Now’s the time to make the most of the growing market for underfloor heating
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While underfloor heating (UFH) used to just be a luxury for high-end homes it’s quickly becoming a standard fixture in the housing market, with research indicating that it’s heading for 4–6% growth over the next four years. We’ve been seeing this growth at Uponor, with developers such as Bouygues, Wates and Berkley Group increasingly embracing UFH for residential projects.
The surge in popularity is down to a number of factors, such as an awareness of energy efficient heating solutions as well as economic, thermal comfort and the space saving benefits UFH provides. As the government seeks to reduce the operational carbon emissions created by heating our homes, the energy efficiency advantages are proving to be even more important than ever before.
The sustainable benefit stems from the fact that UFH works by warming an entire room evenly. This is more efficient than traditional systems such as radiators, where heat is lost by the hot air rising in only one area. UFH systems also operate at lower temperatures whilst still achieving the same heat output, meaning they consume less energy than traditional heating methods.
In addition to helping meet the requirement in the Future Homes Standard that new-build homes should produce 31% less carbon dioxide emissions by 2021, low-profile UFH systems can help improve the energy efficiency of existing properties. Many older properties are very inefficient and so it’s going to be important to improve them if the country is going to significantly lower the amount of energy required to heat its housing stock.
Despite common misconceptions, UFH systems don’t have to take up much space, with technological low-profile options available which can be easily applied on top of existing substrates, making them viable for retrofit projects. As the pipes of a low-profile system typically sit closer to the surface and are laid closer together, the system can also be run at a cooler temperature while still providing high levels of thermal comfort.
For more information on Uponor’s underfloor heating range, please visit: https://www.uponor.com/en-gb/products/underfloor-heating
