With heating bills increasing, technology improving and the need for more efficient heating in our homes, underfloor heating is becoming popular. They are much more efficient heating systems than radiators and they can be linked with heat pump technology or solar panels making it very eco friendly. This means that underfloor heating is a good choice for your green home.
The question that is often asked by home owners though, is if laminate underfloor heating is possible? The answer is yes, and not only is it possible but laminate underfloor heating has a few benefits to it as well.
Before we get to why laminate underfloor heating is a good choice for your green home this article will take a quick look at how underfloor heating works.
How does underfloor heating work?
Underfloor heating is quite simple; at its most basic form it is a series of pipes and/or wires circulating underneath your floor that emit heat.
There are two ‘types’ of underfloor heating, which one you should use depends on the floor material you have and other factors such as power and heating sources.
The first type is electrical underfloor heating. This system is a great option as you can obviously power it by electricity that you have produced through solar panels, making it ultimately eco friendly. It works by laying a series of wires and mats underneath your floor and is perhaps ideal for timber or laminate underfloor heating.
The other system is the wet system. It works by laying a series of pipes often ‘in the floor’ and they circulate heated water or liquid gas (if using heat pumps) to create warmth. It is far more expensive to install than an electrical system and isn’t easily compatible with timber and laminate underfloor heating but it is effective.
Why laminate underfloor heating?
There are a few reasons to choose laminate underfloor heating and the good news is that it is a good choice for your home. First of all laminate flooring is cheaper than timber and new techniques mean you can get high quality laminate flooring these days.
Still many people wonder if laminate underfloor heating is possible or as effective as other types of flooring such as concrete or timber and the answer is, yes. The laminate materials are a much more thermally stable product than timber and therefore the longevity of the flooring is better. This not only makes it a longer lasting eco friendly product than timber but it is cheaper and easier to install than concrete or tiles.
Image courtesy of Martin Pettitt
