Guide to Underfloor Heating in Bathrooms

With such a wide variety of bathroom heating options around, it can sometimes feel a little overwhelming to choose the best option. Even with underfloor heating, there's a long list of options, so the experts at Victorian Plumbing have put together this comprehensive guide to underfloor heating in the bathroom.

Whether you are moving into a new house or making alterations to your existing home, your bathroom will almost certainly be one of the key rooms in need of a bit of a makeover. A new glass walk-in shower or a fresh new washbasin is the typical choice we make when thinking about a bathroom renovation, but the heating source is a comfort factor that we should be considering when designing our dream space too.

What is underfloor heating?

Underfloor heating is the latest trend in home renovation, and installing a system in your bathroom can bring a sense of functional luxury to the room at a reasonable price point too.

Modern underfloor heating systems are simpler than you may realise. An underfloor heating system (UFH) is basically a rolled-up mesh sheet with electrical wiring running throughout. This is then purchased in desired lengths, depending on the size of your room, and rolled out flat on the floor during installation. Once connected to the mains, the UFH will then heat up from the controls. Once installed, simply screed over the system if needed and lay your chosen floor finish on top. A variety of flooring options can be used to cover the heating from bathroom tiles to vinyl floors and many in between.

When you choose underfloor heating, you no longer have to endure the shivering step out of a hot bath onto a cold floor or the icy dash across the room to grab your towel as you finish your shower; underfloor heating offers true comfort. Instead of keeping the old radiator currently eating up valuable space in your bathroom, why not install an underfloor heating system?

Energy-efficient underfloor heating

Offering energy-efficiency and requiring no long-term maintenance, the worldwide popularity of UFH systems such as the ones produced by Warmup, is a sign that underfloor heating is the future of contemporary bathroom design. With its many cold surfaces, the bathroom is the perfect room within your home to install this energy efficient heating solution.

Underfloor heating saves you money on your heating bills, as it is a much more efficient way of heating a bathroom than central heating; distributing heat gently and evenly across the whole room at once. And, because heat rises, the warmth begins from the floor, so you don’t get any cold spots, which can sometimes happen with other heating methods.

For the most energy-efficient solution to your bathroom heating needs, use insulated underlay and insulation boards when installing an underfloor heating system. To maximise the energy-saving ability of a bathroom floor heater, look into smart heating solutions. A smart thermostat can automatically control the system and obtain big savings on your heating bill too.

The 4iE Smart WiFi Thermostat by Warmup connects to your home’s WiFi connection and can be accessed remotely via your smartphone to see usage data and create an automatic heating schedule for your bathroom. Using a 4iE alongside an underfloor heating system means your bathroom is always at the right temperature at the correct time for your needs. This heating efficiency cuts down on energy waste and therefore lowers your heating bills too.

Design freedom

Sometimes radiators can appear a little bulky, especially in smaller rooms, or could spoil a particular aesthetic. Underfloor heating systems offer an ‘invisible’ approach to heating, so you can create the bathroom of your dreams with total design freedom. You can place wall-to-wall tiles with no break in design or position your bathroom suite in whatever layout you wish without having to negotiate with a fixed radiator restricting your style.

Underfloor heating also provides better air quality in the bathroom, so you can breathe better too!

Finding the right heating system for your bathroom

Whether you are using stone, ceramic tiles, wood or vinyl on your bathroom floor, there is a wide variety of underfloor heating systems perfect for your needs. You can even install a heating system behind your bathroom's wall tiles for a truly luxurious shower experience.

Coming in ready-sized rolls, electric underfloor heating mats are an easy and accessible way to install a floor heater in your bathroom. We recommend Warmup’s StickyMat system, as it is suitable for ceramic and stone flooring and provides rapid installation. What makes it so quick is an adhesive layer to attach to the sub-floor and pre-spaced heating wires, which provide optimal heat output Like the StickyMat, Warmup’s Foil Heater also comes in pre-sized mats with pre-spaced heating wiring and utilises conductive aluminium foil matting for greater heat dispersion. Unlike the StickyMat, this Foil Heater does not require screeding and is recommended for bathrooms with floating wood or laminate floor-finishes. Electric heating mats offer ease of use and great value for money.

Protecting your floor

Something to consider when installing an underfloor heating solution in your bathroom is whether you may need to make use of ‘decoupling’ technology. This means separating your bathroom floor finish from the structural layer of the building itself, therefore preventing damage to the flooring from seasonal temperature changes, for instance.

Warmup’s DCM-PRO electric underfloor heating system utilises this decoupling technology and is perfect for larger stone floor tiles that are prone to cracking in such cases. The DCM-PRO mat features castellations that can be used to wind the loose electric heating wire around, creating a more bespoke heating layout for your bathroom.

Flexible underfloor heating options

A more flexible approach to installing underfloor heating in your bathroom can be achieved by using a loose heating wire electric system; a spool of heating cable that can be cut to any desired length, making it perfect for smaller bathrooms and excellent value for money. Warmup’s Loose Wire System (also known as DWSWire) can be installed under your bathroom’s floor finish and behind your wall tiling too for added luxury. Due to its loose cable nature, your installer can lay the wire in whatever pattern is most suitable for your bathroom; skirting around fixed objects like freestanding baths with ease.

Easy to use, quick to install

Underfloor heating systems are quick and easy to install by a qualified installer. If you have any queries about installing underfloor heating in your bathroom, contact us with any questions.

It’s also a great idea to look for underfloor heating systems that are covered by extensive warranties and come with a guarantee against accidental damage during the system installation. All the underfloor heating systems that we’ve mentioned in this article come with all of these guarantees for additional peace of mind.

We hope you've found this guide to underfloor heating for bathrooms helpful and have taken away some great information, but if you do have anything to add or if you're unsure of anything, then please let us know. If you know somebody who might find this guide useful, then please feel free to share it with them.

Interested in smart heating too? Read this guide to smart heating systems.