The principals of under floor heating (also referred to as radiant heating) remain the same whether using electric or water systems.Heated floors act as efficient low-level radiators, radiating heat energy evenly into the room, gently warming the living space through a combination of radiant energy and heat conduction. In a modern, well insulated room, where heat loss factors have been taken into consideration, underfloor heating can act as the primary heat source: in the majority of cases eliminating the need for radiators.
Radiators convect heat into the room, creating rising currents of warm air concentrating at the ceiling level: this type of convection heating is wasteful and inefficient. Underfloor heating operates by radiating heat energy into the room at the floor level, gently and evenly warming the room: this method of heating is cheaper to run than radiator heating by up to 20%. Modern underfloor heating is unobtrusive, allowing the freedom to position furnishings and units wherever you want, without having to compromise on design considerations that would otherwise be the case with conventional, wall mounted radiators. By eliminating old fashioned, inefficient radiators from the walls, the days of having to arrange furniture in the warmest spots in the room, close to radiators, are over.
Finally, with radiator heating, no matter how warm the ambient temperature in the room, the floor will always be uncomfortably cold, particularly where hard floor surfaces like tiles or laminate flooring has been chosen. The great advantage of underfloor heating is that this form of heating not only warms the room more efficiently at a lower cost, it also gives a luxurious Mediterranean feel to walk on; tiles and laminate floors now have a welcoming warm surface.