A to Z of building your own home... U

Under-Floor HeatingUnder-Floor heating is one of the most cost effective ways to heat your home. Modern underfloor heating systems use either electrical resistance elements or fluid flowing pipes to heat the floor. Either type can be installed as the primary or whole building heating system.UFH, if provided your house is well insulated is currently perceived as a useful asset.  Given that a high proportion of new homes are now being built with UFH as standard, it might be soon that modern houses will be worth less if they do not have it. To put UFH in perspective, water in radiators has to be 85 degrees, but UFH only requires 45 degrees. It is particularly efficient in properties with high ceilings, such as barn conversions. As radiators give off convection heat, which warms a room from the ceiling air downwards, however UFH heats the floor upwards.How much will it cost? Most UFH systems are bespoke and prices are influenced by many factors. An old house with poor insulation will require more piping than a modern, well insulated property. As a rough guide, builders work off of £16 per m2 for stone floors and £30 per m2 for timber floors, however this does not cover labour costs. U- ValuesIn short, U values measure the effectiveness as an insulator in buildings. For example, Solar Panels use heat energy from the Sun to provide hot water or to heat buildings. Specific heat capacity of a substance allows us to calculate the amount energy needed to heat it up.In terms of building materials, here are some typical examples;

• A double glazed window has a U-value of 2.8 W/ m²
• A cavity wall has a U-value of 1.6 W/ m²
• A solid brick wall has a U-value of 2.0 W/ m²

The lower the U-value, the better insulation it is for you. As per the information above, you can see that the cavity wall is the best insulator and the double glazed window is the worst insulator, however, most household heat is lost through the windows or the roof.Most homeowners who were wanting to save money, would install double/triple glazing or install extra insulation to reduce heat energy loss.