Global warming could see our summers warm up and our winters get colder. The polar vortex, the mass of cold air that sits above the north and south poles, moves throughout the year.
Changes in the earth’s temperature could mean it sits over us during the winter, bringing a mass of very cold air right on top of the UK.
This is nose-turning-blue, chilblains-on-the-ears cold weather. This is the freeze, the biting chilly wind and the night frosts that make scrapping the car windscreen a daily morning occurrence.
It also means extra layers of clothing, a huge blanket on the bed and turning up the heating system a notch or two.
But here in lays the problem – energy prices rise year on year making heating our home far more expensive. For many people, this means a heating bill that becomes a big headache.
When turning the heat off is not an option, what are the alternatives? The time has come to invest in an alternative heating system that will still mean you are warm but with heating bills that rare NOT sky high.
Underfloor heating – is it really a money-saver?
It can be. And here’s why:
RUNNING COSTS ARE LOWER
If you think of energy consumption in terms of volume, a central heating system will use a high volume of energy to heat your home than an underfloor heating system would.
This is because of the ‘how’ of heating your home. A central heating system with radiators heats the air in your home. This is convection heat.
Air close to the radiator heats up, rises to the ceiling and then falls as it cools. This is how your room is heated, with a mix of warm and cold air circulating around.
Underfloor heating using radiated heat. This means the heat is used to heat objects, such as the floor. This is a far more pleasant but also efficient means of using heat.
This is because the floor holds on to heat for longer than the air heated by the radiators. This residual heat is important in a room as it means the room stays warmer which the thermostat registers. This means, the temperature does not drop and the thermostat does not ask for more heat from the boiler.
INDIVIDUAL ROOM THERMOSTATS PROVIDE MORE CONTROL
Most radiator systems have one thermostat. This is the one port of measuring the temperature in the home. This one spot is the place that is responsible for the heat in the rest of the home.
You can control heat to some degree by altering the valves on radiators but who has the time or the patience to keep walking around the house, fiddling with thermostatic radiator valves?
No one, which is why this kind of heating system is not the most efficient.
But an underfloor heating system can be fitted with underfloor heating control units or individual room thermostats. This multi-zone system means that the system itself reads the varying temperatures and heats the individual spaces to how you want it.
For example, you may prefer a warmer lounge but a cooler bedroom, but enjoy a little more heat when enjoying a long shower or a soak in the bath.
The point is, the versatility of an underfloor heating system with multi-zone thermostats means you are making the best use of the energy you are consuming (which is a lot less than a central heating system).
SUPER-INSULATION
A professional underfloor heating supplier and installer will advise you on insulating your home to a super-standard.
This is because underfloor heating is a gentler heat and you need to retain as much of it as possible. Again, this all about decreasing the volume of energy you use to heat your home.
- Floor insulation – a critical addition with underfloor heating prevents the heat being lost to the ground. This means all the heat is used to heat the floor above and thus, the room.
- Wall insulation – cavity wall insulation costs a few hundred, with solid or thermal wall insulation being a little more. Either way, both wrap your house in an insulating material that seals cracks and holes stopping heat escaping.
- Windows and doors – double glazed windows and doors are essential in any home, but certainly in the case of a home being heating with underfloor heating.
Underfloor heating kits are also a lot more affordable than you think. With our complete kits, you can do a lot of the preparatory and installation work yourself, paying the professionals to check installation and complete the small amount of electrical work needed.
With minimal maintenance meaning minimal maintenance costs too, why wouldn’t you invest in underfloor heating?
