If you are thinking about underfloor heating for your bathroom, kitchen or even your whole house, there is one important need-to-ask-now question (apart from the price): Electric underfloor heating or water-based underfloor heating? To make that choice a lot easier, you need to know the difference between the two and how they would work in your home and with your needs.
Before we get to some of the key differences, let’s define both. Electric underfloor heating uses a series of wires under your floor to heat your home using electricity. On the other hand, water-based underfloor heating uses pipes that circulate warm water, supplied by your boiler, under the floor to heat your home. Now that we got that straight, here are some things you need to consider before you make that all-important choice:
Floor Level: With water-based underfloor heating, there needs to be enough space for the pipes to fit. If not, you’re faced with the not-so-nice-to-look-at elevated floors. Needless to say, this won’t work in a pre-existing kitchen or bathroom. It’s much better suited for new floor construction. With electric underfloor heating, the wires, along with insulation boards, don’t take up as much space, meaning it won’t raise the floor level. Another pretty plus, the wires can fit around tight spaces, such as toilets and sinks.
Installation: Installing water-based underfloor heating requires a professional, such as a heating engineer. Also, the boiler needs to be tested to see if it can support the water-based system. On the other hand, experienced DIYers could install electric underfloor heating mats, the versatile loose wires system, etc. themselves. (See our tips for how to install it yourself.) Bear in mind, a qualified electrician needs to connect your system to the electric mains supply and to fit a sensor to the thermostat (click here for more info on our energy- and money-saving 3iE thermostat). Check out our how-to-install videos.
Installation Expense: Because you need a specialist for the entire installation, water-based underfloor heating is a lot more expensive (we are talking thousands of pounds) than electric underfloor heating. For example, to heat your bathroom, an electric underfloor heating mat system costs £94 for 1.5 to 2 sqm. For more info on heating your bathroom with electric underfloor heating, click here.
Eco Considerations and The Cost: Using a solar water-heating system, you could get the warm water needed to heat your home. However, you would still need a boiler or immersion heater to make the water hotter or to supply the hot water when there are overcast days, which we have a lot of in the UK. Moreover, solar panels need a lot of space on a south-facing roof. Plus, they are heavy so the roof must be strong enough to support them. Lastly, solar panels are quite expensive. We are talking over £3,000 for the panels and installation. Without the panels and using a boiler or immersion heater only, the savings using a water-based underfloor heating are around £20 a year.
Using renewable electricity (derived from windmills, etc.) from suppliers, such as Good Energy, you could heat your home using electric underfloor heating, save money and save the planet. For example, the cost for underfloor heating materials for a bathroom 1.5 to 2 sqm is £295.07 to £306.13 (price includes the 3iE thermostat but not the fee for an electrician). Compare that to the £400+ you’ll spend on the entire installation fee for water-based heating, along with the thousands it will cost for solar panels and for the use of the immersion boiler or heater on those overcast days. Also, you’ll save £25 or more per year on electricity.
