The human body temperature is 37 degree C and an underfloor heating system will only heat the floor to 23 – 24 degree C, ie perfect for maximum human comfort, nice warm floors are created.

Do not install water underfloor heating in an old property that have poor insulation qualities such as single windows, etc.  The heat losses will be too high and if underfloor heating is fitted it will require additional heating, such as radiators.

Insulation most always be fitted below the pipes.  If it is an existing property the screed needs to be taken up or the floor height increased by battens.

The snake layout is the best layout for the pipework.  It is easy to install and as the temperaure drop is very low between flow and return it is the best solution for the installer.

Any pipework can be fixed if there is a leak.

Supply price is normally £11 – £12 per m² and install price can be £ 5 to £ 6 per m² depending on the size of the project. Quote and design come free of charge.

An electric system is best used to run at night on Economy 7 setting.  A water system is best used to operate 24 hours – 7 days with setback temperatures during the day and the night.

New SAP ratings are not very suitable for electric systems, so wet underfloor heating systems are the norm in new properties.

It is always best to use an approved installer to fit the system as well as an approved electrician to install the wiring and room thermostats.

Underfloor heating systems used with heat pumps and condensing boilers will reduce the CO2 output and therefore are much better for the environment than radiators.

It is normally more expensive to purchase a wet underfloor heating system compared to radiators, but the running cost will be lower.

Normally, a boiler produces a water temperature of up to 82°c, this is fine for a radiator system, but too high for wet underfloor heating. Therefore, mixing valves need to be used. We use RWC mixing valves and Grundfos pumps with our mixer packs to ensure the water is at the optimum temperature.

The heating engineer needs to size the correct boiler for the heating system. Normally, 3 kW is added for the supply of hot water. When a quote is produced we will indicate how much heat the system can provide.

The heating engineer or Architect needs to calculate the estimated heat loss for your project. If the property is built to current  regulations, the underfloor heating system will provide enough heat. Watch out for old, poorly insulated buildings and  properties with single glazing, these might need additional heating, i.e. radiators combined with the underfloor heating system.

Every order of one of our systems comes complete with a full set of manuals, a hand sketch and project information.

If there are any issues with the heating system, it is usually due to incorrect wiring or possibly a leak in one of the manifold connections, which is very easy to repair.

If the pipe is damaged accidentally by a builder drilling into it, this can be fixed by taking up the floor boards and removing the screed around the pipe. Finally, a coupler can be fitted where the leak is, to cover the damaged area. It is important to use Denso tape around the couplers, to prevent it from reacting with the screed.

You may find that house insurance will cover the cost of fixing any damage to the pipe. This of course depends on the particular policy.

Another risk factor could be freezing outside air temperatures. Make sure that the property is air tight, i.e. roof, windows, doors and walls are all fitted before the underfloor heating is installed.

Underfloor heating systems are normally pressure tested with water and it is normal practice to leave this water in the pipework after the system has been installed, therefore there is always a risk that the water will freeze if the outside air temperature drops below zero. Take care to protect the pipework and manifolds against frost.

In a screeded floor the sand/cement mix is normally 4:1 and is normally 65 – 75 mm in height. Liquid Anhydrite screed can be only 50 mm.

Timber suspended floor is normally fitted on the First Floor in buildings in the UK.  See or website for full set of instructions;

www.underfloorheatingsystems.co.uk

Floating floor is not very common in the UK and we do not sell many floating floor solutions. We can offer a solution for floating floors.

Most floor finishes will work fine in conjunction with this method. Including carpets, tiles, stones, laminate, floor boards and vinyl.

Check with the manufacturer of any floor finish that it will work with underfloor heating.

After the system has been installed a pressure test must be performed and the system needs balancing.

There is normally no need for maintenance of the heating system.

Only a one large room system should be fitted with one room thermostat,  a large Kitchen for example.

Some heat pumps work with a minimum flow rate and therefore manufacturers will recommend that no individual room controls are fitted. This is not good practice and is not recommended by the UHMA (Underfloor Heating Manufacturers Association).

A buffer tank must be fitted when installing a heat pump with underfloor heating and individual room controls are always recommended.

For a normal condensing boiler, it is always recommended to use two-port valves to control the heating and the hot water system, i.e. a S-Plan system. Do not use a Y-Plan system as the heating system will not work correctly with a three-port valve.

If using a solid fuel burner, never connect the heating system directly to the underfloor heating system as flow temperature will be too high. The heat from the solid fuel system must first be sent to a thermal store and from there the heat can be pumped to the underfloor heating system.

Each manifold will have it’s own mixing valve to control the water temperature to each manifold. Also, by the manifold a pump is fitted to pump the water through the loops.

If you require a quote. Please email, post or fax the floor plans to us.  We need to know the floor construction, i.e. is it concrete screed or a timber suspended floor? Where will the manifold be located for each floor? How many room thermostats are required?

In most cases we can provide a quote within two hours of receiving the floor plans.

When the system is ordered we offer a free hand sketch, project information and full instructions are provided with each order.  We can also supply a CAD design for a small charge.

Our technical team is here to offer free advice, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Holes should only be drilled on the centre-line of the joist, as this is where the compressive and tensile load distributions are neutralised.

The holes should have a diameter of no greater than 0.25 times the depth of the joist and should be no closer together than 3 times the largest diameter permitted. They should be drilled no closer to the support than 0.25 times the span and no further away than 0.4 times the span. Notches should only be made in the top edge of the joist and should be no deeper than 0.125 times the depth of the joist. Do not drill within 100 mm of the notch.

Notches should be no closer to the structure supporting the joist than 0.07 times their own span and no further away than 0.25 times the span. This is to avoid the area of maximum shear force and the area of maximum bending in the joists. On no account should an attic truss joist be notched.

Our system is suitable for domestic and commercial buildings. We can supply our wet underfloor heating system to all of the UK and Europe. We have made sure that we use what we see as the highest quality possible components for our underfloor heating systems.

Our pipe is made by PEX/AL/PEX which is much stronger than PERT/AL/PERT pipes. The PEX/AL/PEX multilayer pipe has a rating of 10 bar pressure and 95 degree C temperature rating.

If you call us before 1 pm we can normally send out the goods the same day for next day delivery.  Our technical engineers are here to help you between 9 and 5 pm weekdays. We offer free technical advice and site visits.

A quote is normally produced within 2 hours. Just email, post or fax the floor plans. Our systems are very easy to install.

We can offer a CAD service for the design, but normally a hand sketch and project information with a full set of instructions are enough.

Our approved underfloor heating installers can fit the system for you; they travel anywhere in the UK and Europe to fit our systems.

The floor construction is a concrete screeded floor. The underfloor heating pipes will be fitted on top of 75 mm high density Kingspan insulation. Our underfloor heating clips are used for fixing the underfloor heating pipe to the insulation. Finally, 65 mm screed is fitted on top of the insulation and the floor finish will be tiles and floor boards.

The house builder can install the wet underfloor heating system themselves. A full set of instructions, hand sketches and project information has been provided.

The manifold will be located in one of the bedrooms. Our underfloor heating manifolds are from Germany and are made by Watts/Dumser.

400m of Henco PEX/AL/PEX underfloor heating pipework has been supplied at c/c 200 mm pipe centres.

The underfloor heating water system will use six programmable digital Heatmiser PRT hardwired 3 core + earth room thermostats.

A Heatmiser UH3 wiring centre is provided and the actuators come from Henco in Belgium.

Here at Underfloor Heating Systems Ltd we are supplying many systems to the London area.