BACKPOSTED ON: SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 6:12 AM
CATEGORISED IN: NEWS
| If you are considering installing an electric underfloor heating system in your next renovation, room update or new home build there are some key things that you need to consider to ensure that you are able to install the warm luxury of under floor heating.
1. What parts of the house do you want to electric underfloor heating? You don’t have to have it installed in the whole property, you can target the key rooms for your touch of warmth and luxury so you can easily manage your development budget. You could put it just into the master ensuite and bathrooms in the house or extend to the laundry or even the living areas to watch TV in warm comfort. |
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2. Are you using the electric underfloor heating system as the primary source of heating for the room or do you just want to have nice warm floors? This will dictate the amount of coverage across the floor that you require and therefore the size heater you will need to install. This is a great way to manage your budget as you don’t need to have the heating from wall to wall and in fact we don’t recommend that either.
3. Make sure you check with your electrician that you have sufficient electrical circuits, and they are on safety switches. You may need to install additional circuits on safety switches to run the heating and include in your budget. You can run multiple heaters in a room if you have a large space on the same circuit and thermostat. Heaters will use between 0.57 amps and 6.52 amps so you will need to work with your electrician on making sure you have the power capacity to be able to install it.
4. What sort of flooring will you be installing? If you are installing tiles then you will need to do all the preparation for tiles and the heater gets installed just before the tiles are laid. In wet areas this is just after the water proofing has been done. For the carpet underfloor heating you need to get the carpet layer to install the underlay and allow time for the heating to be installed before the carpet is laid over top. For floor boards you will need to check with your floor board manufacturer on the best way to install the heating. It is generally recommended to install the heating cables into a very thin screed for going under floorboards.
5. How thick is the floor heating system you want to install? This can affect floor levels by between to 2mm to 50mm. Speedheat under floor heating is 1.5mm thick so you won’t need to worry about changing your floor heights to accommodate your underfloor heating.
6. Putting it into part of your development project plan as you need to sequence the work to minimise the opportunity of your heating getting damaged before the flooring is laid. You want to make sure that your heating is installed as close to the floor being laid as you can. This minimises the risk of damage to the system.
7. What are the costs of running the underfloor heating system and how you will manage that with your ongoing budget. The underfloor heating system that is used does impact the costs you will incur to heat your rooms. How fast will it heat up, does it need to run all the time, can you programme a thermostat to control the heating temperature and duration it is on?
8. If you can’t install a heating system in your room which can happen for any number of reasons you don’t need to miss out. You can use what we call a rug buddy, this is an under rug electric heating system that plugs into a standard power point. It is like an electric blanket for your rug.
9. Your choice of thermostat, do you need a thermostat that works with in home automation or do you want wifi enabled thermostats or touchscreen thermostats that are all easy to programme so you can maximise warmth when you need it and manage your electricity costs.
10. Are you dealing with a reputable firm with good quality product, qualified electricians, and comprehensive insurances for your installation with plenty of experience? There are a lot of products and providers for heating systems so make sure you find out about their history and experience in the system that you decide on installing.
Renovating is an exciting time as you can bring to life the vision that you have for your home. Underfloor heating is a luxury addition to your home but it is actually not out of your reach and should be high on the consideration list for making your house your home.
What has held you back from considering underfloor heating in your renovation?
ELECTRIC FLOOR HEATING SYSTEM INSTALLATION FAQS
Cost of an electric floor heating system?
Our supply kits start from just $200.00 inc. GST. Our supply and installation starts from $500.00 inc. GST.
How soon can I switch on the system after installation?
For tile heating systems you need to allow 7 days for the glue and grout to dry before turning on your new electric underfloor heating system. For under Carpet Heating you can turn it on once the carpet is installed over the top of the heater.
Are the heaters water resistant?
Yes the heaters are water resistant. They are even tested in water baths as part of their manufacture to make sure that they are safe to be installed in bathrooms, laundries, and other wet areas in the home.
What kind of floor preparation is required?
It depends on what room you will be installing the electric underfloor heating system. For bathrooms or wet areas water proofing needs to be done and dry. For other areas that are going to be tiled you need to have them swept clean and ready for tiling. The heating gets put down just before installation of the tiles. For Carpet heating you need to have the underlay installed and the heating system gets installed on top of the underlay just before the carpet gets installed over the top.
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