Latest Designer Bathroom Ideas and How To Guides for your Home

Homeowners wishing to install an underfloor heating system, have two primary options available. The first option is the electrical system. This simply uses electricity to heat up the network of wires installed under the floor of the house. If you have no experience with this form of underfloor heating, you must hire a professional for the installation since improper wiring can be very dangerous. On the other hand, the hot water piped system is also available and provides the same results.

A hot water underfloor heating system utilises a network of pipes through which hot water is circulated under pressure. The cost and efficiency of the hot water underfloor heating system depends on both the quality and size of the pipes being used. Higher quality pipes require an initial cost that can be significantly higher. While, pipes that produce more resistance, and therefore more heat, produce more pressure and thus require more energy to circulate the water.

Homeowners contemplating the installation of a hot water underfloor heating system need to balance the cost of the initial installation, with the cost of running the system, against the system’s efficiency.

Hot water underfloor heating systems can also use solar-heated or geothermal heat pumps as part of the system as an alternative to gas heating. These systems can be susceptible to air bubbles and therefore blockages. Air bubbles can occur because of the nature of the pipes’ installation. Because the pipes lie flat or may have high spots, bubbles that are present in the water can easily congregate. This is especially prevalent in the high spots. In order to prevent these bubbles from accumulating and stopping the circulation of water, it is recommended that a centrifugal pump be installed with the system to purge it of blockages.