When choosing a type of heating system, you have to take into account all the pros and cons of each system. Often it turns out that the best solution (in terms of financial, aesthetic or ease of installation) is to use several heating methods simultaneously. Electric underfloor heating is the cheapest and easiest type to install, especially as supplementary heating. During the renovation of the floor, you can precisely choose which rooms and even which places in the room are to be heated. Below you will find a small collection of information and ideas where and when to use electric underfloor heating and in which cases it is better to avoid it.
Electric underfloor heating on the wall?
Heating cables are widely used and, as it turns out, in some situations, you can consider placing the heating mat on the wall as well. This is a great solution if you do not want to clutter the appearance of your bathroom with a radiator (or you just cannot install it for various of reasons), but you want maximum thermal comfort and dry your towels quickly. Just place a piece of heating mat in the spot where you plan to hang towels not only on the floor but on the wall as well (however, you need to be especially careful when installing hangers and handles on walls with heating cables, detailed photo documentation and a drawing with dimensions made during the installation of the mat will be very helpful later).
Only under the tiles?
The heating mats works definitely best under tiles. The tiles simply accumulate and give off heat very well. However, when choosing a different floor finish, you do not have to give up on electric heating. You can also successfully use them under floor boards or vinyl. The condition is that a heating mat must be placed in the last layer of the screed so that it can heat up the entire floor and give off heat evenly and not touching wood directly. However, it is worth remembering that with floor bards and wood the efficiency of heat dissipation will be much lower. With a vinyl floor the thermal efficiency will be very good but compatibility with heated floors should be checked. Another great-looking and perfect for underfloor heating floor finish are, for example, microcement or epoxy resin.
Bathroom, kitchen or a dressing room?
The ability to adjust the mat shape to the room is a huge advantage of this type of heating. This is useful especially in bathrooms, which are often irregularly shaped. Electric underfloor heating is the most popular choice for bathrooms. For our comfort, the temperature in the bathroom should always be slightly higher than in other rooms. Toilets and bathrooms are usually small and most of the walls are internal, which means they heat up quickly. That being said floor heating is a perfect match for these properties. It can be used with success both as additional and main heating system. The second most common choice for floor heating are entrances and hallways. It might seem that the mudroom is a rarely used space in which floor heating is unnecessary. However, the possibility of drying the floor and shoes quickly in wet autumn and winter is precious. The use of floor heating in living rooms and kitchens does not need to be justified and it is difficult to find any disadvantages. However, if you have a pantry, a closet or a wardrobe at home, the idea of laying underfloor heating there becomes highly debatable. Such rooms are used rarely and for a very short time, so keeping them warm won't pay off.
Apartment, house, hotel?
There are practically no limits if it comes to the type of building where underfloor heating can be installed with success. In smaller apartments and bathrooms, you won't clutter the walls with radiators. In homes with solar panels you can have cost free heating. In hotels and rental apartments, thanks to a WiFi thermostat, you can remotely turn on the heating before the customers arrival.
