How much money could underfloor heating save me this winter?

There is no doubt that underfloor heating is an additional option to the more traditional central heating radiators or other kinds of warm air heating systems. This is especially so if your home has rooms with stone or tile flooring that can be uncomfortable to walk on in bare feet in the winter months. Many people are dissuaded from installing underfloor heating due to the cost, and although installation can be more expensive compared to other heating solutions, the long-term savings on your energy bills more than makes up for the initial costs. In this article we will take a look at how installing underfloor heating can lower your energy consumption, save you money as well as lowering your carbon footprint.

Even heat distribution

One of the main problems with central heating radiators is the fact that they tend to heat one side of a room faster than the other, with the heat typically coming from one side of the room. Larger rooms will require bigger or even more radiators and these can take up much-needed space and give the room a less than aesthetic appearance. Another problem with gas central heating is the heat often dissipates when a draft enters the room, whereas with underfloor heating, the heat will not only be evenly distributed, but a much higher percentage of the heat will be retained even if someone was to open a window for example.

Underfloor heating is also ideal for those people who do not want bulky and unsightly radiators cluttering up their rooms, and this is particularly important for rooms with limited space. Or it could be that there is simply no room to install a radiator of a size sufficient to heat the room to an agreeable temperature, so in this case, installing underfloor heating would be the ideal solution.

How to lower your energy bills with underfloor heating

If a house has efficient insulation and double-glazed windows then it is already going to be saving you money as less heat will escape, which will negate the need to have the heating on constantly or for long periods. Adding underfloor heating will reduce these costs even further due to being more efficient at their job of heating a room with a steady stream of consistently distributed heat.

However, there are even more ways in which underfloor heating can save you money no matter whether you choose to install an electric or hot water system, installing a thermostat for each room can help save money. Having the ability to heat numerous rooms to different temperatures as well as not heating rooms that are not going to be in use is one sure-fire way to reduce your energy consumption. Whereas with a central heating system, you will have a single thermostat to control the entire system, but if you want different temperatures in different rooms, you have to go to each radiator in turn and adjust the flow of hot water into each radiator tank.

The approximate cost of heating a room with underfloor heating

There are many factors to consider when calculating the cost of heating a room, such as size, if the room is well insulated or not, if it gets a lot of sunlight, etc. Plus there is the ever-changing cost of the gas or electricity used to power the system; however, you can get a more accurate indication of how much money you can save if you have signed up to a fixed rate tariff with your energy supplier.

An electric underfloor heating system fitted to a room of say 3.5m² running for four hours per day (2 hours in the morning and 2 in the evening) will cost approximately £3.16 per month. An electric system in a living room of 10m² running for four hours per day will cost around £11 per month in electricity.

If you are thinking of installing a gas-powered system, these can save even more money compared to central heating radiators, and this is thanks to the underfloor heating system using much less gas than central heating. This is due to the boiler not having to heat the water to a temperature as high as it would for central heating, with a boiler heating a central heating system having to run at between 70 and 90 degrees centigrade. A gas boiler used to heat the water for an underfloor heating system will only need to reach a temperature of around 50 degrees centigrade, so as you can see, the savings are quite sizeable, with underfloor heating being at least 30% more efficient.

So long as the walls and roof of your home are properly and fully insulated and your windows double-glazed, the addition of underfloor heating can help save as much as £300 per year in energy costs, whilst at the same time reducing your carbon dioxide emissions by 1.5 tonnes.

Summary

In most cases, the installation of underfloor heating has the potential to reduce energy consumption meaning your energy bills will be much lower. With the improvement in underfloor heating technology, the costs associated with installing underfloor heating have fallen sharply in recent years. In addition to which, when the time comes to sell your home and move to a new house, having an underfloor heating system installed will undoubtedly add value to your property.

A well-insulated home with underfloor heating is the best combination to have to enable you to heat your home with maximum efficiency, with both electric and water-based systems being more cost-effective to run than central heating systems.

As the colder months approach, and with energy bills increasing exponentially in some areas, now has never been a better time to install underfloor heating. The professionals at UFHS are available to give you the best advice on which type of system would be most suitable for your home, as well as providing quality products and installation services to make sure your underfloor heating system gives you years of trouble-free warmth.