Which warmer floor is better - water or electric in a private house?

The heating floor system for heating in residential buildings is becoming more and more popular. Manufacturers produce several different options for such a system of heating homes and apartments. In this article, we'll talk about which warm floor is better - water or electric, in a private house and apartment. On how competent your choice is, in many respects depends on the qualitative result, and accordingly - your comfort. If all investments of forces and money do not justify themselves, frustration will be noticeable, and yet we are striving for the opposite result. So let's go through all the important points about choosing the best warm floor for the house.

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Types and features of

As mentioned before, warm floors are divided into a couple of categories: water and electric. In turn, electric heaters of this type also have their own division into classes:

1. Cable.
2. Film.
3. Core.
4. Electric water.

As can be seen from the division, the choice is not simple, because each of the types of heaters has its advantages and disadvantages, and each of them has its own features of functioning. You need to consider all the options before choosing the ideal warm floor. Water or electric - which is better, depends on what the system is designed for and what options, besides the main one, you want from it.

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Electrical

Nowadays the market offers several options for such solutions for the home. They are differently installed, operate and differ in price.

General pluses

All electrical systems have a number of common advantages for this category. Among them stand out:

1. Space saving. In small apartments, central heating occupies an already lacking space. In the same version with electric underfloor heating installation is done under the floor covering and does not occupy a useful space.
2. Durability and reliability. Such heating structures "live" for a very long time, half a century without repair - quite a long time.
3. Does not depend on utilities.

Important! Heat from the system rises to the ceiling, warming up, thereby, the air and relieving the owner of the apartment from annoying drafts.

Cable version

At the core of the design is a cable that, due to high resistance, heats up quickly when an electric current passes through it. The system itself is built on insulated wires several times so that they allow using this type of heating even in conditions of high humidity.

An electric thermostat is used to connect to the mains. Its sensors regulate the heating system depending on the temperature in the room. This characteristic allows you to maintain the optimum temperature in the house.

Important! The biggest plus is undoubtedly the cheapness of the material and the low cost of installation.

As in any other system, there were minuses:

1. High consumption of electricity when used.
2. At installation it is necessary to do a coupler - it thickens the base on which the floor covering will be laid.
3. The presence of a small electromagnetic radiation.
4. It is not recommended to use in places near plumbing.
5. Dry the air.

Film version

This heated electric floor type is operated by infrared film. Under the influence of electricity, this film emits infrared radiation. Among the advantages of this heating option can be identified:

1. The fineness of the system. Installation is made even under the carpet and is not felt at all.
2. Speed ​​of installation. Having all the necessary skills, the whole process to put such a warm floor, it will take you 2 hours.
3. This type of heater can be used immediately after installation, as there is no need to wait for the glue to harden or screed.
4. The film itself is arranged in such a way that if one element fails, all the others continue to function.
5. Installation is made on any surface.

Important! Among the disadvantages are the following:

• Since the element itself is a thin film, it simply enough tears.
• Destroys when exposed to a tile adhesive. It is not used for porcelain tiles and tiles.
• High material cost.

Rod version

The design looks like an elastic mat with a width of 83 cm and a length of up to 25 meters.

Important! The name resembles the design of the mat. Inside it there are rods with tires on the sides. During the passage of current through the bus bars, the rods are heated and the room is heated.

Installation is performed by attaching the required number of mats to the width. This system consumes little power and does not dry the air.

Electric water version

Choosing a warm floor: electric or water - which is better, it is difficult to decide. Especially when there are many different options. When an option is required for heating large areas, the electric water version is the best:

• Its operation is based on pipes through which water constantly circulates. The liquid itself is heated by the heat cable.
• Such heaters are good in that, if damaged, a piece of pipe can easily be replaced with a new one intact.
• This system is installed under all types of coatings.

Important! Disadvantage can be considered the impossibility of installing this option in small rooms.

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Water Floors

The second option for heating the room with a warm floor system is heating with circulating water, which is also used for central heating. The principle of operation is very simple: pipes are laid under the floor covering. Warm water circulates in them.

In fact, it is possible to decide which warm floor is better - water or electric, only in relation to the installation in a private house. For an apartment in a multi-storey building, such a system is not suitable.

Important! Choosing a water heating system as heating, you face installation problems. But the costs during the use of such a system are much lower.

Circulation is provided in two ways:

1. With electric pump.
2. With heating and specialized floor tilting.

Important! The second option completely excludes the presence of electricity in the heating.

The complexity of this option is to completely remove the floor covering for installation.

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Which one to choose?

Now when we know the advantages and disadvantages of each individual model, let's talk about which warm floor is better - water or electric, in a private house or apartment. It is advisable to use this or that system in each individual case.

Detached House

A private house usually assumes a large area that needs to be heated. In such cases it is better to use a water-heated floor. This solution has its undeniable advantages:

1. It is easy to mount the entire system at the required angle, which is needed to ensure water circulation.
2. This design can easily be connected to a boiler that is heated by firewood or other inexpensive materials. Unlike electric heaters of this type, which will consume a lot of electricity for heating a large room.
3. Autonomy of the solution. The water system does not depend on the power outages.

But at the same time it was not without drawbacks:

1. With large heat losses in a private house, water, as in principle, electrical systems, will not make sense. Therefore, installing in such houses a similar warm floor, you need to worry about its thermal insulation.
2. Water leakage is not excluded.
3. If the hosts leave home for a certain time, then leave the system to work at minimum power will not work.

Important! If you like to travel, then the water-heated floor is not for you, since it does not function offline. It is best then to use a rod electric version. It is the best solution.

When installing the electrical floor, it is important to calculate if the power of the electrical installation is sufficient for heating.

Apartment

A warm floor - water or electric, which is better for an apartment? Here you should remember that to install the water version you will need a lot of permissions from different inspections, and still you will hardly get them. Therefore, the choice will fall on the electric option.

But as we already know, there are several different models of such heating a few. Due to the fact that the cable floor is better not to install in places where the plumbing "dwells", it can be excluded. After all, installing two different systems is still a big deal.

Now we have only film and rod heating options. Here the choice is yours, as in many ways this or that variant depends on the climatic conditions in the apartment:

• If you have a damp house and is constantly damp, the best choice will be the rod electric warm floor.
• Otherwise, the best choice will be a film one.

Bathroom

This type of room deserves special attention if you decide to install a warm floor in it. Often such a system is used only for bathrooms. Bathroom conditions are as follows:

1. No central heating, although the room itself should be warmer than others.
2. The dampness caused by the constant use of water and insufficient heating.
3. Cold tiles. In the bathrooms, few people put some rugs on the floor or use a warmer coating for it.

Important! Proceeding from these points, it can be concluded that for the bathroom it is best to use the core version of the warm floor, because:

• It dries the air that is needed in this room.
• The installation of this material can be done directly in the glue on which tiles or granite tiles are laid.

Additional heat source

It often happens that an additional source of heating is needed in separate rooms or in separate areas. The most convenient option for additional heating is the cable heating system. Its low cost and convenient installation completely meet the requirements given above.

Important! The drawback of the system - energy efficiency, is compensated for by its non-permanent use.

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Comparison by individual characteristics

Choosing which warm floor is better - water or electric, in a private house or apartment, it is important to know and separate characteristics by which all types of these heating systems are compared.

Way of laying

The way of mounting one or another variant strongly influences the choice. Therefore, it is important to know that the installation of the cement screed:

1. of the core electrical floor - is installed in a thin screed.
2. Cable.
3. Water - provided that the water from the concrete is not absorbed in the rough wood coating.

Under the "clean floor" install:

1. Film electric heater.
2. Cable version, which is mounted in mats.

Cheap

One of the important characteristics is also the cost of the material, and the cost of maintaining the system.

Important! Winter and spring heating systems are cheaper than similar in summer and autumn.

Water floor, albeit costly when buying and installing, but fully pays for itself in operation. Further on the falling cost go the core floor, the mats of cable and simple cable.

This article is intended to help you determine the optimal warm floor - electric or water. Which is better for your variant of installation and placement of the system in your home - it's up to you, because everything depends only on the individual characteristics and characteristics of a particular room.