Cyborg AnimalsAbout under floor heating
Under floor heating is a very old idea that goes back to the Romans and probably even to earlier times. It is a type of heating that fell out of favor in the modern age and that now is coming back into popularity. This post will take a closer look at under floor heating and how it can be used with sustainable flooring.
The great advantage of under floor heating is that it keeps the floor warm. A warm floor makes a room more inviting and makes it comfortable to sit on the floor. Also the heat radiates from the floor upwards. In contrast the heat from radiators is convective, going up and then filling the room with warm air from the ceiling down.
Another advantage of under floor heating rather than radiators is that a room without radiators has more space and looks aesthetically more pleasing. Also removing the radiators from a room removes places where dust can gather and cause allergic reactions.
There are two types of under floor heating: from electric cables and from pipes with hot water. The later is better for heat pumps and solar heated water as the temperature of the water in under floor pipes is only 50 degrees compared to the 60 degrees usually found in radiators.
Sustainable flooring is flooring made from a renewable resource such as cork, coconut or bamboo. Another type of sustainable flooring is made from a recycle material such as reclaimed hardwood flooring.
All these types of sustainable flooring can be laid over under floor heating. It is important to get the job done with professional help because the under floor heating could shrink and warp the flooring above.
With strand woven bamboo flooring and under floor heating it is important to use cross ply high density strand woven bamboo. For cork flooring, it is important to use cork tiles under 10 mm in thickness because cork is an insulator and will stop the heat from entering the room if the cork flooring is too thick.
In the case of reclaimed hardwood flooring, it is more dimensionally stable than new hardwood flooring. As long as the reclaimed hardwood is kiln dried thoroughly and cut accurately there is no problem with installing it over under floor heating. The same is the case with coconut flooring.
Under floor heating is an elegant solution to the problem of heating. It does, however, require expert assistance to set up and care must be taken that the under floor heating does not damage the sustainable flooring above.
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