Should I Leave My Underfloor Heating On All Day?

Intro

should i leave my underfloor heating on all day?We all know that a well installed and insulated wet underfloor heating system can save households money on their heating bills when compared to a traditional radiator set-up.

Plus, underfloor heating is extremely reliable and it’s very rare that it will require any form of servicing – unlike a radiator system that may require regular checks and bleeding.

But, one question remains – how to get the most out of the system in terms of efficiency. Should I really leave my underfloor heating on all day?

In order to maximise the potential savings while maintaining a warm and comfortable living space, take a look at the following advice to help make the most of your radiant heating system.

Is it best to leave my underfloor heating on all day?

In a nutshell – yes – however, it does depend upon the season.

In winter months keeping the underfloor heating on will ensure faster response times when the heating is needed. It may sound odd to leave the heating on when everyone is out for the day, but with underfloor heating it can take two or three hours to warm up to the required temperature from stone cold.

This is simply because the screed in which the radiant heating pipes are laid takes a while to conduct the heat and radiate up through the floor to provide the air temperature you desire.

But, when left on at a reduced heat it can make it up to a comfortable level very quickly.

However, it’s still advisable to reduce the temperature overnight by using your thermostats effectively.

Use thermostats efficiently

A good underfloor heating system should be highly programmable and many are even remotely accessible via mobile devices now thanks to the growing popularity of smart thermostats. This gives you full control over your system, ensuring that you are not wasting any precious energy when it is not needed.

A properly installed system should also allow the family to determine exactly what temperature they would like in each room over the course of the day, often referred to as ‘zoning’. According to BEAMA, a home fitted with modern heating controls can save a family up to 40% on their energy bills.

It’s a good idea to reduce the air temperature to the mid-teens overnight with the help of your thermostats. Scheduling them to become warmer in the morning will give you a comfortable temperature to start the day and make getting out of bed easier. Then, once everyone is up and out, set them back down to a resting temperature during the daytime if nobody is in.

Once again this can all be achieved via your control panel. Setting it up correctly will make sure that it is warming automatically before anyone comes home, ensuring that a nice and welcoming temperature awaits their return.

Maximise efficiency with insulation

Insulation is very important to any underfloor heating system but it is, unfortunately, often an overlooked part of the installation process.

When people complain that their UFH system isn’t working properly or it is failing to heat the whole room, there’s a good chance that poor insulation is to blame.

Insulation works in two main ways:

1) The system itself needs to be installed upon a well-insulated subfloor in order to work at its optimal level. This will ensure that the heat radiates up and through the floor – instead of warming the concrete below.

2) Remember that radiant heating is based upon the simple principle that heat rises. Therefore it is important to ensure that this heat does not escape through a poorly insulated roof, or through thin walls and draughty windows. It makes sense to fully insulate your home at the same time as you install your underfloor heating so you ensure that the whole home is as energy efficient as possible.

Use heating only where it’s needed

Many families, especially those with larger homes may find that they use some rooms every day and others very rarely.

During colder seasons it is definitely a good idea to limit the heat used in rooms that aren’t commonly inhabited (spare bedrooms, dining rooms etc.) and instead prioritise heating in communal areas.

A zonal control system will allow you to regulate the temperate of each room independently so you can enjoy the warming comfort of radiant heating where you need it most – without wasting excess energy elsewhere.

 

57 Comments

  1. Martyn

    How can you tell, once installed, if sufficient insulation was correctly installed?

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Martyn,

      As there is probably a layer of screed and fair amount of flooring sitting on top of it there obviously isn’t any way that you can physically check the insulation levels, unfortunately.

      I’m assuming that you are losing heat fairly rapidly when you turn the underfloor heating off, hence your comment. This is usually the first sign of a poorly insulated floor, but there could be other reasons.

      Have you contacted the company that fitted your UFH? They should be happy to give you the information on the insulation that they used. If they’re not, then the chances are good that they either overlooked what is an extremely important part of the installation process or simply didn’t lay enough down for the type of subfloor that you have.

      Unfortunately, without access and more information it’s hard for me to give a definitive answer on your particular predicament I’m afraid. All we can suggest is that – if you haven’t already – you try to get in touch with the company that installed your UFH to report any issues you may be experiencing.

      Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.

  2. Jessie Harrison

    I don’t know of many people that have heated floors. I’m interested to know more about how they work. From your article, it sounds like they are reliable and don’t require much maintenance. I’m now really tempted to get a sample of what it’s like to have floor heating.

  3. Toni

    We are having a new extension. The old part of the house will have radiators and the new part underfloor heating. There is a long run from the boiler to the new extension. Would the underfloor heating be more efficient run off a separate boiler rather than from a boiler including radiators?

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Toni,

      Thanks for dropping us a line.

      Yes, if the water has to travel a very long way then a separate boiler would be better for your extension.

  4. L Earnshaw

    Hi, We have had a new extension fitted with underfloor heating which is ran off the existing boiler. The room is L shaped, top of the L is existing house, bottom is the extension. There is a partition wall with door separating it into two rooms. The smaller room is the existing house and heats up nicely and is cosy. The larger room is cold. Children won’t sit in it as it’s cold defeating the object of having the extension! When the plumber installed it I saw them put down thick insulation which had pipe runs embedded into it, the pipe was laid, then ply put down I think it was, then tiles on top. Builder advised leaving UFH on constantly which I have been doing. When British Gas came to fit a new meter I asked the question about the UFH. They said advice was only to put heating on as needed. Disappointed that my monthly DD has been increased by £36 a month! This can only be to do with the UFH as nothing else has changed. I was of the understanding UFH was supposed to be highly efficient. Am I doing something wrong? I thought of moving the UFH thermostat into the larger room but then the smaller room would be boiling. I appreciate the other room is larger and will take longer to heat up but it is never a nice temperature unless I put the fire on at the same time. I’m thinking of asking to speak to the sales rep from the manufacturer but unsure if it will get me anywhere. Before it was installed I asked the plumber to check with the manuf’s sales rep that it would heat the room sufficiently and he said yes that’s it’s purpose. Any advice would be appreciated.

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi there,

      Thanks for commenting. Unfortunately, without seeing the room and knowing exactly what has been laid we can’t really diagnose exactly what is happening.

      The only thing that I can think of is that they are zoned separately and one is getting more heat than the other. If they were both heated by the same length of pipe the heat would be evenly spread (with a little loss at the end of the run if the room is especially large).

      I think you’re right, get the manufacturer involved. They will be able to scan the area with a laser temperature gun to find out where the issue lies.

      Sorry I can’t be more precise.

  5. Henna

    Hi,

    We are having a new house built and are having underfloor heating on the ground floor. The second floor also has a concrete floor and I would like to have underfloor heating there aswell. However, my husband prefers radiators on this floor as he thinks the underfloor heating will take longer to warm the carpets that we are going to be having on this second floor. Please advise us and also how can we make sure that the builders are using enough insulation on the underfloor heating.

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Henna,

      Underfloor heating can certainly work in your situation, especially as you are building from scratch. If you are using reputable builders with knowledge of UFH systems you shouldn’t need to worry at all. They will know exactly how much insulation to use, but you can make sure by reiterating your concerns to them and giving them the green light to use an extra layer if space permits.

  6. Caroline

    Hi, I live in a BISF house built in 1948 and I am thinking of putting in electric under floor heating in the kitchen/dining room, in the kitchen I know there are quarry tiles would this be a straight forward job to lay or involve taking the tiles up and lots of mess.

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Caroline,

      At a minimum, you would need to prime the floor and lay some decent insulation on top of your quarry tiles to make the electric underfloor heating work properly. Unfortunately, this is likely to raise the flooring up too much if you already have existing units built in to your kitchen. While it may be tempting to opt for very thin insulation boards to get round the problem, it’s important to remember that doing so may impact the floors warm up time and increase your energy bills considerably. Hope this helps.

  7. James

    Hi,
    I am currently building an extension which will be our kitchen diner, the original kitchen floor was taken up then insulated with 100mm celotex and new sub floor laid on top. The extension floor was built to the same method leaving 70-80mm for screed.
    At the last minute we decided we would like underfloor heating, the plumber says that we will not have any issues as the sub floor is insulated just not in the ideal manner but I’m worried the sub floor will draw too much heat out before the screed warms up! We could probably fit 25mm celotex under the screed but any more and the screed would be too thin! Is there anything else we could do or am I worrying about nothing? Thanks

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi James,

      If you can get the extra 25mm down it will certainly help, but you will lose heat into the subfloor. It obviously won’t be as much as if there were no insulation underneath, but you are going to lose some nonetheless.

      An alternative in this situation could be a multi-foil insulation rather than a board. Take a look at something like SuperFOIL SFUF. At only 6mm thick, it would allow you to lay a better layer of screed and provide an element of ‘bounceback’ for the downward heat.

      Hope this helps!

  8. jock rogers

    We purchased a home with Gas powered radiant (H2O) heating. We are uncertain where the zones are exactly and would like to know. We contacted the original installer and he didn’t have the plans or any map.

    Can you suggest a good tool that would help us map the zones. Thanks Jocko

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Jocko,

      Apologies, I’ve only just seen this, for some reason I didn’t receive an alert.

      Have you got it sorted now? If not, the sort of thermal imager most commonly used for a task such as this is one with a visible light camera (see here). These are pricey, but they do the job extremely well. If you keep the packaging in order, you would most likely get a good chunk of your money back on eBay once the job’s done.

      Sorry again for the tardy response.

  9. David Rose

    Hi

    I have recently moved to a new house back in April. The complete groundfloor has wet UFH. Upstairs is conventional rads I was told that the pipes for this were set in 5 inches of concrete/screeding and then on top of this are marble tiles. The house has a cavity wall design with 4″ kingspan insulation. There are two zones the main house and then an annexe. I have Hive 2 controlling all areas of the house As we move into winter I am trying to get to grips with how to control the room temps. I want to set it up to avoid the costly heating from cold peaks and troughs mentioned in your article above. For perspective in the annexe area I set the temp to 22C between 6.30 am (20.6C) and 8.30 am (20.9C) this week and looking at the data log for this room heating continued to a max of 22.6C at midday. Additionally the main house yesterday did not have any heating come on at all and from the data log you can see that the heat of the day from midday to 5pm heated it from 21.5 to 23C I have a bit of a process engineering back ground so I believe that the example for the annexe would be a typical “heating from cold” profile. I am trying to decide/workout what would be the best schedule to use for the two rooms to avoid having to heat from cold and I am looking for your input on this. The house is pretty much occupied all day also. I am thinking something like the following – 22.2 C 0800 – 21.00; 20C 21.00 – 0500; 23.0C 0500 – 0800 as a start point and then fine tune from there based on how that would make the rooms feel comfortable during the day. Does this make sense ??

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi David,

      Yes, you’re definitely on the right track. It’s all about testing. While you may waste a little energy initially, you’ll find the perfect fit for your property over time via fine tuning, as you mentioned.

      Every property is different, as are our own preferences when it comes to comfortable heating levels, so stick with the testing until you find what’s best for you. Good luck!

  10. Marius

    Hi,
    We have a house with hydronic underfloor heating.The floor is covered with ceramic tiles,and we have room thermostats in every room.In the house the temperature rise 22-24 degrees (as we set the thermostat) but we don’t have the feeling of heated underfloor,and our feets are cold
    Thx
    Marius

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Marius,

      Where are you taking the temperature from? Is it a probe that is fitted in with the UFH or is it an external reading measuring the air temp in the room? If it’s a probe that you have, it could simply mean that you need to crank the system up a little as ceramic tiles can take a little more to warm up. The reading you’ll be receiving will be more from the screed than what you’d feel on your feet.

  11. James Proctor

    We recently bought a bungalow with UHF we have an oil boiler ,thermostats in every room and also a timer unit which has 3 on off times for hot water and central heating.my problem is one thermostat seems to overrule the time clock and click on all day and night.We are elderly and can’t afford huge oil fuel bills.If I turned down this thermostat at night the house is chilly in the morning.Any advice .I had the oil boiler serviced but the man said he didn,t know much about this system.It is a 6 year old house.no instructions left by previous owner.

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi James,

      This may seem obvious, but have you tried looking up the system online? Many manufacturers supply manuals on their websites that may give you a clue as to what is happening here.

      From what you’ve said, it would appear that something is amiss. The timer should be controlling the ‘On’ and ‘Off’ of your boiler, so the thermostat shouldn’t have any say in whether the heat kicks in on or not outside of the times you have set.

      Have a hunt around online to see if you can find your particularly timer/boiler to ensure that all is set up correctly. Other than that, it may be a case of biting the bullet and getting a qualified installer round to take a look, unfortunately.

  12. Marie

    Hi Is there any kind of underfloor heating for up stairs if your floors are floorboards and not solid .

  13. Lynn

    Hi, We have just had our house renovated and we have underfloor heating in the main room downstairs, radiators in all the other downstairs rooms and upstairs. The underfloor heating is on a separate manifold, but shares the same, new system boiler. We have set the underfloor heating to be warm by 7am, 21 degrees, and set the setback temp at 17 degrees. At 11pm the system goes to set back temp. The other rads are programmed from a different timer, close to the boiler. The problem is, the rest of the radiators are timed to come on at 7am, yet they come on in the middle of the night, eg about 4.30 am. We wonder if this is linked to the underfloor heating starting to warm up? Our builder just says we should put the underfloor heating on continuous. Having read some of your articles,I don’t feel we should need to do that. Do you have any advice for us please? Many thanks

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Lynn,

      They really shouldn’t be coming on if your system is correctly zoned. Besides, it sounds as though you are already running your UFH continuously, just dropping the temperature as you should. It could be that your zone valve is locked in an open position, allowing hot water to pass whenever it is called upon elsewhere, but you’d really need to get your builder to take a look as it’s extremely difficult to diagnose problems without being there. Sorry I can’t give you a more accurate answer.

  14. Douglas smith

    Hi
    Really useful article and comments. We have an electric UFH system on our ground floor living and dining area and radiators in the rest of our three storey house. We like our bedrooms cool overnight and have found that if we leave our UFH on overnight at 18 degrees downstairs it can still get very warm on the first floor above where we sleep. Can I just check the lowest temperature we can leave our UFH electric system on overnight to maximise efficiency but to not make us uncomfortable? Thanks.

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Thanks for the kind words Douglas, much appreciated.

      To be honest, this is only really a question you can answer yourself, as what makes me comfortable may well be irritating for you and different parts of the country are naturally colder than others. Take it down as low as you can to get to the level you are happy with and test the heat-up time of the floor once you’re awake. Is it still warming up as quick as before or is there a discrepancy? If you’re happy with the speed, you’re all set. If you’re not, try increasing incrementally until you find a balance you’re happy with. Hope this helps.

  15. Maggie

    Help !,,, I have a tp83 wavin under flloor system for my kitchen, it keeps coming on when showing that it should be off ( in economy mode ) very annoying that it comes on over night when not needed.

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Maggie,

      You’ll need to get someone round to take a look at it, I’m afraid I can’t help from here, sorry.

  16. lizzie

    we have underfloor heating in three downstairs rooms and the rest of our house (upstairs) is radiators. All of it runs off one boiler.
    Is it normal to have to run the underfloor heating on the same programmes/timings as the radiators? We need the underfloor on permanently but don’t want the radiators on permanently….

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Lizzie,

      Ideally, you should have zones that allow you to control both the radiators and the UFH independently. A decent plumber would be able to fit this for you.

      Hope this helps.

  17. andrea bolvig

    which is the best method to use to heat water for underfloor heating:
    1. electric boiler – connected to solar panels
    2. pellet furnace
    3. heat exchanger

    we have 180 m2 of pipes with 5 zones – under our floor ready to connect!

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Andrea,

      That’s quite a question, and one that could lead to a lengthy answer! To keep things short, it really comes down to personal circumstances and, to some degree, your own preference. Each have their own merits, but they also come with downsides, too.

      Solar is a great option, but can be costly to install and require a fair bit of equipment – all of which will need to be maintained at some point. It’s also worth bearing in mind just how much sun you get where you are. While it will still work, it’ll be less efficient in gloomier parts of the world.

      Pellet furnaces are proven to work well, but need regular user maintenance – emptying the ash bins, brushing the heat exchanger etc.

      By heat exchanger, I assume you are referring to a ground source heat pump? If so, these are brilliant, but you will need to dig up a large part of your outdoor space in order to lay down the coils. If you’ve already landscaped your garden this is obviously out of the question.

      Sorry for a bit of a non-answer, but it’s really a case of researching each one and coming up with what you feel fits best with your individual needs.

  18. Rik

    Hi,

    We have UFH downstairs.

    A piano tuner was concerned and said UFH was not good for a piano (baby grand).

    Any thoughts?

    Thanks, Rik

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hey Rik,

      All forms of central heating aren’t great for pianos, as temperature fluctuations can mess with the tuning. This is why piano tuners will often recommend that you keep the instrument away from radiators, windows, etc.

      Underfloor heating does pose a problem in this regard as it is obviously everywhere, so you cannot move the piano away from it. One solution is to buy a piano carpet, but they’re not the most aesthetically pleasing things in the world!

      • Keith Johnson

        Re pianos……
        I am a classical pianist wth a £50K Bluthner grand and an old 3000 square foot place in the country with underfloor heating downstairs.
        It’s not just the tuningthat is a problem – the dry heat directly under the piano can cause dire, expensive problems with the soundboard, the wrestplank and the instrument generally. A piano carpet for a large grand is very expensive but I would think that the appearance could be improved by laying it under the carpet and cutting out the underlay so it was not visible.
        One can buy a system to fit under a piano that works as a humidifier and a dehumidifier but this is expensive and requires maintenance.
        Either of these solutions is likely to cost the best part of a thousand pounds.
        My solution? We have eight zones downstairs (big house). The Music room is set on frost protection and I leave the door open so the room is heated by convected heat from the adjoining rooms and the Aga in the kitchen next door. This does mean my wife and visitors hear me practicing, but I am assured they enjoy this, (usually), and if it gets too chilly I close the door, don fleece lined shirts and switch an electric heater on if necessary:-)

      • Underfloor Heating Expert

        Thanks for taking the time to write that Keith, I’m sure others will find your information useful.

        All the best!

  19. Jim

    Hi,

    Great service thanks.

    What temp should the water be flowing into the UFH system be?

    Cheers,
    Jim

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Jim,

      All depends on your set up. If you’ve got floating or timber suspended floors you’ll want to a water flow of around 50-55°C. Screeded floors need a more delicate heat, typically 40-43°C. Variations can occur depending on the insulation that you have in place, too.

      Hope this helps!

  20. Aisling

    Hi, My husband and I are building a new 2200 sq foot house and we plan on using UFH in the downstairs rooms. We had planned on putting it upstairs also but a contractor we are thinking of using is pushing radiators in the upstairs rooms.Why is this?

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Aisling,

      Firstly, apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

      If your house is being built from scratch, I really can’t see any reason not to put underfloor heating upstairs. The only real consideration when thinking about putting UFH upstairs is will it run efficiently. When building from scratch you can ensure that it will by correctly insulating the property during the build. So, to answer your question, I’m not sure why your builder is shying away from UFH. Have you asked?

  21. Jim Stelfox

    I have installed under floor heating in a new conservatory of 33 sq mts, it works fine and is set ar 20 deg C, roof has thermal sheets on it and all windows and doors have thermal blinds.
    But it’s the same problem how do I use it efficiently, wife rises at 6am I am at home all day and we retire at 10pm. Dog loves the warm tiles.
    I installed it myself but had a plumber to connect water and electrics, screed is 60 to 70mm as laid using a laser with ceramic tiles on top.
    I set it out in 3 zones to stop the water cooling by the time it reached the end of a large single zone, spacing of pipes is 150mm and I used 100mm of polystyrene slabs on a flat concrete base.
    Temperature is controlled by a heatmiser thermostat and timer.
    Only used it for 4 days but heat is very good and feels a different heat to radiators, I think it was a good move just hope it doesn’t break my bank.

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Jim,

      Glad to hear your new underfloor heating system is working well so far. It sounds like you’ve done a good job laying it down, now it’s time to reap the rewards. Keep on testing your system with different temperatures and timings in order to improve efficiency. Good luck!

  22. Lisa Young

    Hi, my thermostats in two rooms are dropping by 1 so the thermostats call for heat and the boiler kicks in, the problem I have is that it is taking about 5 hours to reach the set temperature. I have the main room set for 21 and it stays like that permanently but the other two are dropping every day. Is there anything I can do to increase the speed?

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Lisa,

      Are the two rooms situated on the north side of the property? This can sometimes occur in this instance. The best thing to do so is to test each zone’s temperature independently, rather than having each set to one temp. That way you’ll be running your system more efficiently and shorten warm up times.

      Hope this helps!

  23. Andy

    I have a four bed house with a wet underfloor system supplied via oil tank . Each room has its stat and top and bottom have two timers . So can have upstairs on or bottom off or visa versa. We have it timed at the moment but seemed to be using allot of oil . Can you advise the best cost affective way of running this system please ?

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Andy,

      As every property is different, the only way to truly get the most out of your system is to test, test, and test again. Keep records on different settings used, the outside temperature, oil used, etc. and then compare and contrast. It’s also important to factor in how comfortable you and your family feel at different temperatures too. What may be perfect for one person will be intolerable for another.

  24. Tina

    We have just moved into a 3 story 5 bed house with wet UFH. Concerned about gas bills all thermostats are set to 16c in occupied rooms and 14 in those we don’t use (top floor)
    The issue we are having is that during the night the temp in different rooms is dropping and firing up the boiler and very noisy pump. To which husband is getting up and stomping round turning down the thermostats.

    Is there a more efficient way? Or does it sound like a fault?

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Tina,

      Try upping the top floor to 16c as well, as it may be this causing the call on your boiler. Night settings (setback) are generally around 16-17c, so the 14c may be a little on the low side. As we’ve mentioned previously, all properties are different so it really is a case of testing and recording your findings to get the most efficient settings for your particular home.

  25. Jean

    Hi, We have nest controlled ufh in new ground floor extension of refurbed 3 story 5 bed semi. A second nest is temporarily in the front ground floor sitting room (north) as when the nest was on first floor controlling all rads in rest of the house, the sitting room and entrance hall was very cold and radiators were hardly on. Moving the nest has improved the heat in this room and hall, but I am concerned the bills will rocket. It was a mistake that we didnt ask contractors to retrofit ufh in the front half of the house as well. We have used 45000kwh of gas in the first 3 months of occupation. Can you think of anything we can do to improve the usage but stay comfortable? I am using the nests on manual shedules like a regular stat. I.e. 18-20 degrees 5.30-7.30am & 4.15-10pm at night and 16 degrees at all other times.
    Ufh nest is 3rd gen and the other 2nd.

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Jean,

      Apologies for not getting back to you sooner. I’m not quite sure what’s going on to cause such a large amount of gas to be used. Obviously, I haven’t seen your property, but 45,000kwh of gas in a quarter is ridiculously high…the ANNUAL average is around 16,000 to 18,000kwh! I would get someone in to take a look at your setup immediately.

  26. Andrea Woolley

    I am completely new to UFH. I am having an extension and am putting UFH in the old and new part of the ground floor. The area is open plan – sitting room, breakfast area and kitchen. I have a question about zoning. It has been suggested to me that UFh can be uncomfortably warm to your feet when standing eg at the cooker , or sitting at the table, and that the furniture eg sofa gets uncomfortably warm. The suggestion is having a perimeter zone in each room zoned separately from the centre of each room. Could you please comment on the too hot under feet and sofa possibility. Is such zoning recommended or over the top?

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Andrea,

      Apologies for the delay in getting back to you…I didn’t receive a notification about your comment, sorry!

      This is largely a matter of personal opinion, some will say it’s a must, while others will claim it’s a waste of money. The question to ask is, how does heat affect you and your family? Do you relish the warmth, or does heat make you uncomfortable? As for furniture, providing there’s adequate space between the base of the sofa and your floor, it should be fine to put your couch over an area with UFH. When standing at the cooker, you should be able to do so without the underfloor heating becoming unbearable. If it does, you’ve likely got it on too high anyway and would need to take it down a notch or two.

      Another way to lessen the heat in areas where you’ll be standing is to ensure that these areas are at the end of the pipework’s run rather than at the start. This will help keep the heat marginally lower in these areas as the water will cool off ever so slightly as it makes its way around the loop back towards the boiler for reheating.

      Hope this helps and apologies once again for not replying sooner.

  27. Debbie

    Hi,
    We moved into a house last year which has a conservatory installed with under floor heating. Obviously during the winter months we found it extremely cold and an unusable room. A builder advised us to keep the underfloor heating on low continuously, suggesting this would be cheap to run and make the room warmer. We tried this for a couple of weeks and it was slightly warmer, but our electricity bill that month shot up (not sure if this was coincidental). Would you advise us to try this again this year or is trying to maintain a comfortable temperature within a conservatory during winter months a loosing battle?!
    Thanks,

    • Underfloor Heating Expert

      Hi Debbie,

      Yes, that would be my advice if you want to use the conservatory regularly. Without keeping it on low, trying to heat it up each time you use it would take an age as you are having to warm the screed and tiles (or other flooring) each time. Having it on low means you can just up the temperature whenever you want to use the conservatory and start to feel the results almost instantly.

      Obviously, there will be an increase in your electricity bill as you are drawing power constantly, but it’s just a case of monitoring it and working out whether it’s cost-effective enough for you and that you’re getting what you want from the extra charges. Ideally, conservatories should be fitted with wet UFH as the running costs are so much cheaper when leaving on constantly, but you probably didn’t want to hear that!

      Hope it works out for you.

  28. Eden

    Hi, I really enjoyed reading the questions and answers on here. My conundrum is that my family and I have just moved into a newly fully converted single story wood clad house, which has a new electric boiler (GAH Electrastream tri-core) and a Heatmiser UFH System (UH8-RF) with 5 zones (3 bedrooms, lounge, bathroom). The Heatmiser slimline-RF thermostats are fully programmable (as I am sure you absolutely know).

    So here’s my conundrum, the electric boiler enables me to see when the UHF is calling for heat and when the value and pump are in operation. My assumption was that the UFH could call for heat and draw heat from the hot water tank as required even when the elements are not heating. The boiler controller has 3 programmable time slots, and a max temp setting (currently set to 65 degrees). I was initially thinking about setting the hot water timer in the early morning, lunch time and early evening.

    What I think I have found though is that while the UFH shows as calling for heat, no heat is being pumped to the manifold unless the heating elements are working (i.e. its in one of the programmed time slots). What would your suggesting be here? I read that its better to leave the UFH system on all day, however I won’t be able to do this without leaving the electric boiler/elements on 24 hours a day. This will obviously come with a high cost.

    For houses with electric boilers, is there recommended strategy to ensure the UFH can work effectively, without costing the earth? I guess its a balance of hours heating water vs UFH in operation. Really hoping you have some advice. even if its just number of hours to run per day (3x2hours=6, 8,10,12?)

    Thanks in advance