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Carpets, Lino & Flooring

Does elec underfloor heating loose heat on concrete without backerboards?

Anonymous user 09/03/2024 - 2.48 PM

I was advised by a retailer not to put backer boards down under my electric underfloor heating. He insisted the trade advise was wrong and that his 40years of experience had taught him not to use backer boards. He suggested the concrete does not conduct heat and that it wouldn't be a problem. He also sold me a de-coupling membrane to lay the tiles onto to prevent cracking. Having followed his advise, the floor does not seem to be heating up sufficiently, at 20c, the floor is luke warm, on 35c the floor is comfortable. Does this sound right? Or am I loosing heat with the lack of backer boards, or could it be a problem with the heat mat or thermostat?

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1 Answer

MikaTech Designs

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Waltham Cross

It is recommended to use insulation boards on a concrete base as this will improve the energy efficiency of your underfloor heating system. The floor will heat up quicker, using less energy, than it would without the boards. The boards act as a very efficient insulation barrier allowing the heat to rise upwards and not to be absorbed in the concrete, reducing the heat up time dramatically. The heaters will hence not heat up the concrete, but reflect and push the heat to the floor level. With the insulation boards, the floor on a concrete base will heat up within 30 minutes to an hour. Without the insulation boards, the heat up time will be significantly longer, anywhere between two to eight hours.

Answered11 April 2017