best heating system

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The article below is all about the ‘best’ heating system...

The latest census data tell us that 74% of households in Britain are using gas, while 9% are electric. Less than 1% are heated by ‘renewable’ energy (such as heat pumps, etc.) with most of them in West Wales, Cornwall, and East Anglia. The conventional ‘boiler’n’radiators’ remains the most common type of heating. If the government have their way, this is going to change - and that transition isn’t going to be cheap!

But if you would rather have a great heating system to keep you and your family warm, then money, although a factor, shouldn’t be top of your concerns. How about reliability? What about convenience and control?

Let’s be clear from the start. Saying the ‘best’ heating is like saying, what’s the best car? The best is going to be determined by how much you would be willing to pay. For example, most heating systems are controlled by a single air thermostat fitted to a hallway wall (or maybe each radiator has its own thermostat - though these can be fairly inaccurate). So any really good heating system is going to be one that does away with a central thermostat, and instead regulates each room not just by temperature, but by time. This means a good quality (accurate) air thermostat in every room - controlling the temperature that you set - but also timed, so that you can use it according to your needs. In a 12-room house, at £50 a go, that means you would spend £600 on air thermostats alone - before you even decide what type of heating you want. That’s a hefty amount - but necessary for a really good heating system, one which responds to your needs.

So our first requirement is individual time and temperature controlled rooms. We’re on our way towards the best heating system (money being little object). For this assessment, we’re going to assume a room that is 3 metres by 3 metres, so 9 square metres - with a heat requirement of no more than 1.5kW.

Okay, so what about exactly how that warming of the air (in the rooms) is achieved? Traditionally in Britain, this has been provided by radiators. These are heavy lumps of metal, containing hot water which is heated by a boiler (traditionally gas).

The water gives up its heat to the room, and a pump (usually fitted inside the boiler) brings the water back to the boiler to be re-heated. This is what a typical British heating system is. It’s very basic, and very old. Quite why it’s been so popular is because it’s basically all that heating ‘engineers’ (actually, technicians) know how to do. If they have served any apprenticeship or training, heating by radiators would have been drilled into them - and heating technicians are a conservative lot, they don’t like the idea of trying anything new (though that is changing). This has been the reason why heating hasn’t really moved on. Ask your installer for a quote to install a heating system, and 9 times out of 10 he will suggest radiators and a boiler! How very 1960s? When looking for a heating system, consumers really should employ the services of a heating consultant (not an architect!). Alas, many just ask their plumber...who will favour radiators, as it’s all he knows. Builders (developers) are no better. Look at most new housing developments in the very recent past, and you may see a lovely showhome...with radiators!

Where’s the vision, the progression? Trouble is, most developers are still building homes which look as though they were constructed in the 1940s. So what do you NOT want?...

We will rule out radiator heating right now. Radiators are unattractive, and rely on a system of water pipes which can leak, and they are prone to magnetite-sludge and bacterial growth in the water! We should say at this point that ‘radiators’ don’t just radiate heat, they also provide convected heat - warmed air which gets moved by the air currents within a room. That’s not to say there isn’t an argument for gas boilers, there is; but not radiators! If you must go for a gas boiler, then an obvious system is wet underfloor heating - as it lends itself so well to all heat generators: gas boilers, electric boilers, and heat pumps.

Some years back, underfloor heating (UFH) became a choice. The first UFH systems were electric, and installed in council flats - because boilers weren’t an option. They were awful, and gave UFH a poor name for many years. It wasn’t until the advent of water pipes within the floor (still heated by a boiler, though!) that UFH made a comeback. Around the same time, electric UFH using large mats (like Warmup Foil) also made an entrance to the heating market. This was finally a choice! Though many installers ignored it, some were adventurous, and some even began installing only UFH.

Advances in UFH systems have meant that some can be set into the floor, some can be installed on top of an existing floor, and some are the floor itself. Some are incredibly thin, meaning that they raise floor height by only the size of a coin. Of course, electric UFH need not raise the floor height hardly at all, and although many people rule out electric UFH because of the perceived running costs, they forget that there is zero maintenance to an electric system such as electric warming mats.

Such mats work for very many years without need of any expense. A gas boiler and radiators in competition with such a heating system would require servicing and parts replacements, and/or insurance. So that cost must be factored in. This is something widely ignored, and yet crucial to any investigation of costs, as we will come back to later.

UFH isn’t widely recognised for what it is. It is a large radiator fitted horizontally. Although your white steel radiator on the wall might be radiating heat to occupants of a room, when you heat the whole floor, that entire area is radiating heat. For this reason, UFH can run at a lower air temperature than a conventional system. Whereas you might heat the air in your room to 21° C with a gas boiler and radiators, a UFH can easily get away with heating the room’s air to only around 19° C for the same ‘warming’ effect.

Your feet are warm, and the warm air currents perform in such a way as to make you feel comfortable at a lower temperature. It’s convenient that it is this way, because each square metre of your heated flooring can only emit so much heat - let’s say 140 watts (for electric matting). For our typical room, that’s only 1.26 kilowatts of heat being emitted by your UFH. A radiator system would likely be 2 kilowatts. So your UFH is providing the same comfort warmth while emitting only a little over half of what a radiator might give out. The reason electric-matting UFH cannot emit much more than 140 watts per square metre is because of two factors: one is your choice of flooring. Many laminated wood floors cannot cope with anything much above this temperature without being harmed. Secondly, much more than 140 watts per square metre starts to feel uncomfortably warm on your feet.

Very often, UFH is retrofitted using an ‘overlay’ system. This is laid on your existing subfloor. However, it’s important at this stage to reveal a rather big problem with ‘overlay’ UFH which is under-reported. Wet overlay UFH (using pipes) has a poor output of heat. A normal output would be just 80 watts per square metre. That’s a heat output for our imaginary room of just 720 watts - hardly enough! The fabric of the room would have to be very well insulated, or the heating would have to be left on permanently (which is what some people with UFH do). It is possible to get 120 watts per square metre output. This is just over 1 kilowatt total output for our room. Obviously, electric matting at 140 watts per square metre is far better. You should be aiming for a floor temperature of 27°c.

So, the ideal is a room which is insulated enough that it only needs 140 watts per square metre, or even less. This then, on a 12 room house, might be a heat requirement (or provision) of around 15 kilowatts. If electricity (for this calculation) cost 30p per kWh, then that’s a cost of £4.50 for each hour that the house heating is running full on. In reality, of course, the room thermostats would be cutting in and out. £4.50 per hour does sound a lot (and is!), but heating isn’t about saving you money, it’s about making and keeping you warm. If a gas boiler instead supplied water to a loop of pipes under your floor, then you could slash this cost by perhaps two thirds. BUT...a gas system requires parts, servicing, and/or insurance, as we’ve already said. So ensure that you factor this in. A gas boiler would also have to be replaced after 15 years. At a cost of £2,000 that’s a yearly cost of £133 which you have to also factor in (for its replacement).

So as we can see, we’re leaning towards a UFH system as our ‘best’ system...but we’re not there, yet.

There are many heating system types, and one which is hugely overlooked is ‘trench’ heating. These are grilles covering a ‘cassette’ heating trench. Inside, either an electric element or a loop of piping emits its heat (usually) utilising a small fan.

Such a system means that there are no radiators on the walls, and you can do whatever you want with your flooring - such as lush, thick carpets. They are a little expensive for what they are, but they have advantages over other types of heating. The only disadvantage is a very slight noise from the fans. However, there are units without fans - even electric units without fans, and trench heating should therefore be strongly considered. For our typical 9 square metre room, the cost would be a little less than a £1,000.

There exists a second way of using warmed air, and this is within Heating Recovery Ventilation and straight forward ducted air heating (without ventilation). Although almost exclusively electric, it is another strong consideration for the best heating system. With a ‘passive’ home construction - one in which insulation and heat loss has been taken to the maximum consideration - it is necessary to have a ventilation system because the house is so air tight.

Stale air is removed, and the heat within that air is exchanged to fresh air coming in. This is usually around one complete air change per hour for a healthy home. A simple in-line heater can be added to the ventilation system to warm the air entering the rooms. It only gets a little complicated when control of the temperatures within those rooms is considered. Some form of shut-off of the electric heater must be incorporated, or shut off of the air to the room. This, however, would mean that the room isn’t being ventilated, as well as not being warmed. If ventilation is not a concern, and you simply want heating, then there is a lot to be said for this system, and if you have a loftspace then installation is very easy. The only downsides are that each heater has to be controlled (so a level of complexity) and the fans do have to be cleaned every year.

Each room has two grilles in the ceiling - one of which is blowing warm air in, and the other taking cooler air back out to the heater - controlled by an air thermostat (one in each room). Such a system may even lend itself to serving ground floor heating, as the ducting can simply be laid between the upper floor joists - though remember that you would have to get at the heater or fan if it fails! This form of heating is more popular in the US, though they tend to have their grilles in the floor. This may be a better system for distribution of warmed air, rather than ceiling grilles. Ducted air heating is a relatively cheap system to install. It requires some maintenance and is very reliable. If you have a bungalow, then it is a serious contender for the ‘best’ heating system...but bear in mind that control isn’t simple. The heaters have to be protected from fan failure, etc.

There is also a fairly new kid on the block in the form of infrared heating. These are being promoted as somehow ‘green’ as they attempt to warm you and not the room. However, they are still a ‘radiator’ - it’s just they don’t look like one. Indeed, you can have a picture on your wall acting as an infrared heater.

One downside to infrared heating is the cost - for what they are. To provide room heat (or rather to the people within the room), our typical room will require two infrared panels costing around £800 to £1,000. That feels a lot for what is just a panel, and almost twice the cost of a conventional gas boiler & radiator system - which would give you hot water as well. But perhaps the biggest concern is that the air within the room isn’t actually heated, so can feel cool upon entering. This is used as its ‘green’ potential, but we have grown accustomed to warm air within our homes - even if some of that is wasteful. Heating is, after all, ALL about comfort. A heating system isn’t there to save you money, it’s to provide comfort warmth - that’s ALL its job is! So with two large factors against it (cost and lack of warmed air), infrared heating probably won’t give you the best heating system.

So apart from ducted air heating (may not be suitable for ground floor heating in a house), then we can only return to three systems which we think are ‘best’...and that depends on your flooring and your budget...

Choice 1.

If you want a timber floor, such as laminated wooden flooring or engineered timber, then UFH is probably the best way to go. It will provide you with real comfort, and is very controllable and quick to warm. You can have a ‘wet’ system of plastic piping loops embedded in the floor with the water in the pipes heated by a gas boiler, a heat pump(!), or even an electric flow boiler. Or you can simply use a ‘dry’ system - electric heating mats (although there are serious issues with carpets holding the heat back!). The wet system is far more complicated, and relies on a manifold of tubes going out (and back) to all the rooms. The control (by the air thermostat) is at the manifold - as it allows warm water to flow to a room or not. And as we said before, you do have to remember that the output for wet UFH isn’t great.

Obviously a wet system also relies on a heat source, as we said - boiler or heat pump. ‘Greens’ like this as it lends itself towards heat pumps very well due to the low flow temperatures...it’s just the silliness which comes as a package along with the heat pump which we can’t abide. Heat pumps are not the answer to Britain’s heating requirements for so many reasons that we can’t go into here. You would do better (if for any reason you don’t want a gas boiler) to use an electric flow boiler...if you want a wet system. But why, when you could use a dry one? The boiler is an unnecessary purchase to achieve the same end - electric heating.

Pros:

Invisible heat

Very comforting warm floors

No furniture issues (but bean bags aren’t a good idea)

Cons:

Install cost

Disruption to building - probably best done during a refurbishment

Wet systems suffer from some reliability issues with valves

Choice 2.

If you still like your carpets (and many Brits do) then in-floor heating is the way to go. Taking up just a small section of flooring, it is pretty much perfect - and can eliminate condensation all on its own when fitted alongside a large glass window, for example. Retrofit isn’t great for it, as your flooring would have to be dug out (unless you’re lucky enough to have a timber suspended floor). But installing during a new build or complete refurbishment is quick and relatively cheap.

In-floor heating is low maintenance and so low (or no) ongoing cost. You want it truly whisper quiet, or it may wake you before your alarm clock does! The fan-assisted heaters are shorter in length than the natural-draught ones. It suits all types of homes, though it should be remembered that this type of heating was used in churches over 100 years ago - and used quaint cast iron grilles, so it can easily look good within a traditional home. Arguably the perfect heating system at typically less than £5,000 (purchase cost) for an average home.

Pros:

Low visibility heating

Quick distribution of heat - more so with the fanned type

Few furniture issues

Cons:

Install cost

Disruption to building - probably best done during a refurbishment

The fanned ones do mean a little noise

Choice 3 (best on install cost)

Hugely overlooked is heating a home by small electric convector panel heaters. A ‘full 9-radiator’ system would cost around £2,000 including electrical installation. When a gas-radiator system costs something like £8,000 that is really something to consider. And add to that, that the system won’t need ANY maintenance or servicing. The heaters are time and temperature controlled as well, so fully controllable.

Convector heaters don’t use fans, so the ‘system’ is ultra quiet, and thus ideal for bedrooms. As they are so simple, they are ultra reliable as well, and they can even be located in bathrooms - as they are IP24 rated. They are modern-looking and can usually be supplied in white, grey or black. Many landlords or property letters love them as they can mean a full central heating system very cheaply installed with great reliability. We don’t recommend ‘Futura’ electric heaters due to their stupidly-complex electronic timers and their (Futura’s) after-sales service. When we contacted them for information about their timers, they were far more concerned with our sales order history than resolving the issue for an 86 year-old lady.

Pros:

VERY low install cost

Easily replaceable

Very reliable

Can be located in bathrooms

Cons:

Visible heating - but not unpleasant to the eye

Wall space has to be available

Your hot water supply is best left to a cylinder with integral heater - speak to us about that, as well. For showering, a pump would usually be required.

How much does it cost to run an electric heating system?

That all depends on much you use it! The going rate for electricity is 21p per kilowatt hour. So if you had a 1.5 kWh heater going flat out for three hours, it would cost you 94p. In reality, it would cut down on its thermostat, so would more likely be about 50p

Why we don’t recommend heat pumps:

A heat pump extracts heat from the air (or ground if a ground-source one) and moves the heat into the home. The downsides are numerous. They use electric in addition to the heat gained from the air, they don’t work fantastically-well when it’s cold outside, they have to run continuously, they are expensive to install, they must be annually serviced, and the flow temperatures are way lower than a boiler, at around 55° C, so will struggle to heat your water cylinder. That temperature of 55° C is also a bit misleading, as heat pumps are at their most efficient when run at 40° C! The only way heat pumps can heat your home on cold days is to run continuously - cutting in and out on the thermostat (hopefully!). Unless you happen to live in a passive house (VERY highly insulated), we really don’t recommend them. High temperature (HT) heat pumps can operate at 80° C, and so could potentially heat your current radiators...but...HT heat pumps are more expensive to install and are less efficient than low temperature heat pumps. The bit that sits outside is also larger. The truth is that if your heat pump can’t cope, the electric element will kick in, so you end up with a full-on electric heating system. Heat pumps also fail, of course, so will cost you in maintenance. The whole idea of heat pumps as some sort of saviour of heating in Britain is so typical of the way this country is run - badly. So we’ll put this as simply as we can... When you take account of all the costs - purchase, maintenance, increased electric bill of a heat pump - you will NEVER pay less for your heating system than you’re currently paying. So what if you don’t have a heating system, and you’re starting from scratch? It may be cheaper to install (and run) an electric heating system than a heat pump one! That stark fact should end any interest in a heat pump (unless you are one of those who think you are saving the planet - in which case, go ahead for your ease of mind). In essence, they don’t ‘work well’ and are not a replacement for a gas or electric boiler, due mainly to cost. We have contacted those who upload a video of heat pump installations to YouTube, and we’ve asked for the data on full install costs against their current gas boiler. To date, not a single one has replied. That should tell you everything. They won’t admit the huge sum, and the fact that you can divide that figure by the number of years to grasp that you won’t be getting your money back!

The insanity of Net Zero by 2050 will require electric heating in some form or other to be adopted by everyone eventually (unless our government sees that insanity before 2050). So it’s just what form of electric heating. Heat pumps are electric as they put electric energy in to get heat out (of the ground or the air). So an ideal might be solar panels (very efficient ones yet to be invented!) providing the electric for you to use to heat your home, so that you aren’t even connected to the national grid. As we said, that’s an ideal. In reality, you will almost certainly still draw power provided by a cable coming from your street.

If some experts are correct, the warming of our homes is about to become of major significance...and not in the way that you think. There are climatologists who believe that we are about to enter a Mini Ice Age (much like when the Thames froze over between 1600 and 1800) due to solar activity and Earth’s orbit around the Sun, in about 15 years from now. If that’s so, then how we heat may be incredibly important - since we may not have the energy capacity to cope with the demand. We may see a return to wood burning at least, if not coal! Time will tell.

Cost comparison of electric heating against a heat pump installation:

Although ‘conditions’ of heating is perhaps a primary factor (such as reliability and comfort), cost is always there. Heat pumps are costly, but much more importantly, have serious ongoing costs. So let’s look at the raw costs of opposing systems for a system requirement of 10 x rooms of 14 square metres each, with a total load requirement of 15 kWh. We’re going to assume UFH for the heat pump system, and we’re going to assume it’s a new-build home or renovation project - perhaps a home to let.

Full 10 x room in-floor heating system, requirement of 15 kWh.

Cost of trench heaters...£4,500

Cost of 10 x air thermostats...£500

Cost of labour for total install...£4,560*

£9,560

Full 10 x room heat pump installation of UFH, requirement of 15 kWh.

Cost of UFH materials...£14,000 (based on nu-heat renovation costs)

Cost of labour (for whole system, including heat pump)...£11,680*

Cost of heat pump...£3,000 (British Gas - after £5,000 government discount)

£28,680

Full 10 x room convector heater system, requirement of 15 kWh

Cost of convector heaters...£1,500 (Stiebel Eltron - time & temperature controlled)

Cost of labour...£600

£2,100 plus cost of supplying electrical outlets

So, it would look like a heat pump system is TRIPLE the cost of an in-floor heating system, and almost 14 TIMES the cost of a simple convector heater system! BUT...you may say that the running costs of the heat pump system will be a LOT less than the electric heating systems. That’s true...BUT, the ongoing cost of the two electric systems will be close to zero, with no maintenance or servicing issues. Whereas the ongoing cost of the heat pump system (maintenance and servicing) will be considerable. So not only would you be £19,120 better off on install costs of the in-floor system, and a whopping £26,580 better off with the convector system, you’d have virtually nothing further to pay.* [It’s also possible to consider a full UFH system heated by a gas boiler. In this case, the likely install cost would be around £12,000 with fairly low running costs, though there would be ongoing maintenance and servicing costs with a gas boiler.]

If you would like an underfloor heating system, then our recommendation would be to use...

1. A gas boiler (set low in temperature) for money-saving.

2. An electric flow boiler if you don’t have gas.

3. An electric matting system for reliability.

4. A heat pump for running costs (but will require maintenance and servicing).

Your floor MUST be really well insulated, such as Depron mats. Though ideally, a floor insulated with Celotex. If you’re refurbishing a property, consider raising the floor level by laying Celotex sheets. Such a practice may also allow you to completely rewire your property at the same time - laying cable around the perimeter of the rooms in conduit.

*Trench heating system install costs include electrical work and assume new build or total renovation project. Trench heaters do require some annual cleaning with a vacuum cleaner, and elements may fail in the future, but are easily replaceable. Cost of UFH system labour assumes new build or renovation, so is a minimum. If you didn’t use British Gas, your heat pump would be much more costly, but your labour costs would be likely lower.

Written in 2023 - based on 49 years experience of heating & hot water installations - our experience and research. You should carry out your own research on what’s best for you, and your home. But we are here to help...info@tebe.co.uk