Would it not be such a nice thing to walk into your house during the cold winter months and feel the warmth from your own floorboards, rather than having to wait for the radiators to kick in and circulate heat evenly? Or perhaps the thought of having your bare feet touch a nice cool tiled floor in your kitchen, during the hot sticky summer months may seem more appealing than an expensive fan that seems to circulate warm air around the room.



It is a fact the electric underfloor heating systems are much more energy efficient and highly effective in doing the job better. Radiant heating are more common in the UK than underfloor heating as they are effective in keeping heat circulated at top levels and helps the upper level rooms warm. However, much of the heat is wasted as heat rises and becomes trapped amongst the ceiling area, or is lost through gaps and doorways.

Electric underfloor heating tends to keep the body warmer from the waist down rather than just the top half like radiant heating. Due to heat rising from a lower level underneath the surface, it warms up the room without comprising or losing any heat energy. Therefore, no heat is wasted and it is unlikely to escape. Furthermore, keeping the bottom half warmed helps regulate the body's natural temperature. Keeping the top half of the body warmed is much more damaging causing headaches, lethargy, dehydration and skin dryness.

Underfloor heating systems can also double up as a cooling system to keep your floors and rooms cool during the summer period. This is a good way to save money without having to resort to air conditioners, ceiling fans or buying cheap fans that do no more than circulate the warm air around.

Radiant heating is more costly due to the time it takes to heat up and the loss of heat energy which escapes through the gaps of each wall. Electric underfloor heating is generally not costly to install and can heat rooms individually rather than being turned on altogether. Radiator heaters can be switched on with a timer, but cannot be switched on individually unless you do this yourself manually. With most electric underfloor heating systems, this can be done from one place and can be controlled from the thermostat. Therefore you will not need to do this manually.

Some underfloor heating systems take time to warm up as they are a plumbed in water heating systems as opposed to electric. However, these still have the same quality of heating as an electric system and are just as energy efficient. These can also be controlled in the same way as an electric system and could save you money by warming up the house for a longer period of time. Generally the underfloor heating system is easy to install, leave minimal mess, space saving and are odour free.

Sometimes heating systems from a radiator can give off a certain scent due to its material and specified heater paint used to coat the radiator. This is not a toxic substance and is not harmful. However, it may cause discomfort, create a muggy air and a humid atmosphere. Underfloor heating does not work in the same way and makes the room feel warm through even distribution rather than causing the air to feel muggy.

One of the disadvantages of underfloor heating systems is that they only work well with a certain type of flooring and most will not work as efficiently with carpets. It is best to keep to wooden or tiled flooring of a certain material, in order for the rooms or your home to feel fully warmed up