said it'll be costly to run as primary heat unless you're really well insulated.

Right arrogant b!tch we refurb'ed a 5 bed/3 story victorian house for in hampstead 7 or 8 years ago insisted on using it to heat the entire gaff and the builder told me she'd informed him "it cost 1p/hour to run". I pointed to the 3 phase/400v industrial type distribution board needed due to the 20kW heating load and told him to draw his own conclusions. He told me a year later she'd moved out and let the place as she couldn't afford to pay over £600/month in electricity to heat it. Oh how we laughed.

[Andehh]

Wife's brother bought a nice place for a £700k+ odd, previous owners had laid electric UFH throughout the open plan downstairs. They ran it for a couple of months, but found the costs eye watering and haven't used it since.

Luckilg previous owners left the rads, otherwise they'd be in a sticky( and expensive) situation!

[jon-]

Thanks guys, I'd definitely be leaving the gas central heating to warm the house, I just thought it would be a nice alternative, and help resale as natural slate is quite cold.

That said, the dining room rarely gets used to eat in, and it's more a transfer room between the kitchen and rest of the house, so although the added expense is minimal, a lot of the posts on here back up my thoughts of it being a gimmick rather than something that would actually get use.

I'll probably stick it in the bathroom when that gets re-done though

[Andehh]

I wouldnt class it as a gimmic, we installed wet systems in our bathroom & kitchen/snug area and they work well & feel fantastic. Added insulation helps and the downstairs didn't need radiators which gave us much more flexibility for the perfect kitchen.

In a dining room I would hesitate, depending on how often you use it, but for bathrooms & kitchens I do see it as being really really nice to have!

[TTmonkey]

Andehh said:

Wife's brother bought a nice place for a £700k+ odd, previous owners had laid electric UFH throughout the open plan downstairs. They ran it for a couple of months, but found the costs eye watering and haven't used it since.

Luckilg previous owners left the rads, otherwise they'd be in a sticky( and expensive) situation!

How many times can you make the same mistake? Your brother-in-law must be a bit daft.

[GT03ROB]

Andehh said:

I wouldnt class it as a gimmic, we installed wet systems in our bathroom & kitchen/snug area and they work well & feel fantastic. Added insulation helps and the downstairs didn't need radiators which gave us much more flexibility for the perfect kitchen.

In a dining room I would hesitate, depending on how often you use it, but for bathrooms & kitchens I do see it as being really really nice to have!

World of difference between wet & electric though in terms of running costs.

[andrewturner]

We've got electric underfloor heating in a few rooms in the house. When our baby came along and we used it all year round, that year the electricity bill went up 50%. I paid to have a radiator plumbed in shortly after in the conservatory!

[brman]

Galvin72 said:

I have a garden room with this low energy infrared underfloor heating from Astec - the room is 25 sqm and is using just 800 watts to heat the room. It is new on the market but as a comparison old underfloor electric heating would be using approx 3400 watts to heat the room. Highly recommended tAstectherm




It's like being warmed by the sun. If asked they may do a bit of discount.

I am really curious how a heating system that is under the floor can radiate IR through the floor, other than by heating the floor up and letting the floor radiate it like any normal underfloor heating. The website also appears to contradict itself. It radiates the heat via IR but it also heats up the structure of the building?

I am willing to be proved wrong but those claims smell of snake oil.........

EDIT: hmm.... What is going on here? Galvin75 resurrected this thread but then his post has somehow disappeared after I quoted it. I can't think what I should read into that......

Edited by brman on Sunday 23 July 13:56

[guindilias]

And astectherm's programmable stats are just debadged Heatmiser units - and they suggest putting the stuff in the walls and ceiling? Pure BS.

[Chester draws]

brman said:

EDIT: hmm.... What is going on here? Galvin75 resurrected this thread but then his post has somehow disappeared after I quoted it. I can't think what I should read into that......

]

Well, Galvin Broughton is the commercial director / founder of astectherm...

http://www.astectherm.com/contact/

Can't knock the guy for trying to drum up some business.

[brman]

Chester draws said:

brman said:

EDIT: hmm.... What is going on here? Galvin75 resurrected this thread but then his post has somehow disappeared after I quoted it. I can't think what I should read into that......

]

Well, Galvin Broughton is the commercial director / founder of astectherm...

http://www.astectherm.com/contact/

Can't knock the guy for trying to drum up some business.

Well spotted!
I wonder if he removed his post in response to me querying his claims or whether a mod did it for him.