Fitting Underfloor Heating under Kitchen Units

Did you know that fitting underfloor heating in the kitchen, and specifically under kitchen units, can massively benefit the homeowner?

Some people are pressured by the kitchen fitter telling them it would damage the cupboard or bake items in the cupboard. But it is worth remembering wooden floors are used on UFH without issues. So, a cabinet 200mm off the floor will not warp or twist and it will not bake goods in the cupboard.

It’s a popular misconception that underfloor heating fitted under kitchen units will damage the kitchen units or even cause overheating of the items in the cupboards. However, in the many years of specifying UFH, Multipipe have never had issues with damage to units or products inside.

This is because UFH, by the regulation, has to run at a dictated (BS 1264) floor temperature of only 9°C warmer than the air around it. By the time this goes through the air gap and to the cupboard itself, this temperature is of no concern.

So, the benefit outweighs any risk!

Our top 3 reasons for fitting underfloor heating under kitchen units

1. The main reason for fitting UFH under kitchen units is that you are futureproofing it against changes. Typically, in the life span of the pipework, you might change your kitchen over 5 times in its life span. This usually is small changes, but removing kitchen features like islands can leave massive cold spots.
2. Where you have a cool outer wall and no insulation between the floor and the wall, you can get cold bridging. This term refers to where the cold air chills the wall to such an extent that it will conduct to the floor and cool the floor itself. In older houses, this can lead to damp where the warm surface meets a cold surface. At the very least, having no pipe where your units are and starting at the plinth, you will still get a  100-200mm area where the floor is cold, even in a modern house, which is not ideal next to kitchen sinks where you tend to stand.
3. Lastly, we have had one incident in the past where mould started to grow under the units. This incident is due to a cold and damp floor meeting the warm air of the underfloor heating.

Some people shy away from fitting underfloor heating in their kitchens because of the increased cost. Still, generally for the size of the kitchen units, the increasing cost is marginal, and to add floor heating later into an unheated area is far more expensive.

However, if you are still unsure, our recommendation is to add the pipe still but add insulation in the kick space, eliminating all heat but futureproofing the system. Also, we still recommend where the fridge is to be placed, not to install UFH, as it does decrease the unit’s efficiency.

Learn more about Underfloor Heating here

We hope you find this article helpful. If you have any more questions about UFH and kitchen units, our technical team is always here to help you. Please call on 01245 850799.