Electric Underfloor Heating

Floor Heating Ltd offers 2 distinctly different types of electric under floor heating systems:

Heating cables and mats - used primarily for tiled floors.

Carbon film heating elements - specially designed for wood and laminate floors.

For those installations where an increase in overall, finished floor height would be an issue on new or existing floors, electric underfloor heating is the ideal solution.

Tiled Floors

With a cable thickness of only 3mm, electric heating cables and mats will give the lowest floor profile.

Heating cables consist of twin core resistance wire conductors, with an outer sheath of (usually) PTFE, followed by screening foil, an earth braid and finally a waterproof protective outer jacket of PVC. Electric current passing through the resistance wires heats up the cable to a given temperature - depending on the design output of the conductor wires. Cables are factory pre-spaced onto a mesh backing to produce heating mats with an output of either 150W/m² (watts per metre squared) or high output mats of 200W/m² designed for areas of high heat loss (like conservatories).

Heating cables and mats are earth screened and fully waterproof, making them ideal for all under floor heating installations and perfectly suited where wet areas like bathrooms and wet rooms require this type of product to comply with Health and Safety issues and current electrical legislation.

Heating Cables

Electric heating cables have the advantage of allowing the installer to lay them out in any configuration: however, loose cables are required to be taped to the floor at preset intervals to secure them in position. This can be very time consuming and prone to mistakes, should the spacing distance not be accurate; leaving the installer with the problem with either too much heating cable left over at the end, or running out of cable too early in the installation and not achieving the floor coverage desired.

Whilst heating cables are perfect for smaller areas (like bathrooms) they can be very difficult to work with when scaling up the installation to larger areas, where a degree of experience is required to work with them to best advantage.

Heating Mats

The ideal solution to the problems associated with cables is to use mats.

Underfloor heating mats are the perfect solution for either the DIY enthusiast or experienced installer and can be laid out very quickly, saving valuable time for both trade and DIY alike. Heating mats also have the added flexibility of allowing the mat backing to be cut and manoeuvred around obstacles (like kitchen islands and fixed units). The heating cable is easily detached from the roll of mat backing and laid as a loose cable, fitting easily into those awkward areas like door recesses, fixed units etc – for more info on this topic click on the Floor Heating Installation Guide.

Wood & Laminate Flooring

For existing floors, carbon film heating is arguably the best method of underfloor heating for wood and laminate flooring, producing a gentle but effective 130W/m² of heat output. Due to the unique design of the carbon film heating elements, an even distribution of heat gently warms the floor, radiating heat into the room.

The carbon film is ultra-thin - at less than 0.5mm in thickness - and will not add any appreciable height to the overall profile of the floor; making this type of under floor heating suitable for both new and refurbish projects where wood or laminate flooring is being laid.

Electric underfloor heating is safe, easy to use, fast to install and low cost.

For the majority of installations, underfloor heating can act as the primary heat source – subject to heat loss factors – allowing the homeowner to dispense with unsightly, conventional radiators.

To get a better idea of what is required for your installation and the costs involved for your project, click on the easy to use online webshop.