Floor Coverings For Underfloor Heating

The biggest reason for underfloor heating underperforming is usually due to the floor covering. This is normally out of the control of the installer, as it is your client that typically picks the final floor covering. But going forward, we should be educating our customers of the pitfalls of fitting an incorrect floor covering.

After you have completed your final commission and set up the system to work as it should do, your responsibility as an installer is over. But there is nothing stopping your hard work from being undone by a simple incorrect floor covering.

Thick wood and carpets are a killer of UFH outputs, so it is important for the customer to get the “R-value” of the floor covering from the manufacturer and find out whether it is suitable for UFH (as some floor coverings are not!).

You want to be aiming for a floor covering around 0.05 m²K/W – 0.15m²K/W – the lower the number the better your heat output to the room.

Carpet tends to be the troublemaker, with some higher quality carpets having Tog value (similar to R Values) as high 5 togs which is 2 times higher than we recommend. We recommend carpets not to exceed 2.5 togs but the lower the tog, again better the output.

Try where possible to be installing tiles and approved vinyl floors as these are the best.

This is a short guide on floor coverings and how they can affect how you choose UFH but if you need specific advice then please speak to our technical team on 01245 227630.

Take a look at our Underfloor Heating products 

If you’ve any more questions about floor covering for UFH, our technical team are always here to help you out. Get in touch with us

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