With old-fashioned gas heaters on the out, loads of you are looking for alternatives, with infrared heating panels or underfloor heating frequently coming up as the most common.
Some of you have tried underfloor heating and haven’t been particularly impressed by the results. Some of you like your underfloor heating fine, but are looking for something extra as a top up. And then loads of you are on the fence- you haven’t picked one or the other yet, and need
That’s why we’ve put together this quick and easy guide to help you make the right choice for your home. We’ve picked out four areas where infrared and underfloor heating massively differ to show their unique features.
1) How They Work
Underfloor heating is fitted beneath your floor and can either use ‘wet’ or ‘dry’ heating. Wet underfloor heating (also known as hydronic) is a pretty popular choice because it can be linked to a standard boiler, and uses traditional pipe systems to transport hot water throughout your floor. The heat in this water will then rise, which warms the room.
‘Dry’ underfloor heating uses electric coils to generate heat.
Infrared panels produce infrared radiation, a type of electromagnetic radiation that’s completely safe and healthy for your body. This radiation is absorbed by objects in the room, which warms them up. They then re-emit the rest into the room, creating an ambient spread of heat throughout the room.
Both forms of underfloor heating use convection heat, which operates on the principle that heat rises. Infrared heating uses radiant heat which warms objects directly. Convection heating is effective, but it’s slow, you’ll need to have it on for a much longer period before you feel the effects. With infrared you’ll be able to turn it off by the time you feel the warmth from an underfloor method.
2) How You Install Them
Installing underfloor heating is a lot more strenuous and expensive than infrared panels.You’ll need to hire some professionals, who’ll take up your floor to place all the parts your system needs. This can take a long time. You won’t be able to use that room until the job is done.
There’s also cause for concern if you have any issues with your underfloor heating. Many potential problems will lead to your flooring being lifted up. This can lead to damage to your flooring, and an equally complicated reinstallation process.
Heating panels don’t require any maintenance or servicing. That’s because infrared panels don’t involve any moving parts, so they’re under a lot less strain.Even if something does go wrong, replacing them is as simple as unplugging them and removing them from your wall.
Installing your panels is just as simple. Each panel comes fitted with a standard UK 3 pin plug, which means you can pop it into a standard 240V mains source. You could also- with the help of a qualified electrician- remove the plug and hardwire your panel directly into the wall.
3) How They Look
Both underfloor heating and infrared panels are incredibly discrete, removing the need for clunky radiators that detract from the look and feel of your room.
Underfloor heating is completely hidden from view. You won’t know it’s there until you feel the effects. This gives you more space and freedom to design your space how you want- with some important caveats.
Because it makes use of convection heat, which relies on air flow, you need to ensure there’s a minimum level of clearance above the floor of at least 30mm. This means certain kinds of furnishing can’t really be used with underfloor heating.
Infrared heating panels aren’t totally invisible, but they’re still much more stylish and discrete compared to standard radiators. Our mirror panels and image panels are particularly famous for not looking remotely like heaters and for blending in well with your decor.
It’s worth noting that infrared heaters won’t function if you put objects directly in front of them, but this is easily overcome by mounting them higher up, or placing them on the ceiling.
4) How You Can Save
Whichever option you choose, you’ll save when you compare things to a conventional system. The exact amount depends on numerous factors, including insulation and room size. Larger rooms will need more heating, while rooms with poor insulation will require you to over-compensate. This will cause the cost of both methods to increase.
To compare the two methods, we’ll need to do a small case study.
Let’s take a kitchen as an example, as this is a popular place to install both infrared and underfloor heating. This imaginary kitchen is 5m x 3m x 2.4m, and is well insulated.
Firstly, we multiply the length by the width, for an area of 15m².
We then multiply this number by the height of your room, giving us 36m³.
This number we’ll multiply by 25, as a well-insulated room needs 25W per cubic metre to feel warm. That gives us a total of 720W.
For this, we’d recommend grabbing a 900W panel, as this will ensure you’re warm enough.
Now we take that 900W wattage and divide it by 1000, to give us 0.9
Then we multiply this by hours of use. Let’s use 5 hours as an example, giving us 4.5.
This we multiply by the cost of a unit of electricity. At time of writing, this is 34p per kW/h, which comes to a total of about £1.53 a day to run.
The cost of running underfloor heating is a lot more variable, even the kind of flooring you have can have an impact. However, the average cost for electric underfloor heating will be around £1.80-£2 a day. Remember, underfloor heating takes longer to kick in, so you’ll need to leave it running for longer to feel the effects.
Final Thoughts
Underfloor heating is a luxurious way of heating your home, and for certain specific homes might be the best fit, but infrared heating panels make for fantastic all-rounder that can be quickly slotted into any home.
To find out more about infrared, please feel free to get in touch with us on 0116 436 2250, or send us an email to sales@mirrorstone.co.uk.
You can also order a free Mirrorstone Heating catalogue too, which tells you everything you need to know about infrared and our whole product range. Simply hit the button below, fill out the form and we’ll have one sent out direct to your door.