Under floor or central heating?

Question

We are just about to renovate a 3 floor / 4 bedroom house and need some advice!

Answer 1

Depends on where you live, if your in the warm tropics go for underfloor "Background" heating. But if you are in the UK stick with radiators.

Underfloor heating is great for tiled areas and in "Active" rooms (where you are always busy doing somthing) but no good for resting rooms where you are watching TV say, you don't expend energy to keep youreslf warm and so need a different heat source.

Also if your sticking a carpet on underfloor then you have to heat up the carpet first!.. yeah great plan.

I know radiators can be ugly BUT with the right planning and insight you won't be dissapointed.

Answer 2

While underfloor is cheaper, the repair costs are almost 3 times as much than central. I was living in Windsor, England back in the winter of 1987/88 - their worst and coldest ever, and discovered this little known fact the hard way. I actually had to move myself, my 2 cats, 2 dogs and Parrot to London temporarily, (2 months! - We would have all frozen to death otherwise!), while they basically tore my house to pieces trying to find the broken pipes, etc... When it was all done, not only did the bill come to almost 5,000 pounds, (almost 9,000 US $ back then), but the repairs cost another 10,000 pounds to replace all my floors, walls, etc...!!! Needless to say, I not only sold the house almost immediately after wards, but then moved to Munich, Germany where central heating is mandatory. Since I've come back to NYC, my homes have always been centrally heated and cooled - and I have never had a breakdown with either.

Answer 3

remember central heating doesn't last forever
underfloor will definitely not last forever
what will it cost you in20 years when it all has to come up
go for central heating you can replace that much easier with less hassle
underfloor could end up a liability in years to come like the old concrete house problems of this century

Answer 4

I only like under floor heating in tile bathrooms - other than that go with central heat.

Answer 5

Underfloor heating in tiled areas. radiators in the rest of the house.
Don't make the mistake of having the rads under windows, that idea went out before we had double glazing.
The logical position for rads is behind doors where you can't put furniture.
If your doors are back-to-front as found in older houses, have them swapped over, it will make the rooms bigger., dont forget to swap over the lightswitches as well , or they will be behind the doors.
When rads are under windows you cant use long curtains, and they are unsightly.beasts at the best of times.

Answer 6

I've had both, under heating is nice and cheap but if u r like me and feel the cold then central heating is the answer.

Answer 7

Definately go with radiators, they are available in many styles and need not be ugly. If that is not good enough they can be encased in attractive covers too.
Underfloor heating is not particularly efficient and personally I do not like the effect too much.

Answer 8

Under floor without doubt. Cheaper.

Answer 9

I would go for underfloor. It is cheap to run and install, keeps your tootsies lovely and warm in winter, and there are no ugly radiators taking up wall space, restricting where you can put your furniture.And if you have cats or dogs they will love you for this.

Answer 10

under floor because heat rises