Best Flooring For Water Underfloor Heating

Bs8203 code of practice for the installation of resilient floor coverings states.

Best flooring for water underfloor heating.

Tile and stone have high thermal conductivity meaning that the heat from an underfloor heating pipe or wire transfers to the floor surface quickly. The best type of flooring to use with underfloor heating is tile and stone. Hard surfaces like stone or ceramic tiles or engineered wood offer the best heat transfer as they are the most thermally conductive but many other options work well. There are two main types.

Retroheat radiant floor heating system. Vinyl plank flooring luxury vinyl flooring in particular wood look vinyl plank flooring is incredibly popular and with the introduction of higher quality rigid core technology most vinyl plank and tile can now be used with underfloor heating. Ceramic tiles are a popular alternative to natural stone and slate. You basically want something that will help bring the heat up to the surface and quickly.

Ceramic many of the properties of ceramic tiles are similar to stone with both being top choices for flooring. When used with many flooring materials underfloor heating can cause problems if the temperature at the interface between the subfloor and flooring exceeds 27 c or is subject to rapid fluctuations in temperature. The best flooring for compatibility with underfloor heating is ceramic tiles which has excellent heat conducting properties. Tile and stone also retain heat well making the system efficient.

The retroheat floor heating system was designed specifically for providing electric radiant heat to existing floors by accessing the floor joists below. Underfloor heating involves the installation of pipework in the floor so that the whole floor acts like a radiator warming the room from the ground up. The retroheat system can be installed to heat tile hardwood laminates. So if you have open access to your floor joists now you can add the comfort and efficiency of radiant floor heat to your home.

The thin profile creates an above average heat transfer and the tiles are easy to clean. Warm water or wet underfloor heating which we will focus on in this article electric underfloor heating. Hot water radiant floor heating systems are ideal for use in areas where the price of electricity is very high and for homes built off the power grid.