Underfloor heating - advantages & disadvantages at a glance

• Evaluate and classify advantages and disadvantages
• Advantages of underfloor heating
  • Pleasant radiant heat
  • Heating system invisible
  • Allergy sufferers breathe
  • Underfloor heating - efficient and economical
• Disadvantages of underfloor heating
  • Swollen feet
  • Heating temperature and flow
  • Inertia of temperature changes
  • Choice of flooring
  • Repair costs in case of damage
  • Installation costs in the old building higher
  • Older plastic pipes require renovation

Underfloor heating is already standard in a new building. But whether the underfloor heating in your home really only offers advantages or whether the disadvantages may even outweigh you, you have to determine the facts themselves. To help you with this, we have gathered here once all the advantages and disadvantages.

Underfloor heating systems combine well with low temperature systems, heat pumps and solar collectors. The invisible heating coils in the floor also provide comfort and a pleasant foot warmth. However, underfloor heating can also cause significantly greater problems in the event of a defect. In addition, not everyone appreciates the long reheating of the somewhat sluggish heating in the ground. The underfloor heating may therefore not be suitable as the sole system and must be supplemented by a second heating system. This of course causes additional costs. So here's an overview of all aspects of underfloor heating.

Evaluate and classify advantages and disadvantages

A floor heating has nothing to do with luxury today. In many cases, it has enough advantages to justify installation from an economic point of view. However, you should not blindly include any benefit or disadvantage in your own calculation. What many like, does not necessarily have to please you. For example, there are a small number of people who suffer from swelling due to the heat on their feet. This advantage would be a great disadvantage for these people.

Tip: Therefore, it makes sense to hook with a thick green pin on the real and important benefits for you and other passages simply paint. So our overview together with the prices and offers of the experts can help you to make a final decision for or against the underfloor heating.

Advantages of underfloor heating

For the high comfort of underfloor heating, several aspects of the positive list always come together. In this country, safety also counts because the quality standards for underfloor heating are set by a standards committee and are the safest in the entire EU.

Pleasant radiant heat

The radiant heat of a floor heating is more pleasant, as it comes from the bottom of one and keep the residents so cool head. On the other hand, the mild radiant heat is perceived as more pleasant because it works with much lower temperatures and is better distributed.

Tip: On a radiator, you can burn yourself at full heat load. That can never happen with underfloor heating. So, just for a household with children, the floor heating is ideal. Children can play on a warm floor, at the same time do not bump into radiators nor burn their little hands.

Heating system invisible

Disturbing heating elements and radiators are usually completely missing when using underfloor heating. Only in the bathrooms, it is recommended to install an additional towel radiator. The underfloor heating system can today be combined with many different types of flooring. There are now even laminate and parquet types that can be laid on the floor heating.

• tiling
• natural stone
• laminate
• cork
• parquet

Allergy sufferers breathe

The strong rising heat on a radiator dust is whirled up, also the heat distribution in the room is very uneven for a radiator, which favors mold. The mold is also whirled up and together with the dust causes many problems for an allergic person. In contrast, the floor heating hardly sparks dust and spores due to the lower temperature and the even heat distribution.

Underfloor heating - efficient and economical

Since the underfloor heating heats the entire surface, the room temperature can be a little lower to still achieve the same heat sensation. Also, the flow temperature of the floor heating is usually much lower than the temperature required when using radiators. This can save a considerable amount of heating energy, through which a floor heating is very profitable.

The floor heating is even considered more environmentally friendly, because it can be better combined with alternative energies. When using heat pumps or solar collectors, more energy must be expended in other heating systems in order to achieve the high flow temperature. Since the underfloor heating mostly manages with a lower flow, energy is saved.

Disadvantages of underfloor heating

Of course, a floor heating can not only have advantages. However, you can easily compensate for some disadvantages, such as the longer re-heating time with a correspondingly adapted heating behavior. Modern timing minimizes such disadvantages. It is similar with the right setting, the flow temperature. This usually only has to be done once anyway.

Swollen feet

Veins and feet of certain persons do not tolerate too long standing on hot ground. So you should check if there is someone in your family who has problems with the veins or with swollen feet. However, this is not an exclusion criterion against underfloor heating. This should just not be set too hot.

Heating temperature and flow

In a normal heating with radiators, the flow temperature is set according to the operating instructions. The true temperature in the room is regulated by the thermostats on the radiator. As a result, the flow temperature of conventional heating must always be much higher. However, this also means that the flow temperature for underfloor heating must be set much finer, so that even on very cold days despite the lower flow temperature still a sufficiently warm room is reached.

Further information on flow temperatures for floor heating systems can be found in our article: The perfect flow temperature for your underfloor heating

Inertia of temperature changes

Many users complain about the sluggish heating behavior in underfloor heating. Where the heating itself for this circumstance nothing, because it heats up the screed and the floor covering and these elements provide for the long reheating time and a slightly longer period, until the room is heated.

Choice of flooring

Today, many types of flooring can be combined with underfloor heating. But carpet is not one of them because the carpet slows down the heat like a good insulation. As a result, a lot of energy is lost and the heating reacts even slower. So it's really only smooth floor coverings suitable for underfloor heating. Not so optimal is often a solid wood floor, because the wood does not tolerate the strong temperature fluctuations so well.

Repair costs in case of damage

Since damage to the floor heating usually the floor in several places or even over the entire area must be torn, the repair work is more expensive than a normal radiator.

Underfloor heating is usually included in the terms of your building insurance. The cost of repairing a leaking floor heating is therefore borne by the insurance. However, there are other damages that are not covered by the insurance.

Installation costs in the old building higher

If the floor heating in an old building is to be retrofitted, the installation height must often be taken into account. Heating systems with a significantly reduced installation height, however, are considerably more expensive. In addition, the insulation of the old floor is often insufficient, so that the floor heating can work effectively. Better is usually the complete renewal of the screed together with the underfloor heating.

Older plastic pipes require renovation

An older floor heating needs to be renovated after a few years. This is due to a certain grade of plastic pipe that used to be much used. These tubes clog over time and are open to oxygen. This creates rust and rust sludge on the metallic parts of the heating system. Although these pipes can be rinsed, but the process is often expensive and must be performed several times. In addition, when using a heat pump, a separation of the systems must be made so that the system is protected from sludge. An additional plate heat exchanger may then be required.

Tip: These problems are usually no longer present with new underfloor heating systems. However, you should be careful to lay only the new diffusion-tight plastic pipes.

Tips for quick readers

• Underfloor heating offers high comfort
• pleasant mild radiant heat from below
• Heating system remains invisible in the room
• Allergy sufferers breathe with the underfloor heating
• Underfloor heating is efficient and economical
• Veins and feet can not stand too long standing on hot ground
• Setting the heating temperature and flow a bit more tedious
• Inertia of the heating system with temperature change
• Choice of flooring limited - no carpet
• Repair costs often higher in case of damage
• Installation costs in old buildings often a little higher
• older plastic pipes require partial renovation
• Pipes must be rinsed
• possibly additional plate heat exchanger required