FOCUS ON UNDERFLOOR HEATING IN THE BATHROOM

If you're thinking about including UFH in your bathroom, Tim Pullen takes a look at the options, along with the installation and running costs to help you decide if it's the right choice for you

The advantage of having underfloor heating (UFH) in your home is creation of the even heat that emanates around a room, from the toes up. It's like one large underfoot radiator. But how viable is it in a bathroom? A problem with installing UFH in a bathroom is that most homeowners also often want a towel radiator combined, they're a big investment in a room only used for a small proportion of the day. But the comfort of stepping out of a bath or shower onto a warm floor is often justification enough.

WHAT OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE?

The options for UFH are either wet or electric. A wet system features pipes that are filled with warm water that's powered by either a boiler or heat pump. The pipes are concealed within the floor and are more often than not covered by a screed. An electric system consists of wires- either as a system or integrated into matting - that warms up when it's switched on.

In a new build project-where heating the bathroom is a part of the whole-house heating system - then a wet system will offer significantly better running costs than electric systems and the installation cost (as part of a larger system) will be comparable to an electric system.

But for retrofit projects, electric systems offer distinct advantages.

Installation cost will be lower £25 to £30/m² compared to an installed cost of over £45/m² for wet UFH; their lower profile minimises the impact on ceiling height (less than 10mm), and the weight imposed on the existing floor. Even a low profile wet system is likely to raise the floor level (in a retrofit) by at least 20mm.