Underfloor heating thermostats, like all other components of heating systems, work in direct correlation with their price tag. Underfloor heating, mind, is a slightly different kettle of fish than most, because it works directly beneath wood (a fabric more than a little susceptible to warping through temperature spikes): and that means that the thermostats one controls them with should really be from the upper middle end, at least, of the available market.
To explain. Underfloor heating thermostats regulate the actions of pipe work that can be so close to floor boards that it is sometimes visible from above. A “normal” thermostat – i.e., one that just regulates room temperature as kicked out by a bunch of water pipes in the walls, radiators and so on – is controlling the actions of a heating system surrounded by lagging and plenty of space, all mitigating the “direct contact” effect that materials right next to the heating pipes will feel. Under floor heating pipes, on the other hand, carry a real danger of warping the floor boards they are warming: which means one’s underfloor heating thermostats are required to be a little more sensitive, in order to adequately control the heat coming up from below. Think of an under floor heating thermostat as a racing car driver, while your average control is simply a skilled cabbie. There’s just a little extra pressure involved – and that means a little extra work.
Typically, then, you ought to be looking at around £60 for a thermostat that can control your under floor heating without you needing to worry too much. That ought to pay for itself, though, in the increased control and efficiency of a system that’s already been proven to be one of the best ways of heating a home.
Underfloor heating thermostats are part of the only kind of heating system to intuitively use the most famous property of heat. It rises. Which means that heating one’s home from the ground up actually requires less oomph than heating it from the walls out, as in most conventional setups. All that cold air by the floor, in a below floor boards system, simply goes away – replaced by lovely warm air that rises through the room. As such, although the controls are more expensive, the system offers the chance of a decreased heating bill because it uses less power to do the job. Underfloor heating thermostats provide a vital part of that kit – they regulate, with hardly a microscopic up or down margin of error, the times at which the heating system is actually fired up, against the times when the air in a room is warm enough already. In the long run, that can knock a lot more than £60 off your quarterly horror story. Happy heating!
