Floor

Warm floors for the kitchen

Underfloor heating is not an essential thing and at the same time increases energy consumption, and the heating system itself and its installation require investments. The question arises, do you need a warm floor in the kitchen? In our opinion, in many cases it is really needed and worth the money..

Underfloor heating in the kitchen is necessary if:

  • You are planning attach a loggia to it and want to equalize the temperature in two parts of the room.
  • You want to finish the floor with tiles or laminate while the child is living in the house.
  • You and your family love to walk barefoot..
  • You live above the basement, on the first or second floor.
  • If the apartment is not heated well enough.
  • Or if you just want to make your kitchen more comfortable.

A warm floor in the kitchen may not be particularly needed (except in the off-season) if:

  • The apartment is well heated, and the floor is covered with cork, linoleum or some kind of wood covering.
  • The kitchen windows face south or southwest, which means that in summer most of the time the room is flooded with sunlight.
  • You and your family prefer to walk around the house in slippers.
  • There is no small child in the house and it is not planned.

So, the main advantage of such a heating system is comfort. Next, we will consider what types of warm floors are, their pros and cons, and how to minimize the cost of their creation.

Types of electric underfloor heating

Having decided to install a warm floor, the first thing you need to do is choose the system that is suitable for your case. Electric underfloor heating can work on the principle of convection (cable underfloor heating) and infrared radiation (film and rod system). Let’s take a look at all types of electric underfloor heating in more detail.

Cable

In general, cable floor heating can be called outdated, but still it is still in demand. Cable underfloor heating can be different: resistive and self-regulating, two- and single-core, shielded and unshielded, with insulating Teflon or PVC coating, in the form of mats or an independent cable, powerful or low-power.

  • Most often, resistive systems with a two-core shielded low-power cable in the form of mats are chosen for heating a kitchen in a city apartment..

Electric cable underfloor heating in the form of a mat

For heating cold kitchens, for example, on the veranda of a house or a kitchen with an attached loggia, it is worth choosing a powerful system.

As for the choice of coating, then it’s up to you – Teflon coating is more reliable and thinner than PVC, but increases the cost of the system by 15-20%.

Cable underfloor heating is part of the “pie” with insulation, a rough screed and aluminum foil that directs heat into the room. The heating cable is poured with 3-4 cm of cement-sand screed, after which the finishing coating is laid.

Laying of a cable infrared warm floor in the form of mats

Laying of a cable infrared warm floor in the form of mats

Pros: Can fit under any floor covering, including tiles.

Minuses:

  1. Since the cable system is laid directly into the concrete screed, it is available only for those who plan to carry out major repairs..
  2. Another drawback – if one section of the cable breaks, then the whole system will fail..
  3. Cable underfloor heating can be installed only where heavy furniture will not stand, for example, a kitchen set or a sofa. Otherwise, in places of pressure, the cable will overheat and, in the end, burn out..
  4. Several times greater heat loss compared to infrared heating systems. Heat in this case rises to the ceiling and “accumulates” there. This means that most of the energy is wasted..
  5. Consumes more electricity than infrared film or underfloor heating.

Detailed instructions for laying a cable heating mat with your own hands are presented in the following video:

Film

Film floors themselves are classified according to the materials used for the film. This could be:

  • Bimetallic compound based on aluminum or copper.
  • Carbon film with copper and carbon elements.

Film infrared warm floor

Pros:

  1. It is spread directly under the covering (linoleum, laminate, parquet) without screed. This means that you will not need to raise the floor level and carry out major repairs..
  2. Saves up to 20% of electricity consumption.
  3. Due to the parallel connection of the heating elements, the breakdown of one of the sections does not lead to a breakdown of the entire system..
  4. Heat loss is several times less compared to cable floors.

Minuses:

  1. Film underfloor heating is intended only for “dry” installation.
  2. The foil floor is not suitable for installation under tiles.
  3. It can be installed only where heavy furniture will not stand (due to the danger of overheating).

Laying a film infrared warm floor

How to calculate how much film warm floor you need to buy to heat the kitchen, as well as how to make a warm floor using this system with your own hands, we suggest watching in the following video:

Rod (carbon)

This is another type of infrared floor heating, which is a mats with carbon rods connected by copper cables..

Rod infrared underfloor heating

Rod infrared floor is available in standard and high power. Powerful underfloor heating is designed to heat cold rooms, for example, attached loggias, verandas or those located above the basement or on the ground floor of a building. Standard flooring suitable for all other rooms.

Rod carbon underfloor heating under the tiles

Rod carbon underfloor heating under the tiles

Pros:

  1. This heating system is suitable for any coating, from tiles to linoleum..
  2. Distributes heat evenly, which saves up to 60% of energy consumption.
  3. The core heat-insulated floor is self-regulating, which also significantly saves energy (the areas under the furniture are automatically heated less, and more near the window or exit to the balcony).
  4. Carbon rod mats are durable (Unimat floors are guaranteed for 20 years).
  5. Does not fail if one of the sections breaks down (due to parallel connection of heating elements).
  6. Heat loss is several times less compared to cable floors.
  7. The system heats up quickly – in about 2-3 minutes.
  8. Laying the infrared rod system does not make the floor much thicker. In finished form, its thickness can be only 3 cm.
  9. This is the only type of underfloor heating on which heavy furniture can be placed without fear of overheating..

Minuses:

  1. Requires overhaul, as it fits on the “wet principle”.
  2. You can lay a carbon floor heating with your own hands, but it is better to entrust the installation to professionals, since the rods are very thin and fragile.
  3. You can run into a fake.

Rod carbon underfloor heating in a screed

How to install a carbon underfloor heating with your own hands, see the following video from the manufacturer Unimat.