Underfloor heating systems are highly effective at creating a comfortable environment in your home, but it’s important to note that they work a little differently than other types of heating that you might have seen before.
One of the most common mistakes that we find homeowners make with their underfloor heating system is that they switch the system off when it’s warm outside.
Here’s why you shouldn’t do that.
Hydronic underfloor heating installations are designed to be left running. This is because the concrete floor slab takes a long time (normally about 24 hours) to heat up and cool down.
If you switch the system off and let it cool down, and then turn it back on when it gets cold, you have to wait a day for it to heat up again! So it’s better to leave the system running during winter and just use the thermostat to turn the temperature up or down as needed.
“But what if there’s a hot day in summer? Won’t my house overheat?”
This is a question we often get asked! In fact, underfloor heating systems generally don’t overheat. This is because the floor is maintained at a low temperature (around 25°C). If the temperature in the room gets up to the same temperature as the floor, the heat will stop transferring from the slab to the room.
When this happens, the boiler just switches off and the concrete slab retains its heat until the temperature in your house cools down and the heat starts coming through the slab again.
So you’re not using energy by leaving the system running, because it only uses energy when it’s actually needed and not when it’s warm outside.
We all know that you use less petrol in your car if you drive at a constant speed, rather than speeding up and slowing down all the time.
Your heating system is the same. If you leave the system running and allow the thermostats to regulate the temperature as necessary, then you’ll use less fuel and reduce the amount of maintenance and repairs necessary.
As a guide, we recommend that you turn on the system around Easter, and turn it off around Grand Final weekend. We also recommend that you have your underfloor heating system serviced annually, before winter so that any maintenance required can be carried out without any down time for you.