Want to have a toasty warm, comfortable home but don’t want the big
heating bills? There is an alternative to spending the winter months bundled up
in layers of woolly jumpers and blankets, as highlighted by leading heating
specialists Underfloor Heating Trade Supplies.
With the onset of winter, most of us worry about the cost of
staying warm in our homes. On one hand, we understand the need to conserve
energy and use it as efficiently as possible. But on the other hand, living in
a cold environment is not good for our health either.
There is an alternative to bundling up in layers of sweaters
and cardigans. It takes investment but as Underfloor Heating
Trade Supplies it is an affordable home improvement that brings many
benefits.
What is underfloor heating?
It may sound like a new-fangled solution brought about by
the need to conserve energy but it is a form of heating that has been around
for some time – centuries, in fact. The Romans are documented as having used it
to keep their bathhouses warm, places they socialised, as well as washed but it
is thought it was used as a heating system for some time before that.
But it looked different, although the principle was the
same. Early underfloor heating was known as hypocaust or ‘fire under the
floor’. The Romans used the fire to heat the floor and the water too, which
circulated around their bathhouses.
Why did we fell in love with central
heating?
We fell out of love with it when central heating came along
in the 1930s. In the UK, we loved it. A boiler used gas, oil or coal to heat
water around a system of pipes and radiators in the home: we were toasty warm,
too warm in most of the time.
Over the years, with technological improvements, boilers
became more efficient and thus, it did, for a while, become a cheaper means of heating
the home.
But it was a luxury that wasn’t to last. With natural
resources running low, we need to look at other, more efficient means. And with
global warming linked to carbon emissions, we need to be pumping less carbon
dioxide, created when we burn fossil fuels – gas, oil and coal – into the
atmosphere.
More than just saving the planet and
money
An energy efficient home is no longer just about hanging on
to as much heat as possible and for as long as possible – it is about comfort. And
so, many new builds are taking note of Passivhaus,
a standard of building that uses very
little in the way of energy to heat it or to cool it.
However, unless you are going to knock your house down and
start again, you need to be investing in a heating system that is relatively
cheap to run but without compromising on heat.
Why is underfloor heating the
solution?
It is not just a biased few from Underfloor Heating Trade
Supplies but a realisation of many that wet underfloor heating systems can
offer a comfortable level of heat, without costing oodles of cash.
Here’s why;
·
It uses
less energy – as a system it fits with your current boiler and if that is
relatively modern, young and a combi or condenser boiler, you are all set to
go.
·
It runs
at a lower temperature – admittedly, compared to a roaring fire or a radiator
on full blast, underfloor heat is not at the same level BUT, running at a lower
temperature for longer means that it keeps your home pleasantly warm.
·
Radiates
heat – radiators heat your home by making the air warm and we all know from
our science lessons that warm air rises, falling back to the floor as it cools.
This is all well and good, but it is not as efficient as heating a room as
radiated heat. Underfloor heating works by the hot water heating the pipes laid
in the sub-floor, which heats the concrete or insulating boards around it,
which heats the floor which makes the room lovely and warm.
·
No ugly
radiators – who likes looking at a
radiator? And why were they placed under
the window? With underfloor heating, everything is beneath your feet and out of
sight.
Pro-active heat control
The days of setting the timer on the boiler in October and
turning it off in April are long gone. To gain maximum efficiency and savings
from any heating system, you need to proactively manage heat in the home –underfloor heating is no different.
You will save money with underfloor heating but how much
depends on a whole list of variables, from how well you control and monitor the
temperature in your home to how well your home is insulated.
But, there is no denying the luxury of getting out bed or
stepping out of the shower onto a lovely warm floor, just one reason why
underfloor heating is the popular luxury investment that it is becoming.
Underfloor
Heating Trade Supplies are a leading company in supplying kits and
components that make designing and installing an underfloor heating system a
doddle. Connect with them on Twitter @UFHTS
