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Underfloor Heating:

What You Need to Know

John Carpenter courtesy REALTOR.ca
n ancient Rome, underfloor heating was the height of sophistication—a sign its owner was an individual of high
status. When it came to Roman building methods, it was state-of-the-art, cutting edge, something you might have
Iinvited the local merchants round to see, with your hypocaust (underground furnace) at full tilt to show you meant
business. These were expensive systems to maintain, requiring round-the-clock attention, probably by a small team
of attendants, and vast amounts of fuel to drive the furnace. But what about underfloor heating today? Two thousand
years later, we’re here to tell you what’s hot and what’s stone cold.
What is underfloor heating?
Let’s start with the basics. Underfloor heating is a method of temperature control, incorporating a system of
underfloor pipes or wires to heat the air above the floor. The pipes or wires are heated to a temperature higher than
the air temperature inside the room, this heat transfers away from the pipes or wires into the air, leaving the room
.
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What are the benefits of underfloor heating?
Immediate efficiency
At its root, a system of underfloor heating is much like a radiator—a radiator the size of your floor. With a larger
surface area, these systems require less energy because they don’t need to be as hot. Suppose you had ten radiators
in the room you’re reading this from—to heat the room, they could each be set to a much lower temperature than a
single radiator with the same responsibility. How much more efficient, you ask? It depends on the type of underfloor
heating system (UFH) and what you use to heat it. A UFH with a boiler produces about a 25% efficiency increase
(compared to radiators), while a UFH with a heat pump creates about a 40% increase. Underfloor heating may require
water heated to a temperature between 30 and 40°C. Radiators, by comparison, may require water heated to 70°C
and above.

Long-term efficiency
Underfloor heating is typically rated for 30 to 40 years of efficient operation; radiators, by comparison, are rated for
eight to 12 years of efficient operation. An inefficient radiator may require greater amounts of energy to heat your

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