Conservatory Underfloor Heating - the most practical way to heat your conservatory

With underfloor heating your conservatory can now act as an additional room to your home all year round, allowing you to enjoy the beauty and practicality of a warm floor with the added benefit of heating your conservatory without radiators or freestanding heaters.

Conservatories are usually considered areas of high heat loss and require to be treated as a special case when planning the heating requirements for this type of room. To compensate, the underfloor heating system – water or electric - should be able to provide a higher output than rooms where the heat loss factors are lower.

There are 2 distinctly different systems to consider when making the selection for conservatory under floor heating:

1. Electric under floor heating has no moving parts and is straightforward to install. Electricity is usually connected via a dedicated supply direct from the consumer unit: the underfloor heating system is controlled with its own independent thermostat.

2. Water under floor systems will require fitting of pipe work within the screeded sub-floor and plumbed either directly into the heating system as a simple radiator extension, or into the house boiler with more control of the temperature maintained via a room thermostat to control the flow of hot water to the system.

Whether you are adding a new conservatory or upgrading your existing one, underfloor heating is ideal for conservatories; out of sight and right where you need it, warming those cold tiles and laminate floors, providing a simple and effective way to heat your conservatory.

Now you can enjoy your conservatory even on the coldest of days and relax in the warmth of a heated floor. No more restrictions where you place the furniture it doesn't matter, you'll feel the same gentle heat radiating up from your new conservatory underfloor heating wherever you sit.

Heating Your Conservatory

Radiators
Free Standing Heaters
Water Underfloor Heating
Electric Underfloor Heating
Insulation

Radiators

Radiators will normally require plumbing into the existing central heating system with the possible need to upgrade the boiler to cope with the extra demand.
Running the conservatory radiators will also run the rest of the house central heating system unless complex control valves have been installed. You don't face this issue with conservatory under floor heating.

Radiators work by convection currents circulating rising warm air and sinking cooler air - not very practical in a tall glass structure; meanwhile the unheated tile floors are still cold!

Freestanding Heaters

Either gas or electric - in all cases they either block access or do not add to the beauty of the conservatory. Gas will add excess moisture into the atmosphere and unhealthy fumes; electric radiators are very inefficient.

Hot Water Underfloor Heating

For new conservatory floor constructions where the sub-floor can be planned from the outset, with the pipe work incorporated into the screeded floor, hot water under floor heating is by far the most cost effective option, especially if the water boiler has the capacity to deal with the extra demand.

There are several different systems to supply and control the hot water to the underfloor heating:

1. The Raditor Extension kit is designed for plumbing into the existing radiator system: simple to install, no pump required – covers a maximum area up to 15m²

2. For a fast and simple installation the compact Single Room kit comes pre-assembled with a thermostatic mixing valve and pre-wired circulating pump – suitable for temperature control of individual rooms or single heating circuits up to 20m².

3. For areas in excess of 20m²: larger kits are available from 40m² up to 240m² - these kits come with various size manifolds and control valves for temperature control of individual heated circuits (zones).

For more information click on water underfloor heating systems.

One drawback of hot water under floor heating is that it can be expensive to install, especially if a new boiler is required. Extra plumbing is also required to either break into the existing central heating system or to receive a dedicated supply direct from the boiler. In all cases, control of the flow of hot water from the boiler will be a basic requirement for effective management of the floor heating.

For the majority of consumers a full fitting and integration service will be required to install the hot water system unless you are a very experienced DIY practitioner with good plumbing and electrical skills to match.

A note on installation and running costs: gas is cheaper to run than electricity but the payback time needs to be carefully considered when making the comparison with a low cost, electric under floor heating installation.

Conservatory Electric Underfloor Heating

Electric underfloor heating is arguably the most practical option for conservatories and can easily be installed by most competent DIY enthusiasts, builders or tilers, with a little help from a qualified electrician to advise on the electrics and provide the connection to the heating installation. For more information on how to install a typical conservatory electric under floor heating system click here.

Tile or laminate type floors with underfloor heating will not only feel comfortably warm but will equally act to radiate heat upwards into the conservatory to provide an even warmth into the room, allowing you to enjoy the space without the clutter of radiators or free-standing heaters.

Thermostatic Control

Conservatory heating is controlled via a simple, independent digital thermostat. Temperature settings can be programmed to suit your own requirements, with 4 on/off times in any 24 hour period to give complete control over your environment. A choice of market leading brands of thermostats are available to suit your personal taste. To view our range of digital electronic controllers click here.

Underfloor Heating Insulation

Where any under floor heating is installed, heat energy will travel in both directions; down and well as up. Cement floors act as a heat sink absorbing this energy, creating a large drag on the performance of the under floor heating above. A high quality thermal barrier between the heat source and the sub-floor will significantly improve the performance of your under floor heating, speeding up the initial warm up times and saving money on electricity costs - the thicker the floor heating insulation, the better the results.

Fastwarm® floor heating insulation boards can be used to adjust final flooring height, eliminating the screed and associated drying time delays, allowing tiling to proceed immediately. Fastwarm® insulation will give cold tiled floors a warm feel by insulating them from the concrete sub-floor below; even without under floor heating, tile or laminate floors will feel warmer as a result.

New Construction Illustration For Tiled Floors

For new build constructions, if you know from the start that you are going to be using electric underfloor heating as the primary method of heating your conservatory, then there is a better way to get more out of your under floor heating insulation instead of burying it under the slab or under a screed. The illustrated configuration will produce the best overall performance for the underfloor heating.

Using a traditional screed will create drying time delays of up to 4 weeks before work can recommence on the under floor heating installation, this will add to the costs of the project before final flooring can be laid and floor heating switched on. The initial investment of Fastwarm® floor heating insulation can be saved on screed materials, labour and additional heating insulation costs; adopting this method the flooring can be finished and the under floor heating system switched on within 48 hours.

Existing Conservatory Sub-Floors

For conservatories where no permanent heating system is in place and you are considering installing electric floor heating, the two most common options are either a tiled floor; engineered wood or laminate flooring.

Whatever your preference for final flooring types, click on installation guides for more information on installing electric underfloor heating over existing sub-floors.

See below for examples of cross-sections for typical under floor heating systems for these flooring types.

Tiled Floors

Laminate Or Engineered Wood Floors