Wet Underfloor or Electric Underfloor

[Alfredo]

I've never done any underfloor heating installations. I have a builder neighbour who speaks highly of his self installed wet system, and I've been on holiday to places with electric underfloor thats worked quite well.

I'm building a small extension (Not a conservatory which i think are a rip off). it will be well insulated and i'm considereing underfloor heating to maximise space. Cost is not a massive issue as i'm doing the install if wet, and sparky friend if elec.

Has anybody any experiences of either?

Alfredo

 

[Biggles..]

Devimat electric works fantastic, last job i put it in on the guy had it in kitchen, all downstairs wc, bathroom and on suites.As he is a bit of a techno bod he links them together using one of the features and runs it all from his laptop in his office.
He does however have radiators in most of these rooms as well for the really cold times.

 

[simond]

GENERALLY speaking, elec UFH cannot give as may watts per metre output as water UFH.

Therefore, on the very coldest days it may fail to keep up with the heat loss from the building.

My personal concerns would be; the fragility of an element aka electric blanket bonded into tile adhesive; the insulation preparation of the floor, and the running costs of peak rate electricity versus Nat Gas or Oil.

The Energy Saving Trust do some very useful comparison documents on fuel costs which will tip your balance, i think.

 

[Richard C]

Go for wet, it may be more expensive initially but will be cheaper to run. I chose electric (200 W sq/m) in a large conservatory with insulated walls & floor but it's proving to be quiet expensive to run so I'm now installing a supplementary radiator into the house wet loop.