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

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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.