Underfloor heating is becoming more and more popular. We have many well-known advantages of underfloor heating, but it can be problematic in many respects – especially if we want to install it in the kitchen or bathroom that’s already designed.
What exactly is underfloor heating? This is a surface heating, due to which the entire floor becomes the heating surface. This favors the even heating of the room. The emitted heat is felt in the most comfortable way, because there are no noticeable temperature differences in different parts or levels of a given room. Walking on such a floor is also much more pleasant. Surface heating also saves energy, as underfloor heating systems operate at low temperatures (up to 55 ° C), and can also be connected to economical energy sources, such as heat pumps or condensing boilers.
Another advantage of such a solution is that it allows the maximum use of the space of such a room, as there is no need to install radiators. Therefore, they are perfect for small kitchens, where every centimeter is worth its weight in gold, as well as modern kitchens, where the protruding radiator may disturb the arrangement idea.
It is also worth choosing this solution if you or someone close to you is allergic – such an installation reduces dust rising! In addition, underfloor heating does not interfere with the cleaning of the floors and, as a rule, does not require maintenance. It’s a huge plus in the kitchen!
However, when deciding on such a solution in your kitchen, you need to keep in mind a few things. Floor heating is characterized by thermal inertia – that is, it slowly warms up, but also slowly cools down the room.
The heat pipes in the floor must not be located underneath the furniture as this would obstruct the heat propagation path. Therefore, it requires an interior arrangement plan before laying the cables in the floor. In addition, it is associated with a limited choice of floor finishing materials, and once the floor has been laid, it is not possible to make changes to the heating system.
The last thing to consider is your budget – the investment cost is almost double that of a heating system based on radiators.
If you are considering this solution, but you are terrified of completely changing the heating system, you can try to combine them! Common practice is a combined heating system, i.e. one in which the radiator heating cooperates with the surface heating. This solution works very well in bathrooms.
