AT Home with Sarah Beeny - December 2011 - (Page 148)

TOASTY toes F 148 | DECEMBER 2011 Under oor heating is a complete dream as it ensures that you receive the perfect living temperature evenly spread throughout your home underﬂoor heating is catching on for older properties as well. cost-efﬁcient when operated at the relatively low temperatures required by underﬂoor pipes. Typically, the water temperature needed in an underﬂoor heating system is 40°C to 60°C (compared to the approximate 80°C temperature required by a usual radiator system), warming the ﬂoor to a temperature of 25°C-28°C, which is comfortable to walk on. Wet systems concentrated in the lower part of the room, very little of it is wasted. A feature of many new homes, These systems work SAVE IT! GREAT FOR: New-build by circulating the low UNDERFLOOR properties, complete temperature water through HEATING USES renovations, extensions a series of continuous LESS ENERGY and large areas where pipe loops under the ﬂoor, THAN OTHER pipes can be laid on to connected via a manifold METHODS the subﬂoor before the to a boiler. As the water runs ﬁnal surface goes down. through the system, heat Fitting underﬂoor heating in from the water ﬂowing through ﬁnished rooms is obviously going to be the pipe passes directly into the ﬂoor. a big job as every ﬂoor will have to be Any kind of fuel can be used to taken up and then re-concreted once heat the water – from gas to solar the pipes are in. It’s going to be messy panels or even an Aga. Most experts but certainly do-able for an experienced recommend condensing boilers DIYer or conﬁdent ﬁtter. Basically, it’s which are the most fuel- and WORDS: MARIE FARQUHARSON | PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES or a great alternative to conventional radiators, underﬂoor heating is an increasingly favourite choice. Although this style of heating dates back to Roman times, when heated water passed through and between ﬂagstones, the concept has taken its own time to catch on in British homes. But now that it has, it is becoming more and more popular. Underﬂoor heating isn’t that different from conventional heating systems – basically it provides the warmth to a room from the ﬂoor up rather than heating the ceiling space ﬁrst, as is the case with radiators. It’s extremely efﬁcient because the entire ﬂoor becomes a type of ‘radiator’, which emits heat in a very gentle way. As a result there are no cold spots and, as most of the heat is mostly DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEATING SYSTEMS When considering heating your ﬂoor you have a choice of two systems. Choose what is right for your home:

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AT Home with Sarah Beeny - December 2011

EDITOR’S LETTER
HELLO FROM SARAH
NEWS
MAKE IT A DATE
FESTIVE FOCUS
HOME COMFORTS
LIGHT FANTASTIC
PASTE IT UP
SARAH'S WORLD
VILLAGE REVAMP
TO LET OR NOT TO LET?
KEYS TO THE DOOR
QUEEN OF THE CASTLE
HOT PROPERTY
GREAT SCOTS
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
LODGE LIFE
VICTORIAN SPLENDOUR
FINISHING TOUCH
BEST OF THE BRIGHTS
STORE IN STYLE
BOUDOIR BEAUTIFUL
SHAKE IT UP!
FINE DINER
WHAT’S COOKING?
TOPS TOTTY
SPLASHING STUFF
NIGHT ON THE TILES
GADGETS GALORE
OPEN UP
TOTALLY FLOORED
MAT FINISH
COSY CARPETS
HOT STUFF
THE TEMPERATURE’S RISING
RADIATE THIS
FLAMING GREAT
BURN BABY BURN
DREAM HOME
GOING LARGE
SLIDING AWAY
KEEP IT IN
DRAUGHT EXCLUSIVE
DON’T BLAME THE TOOLS
GOING SOFT
ECO EXCELLENCE
WASTE NOT
BRIGHT SPARK
SUN SCREEN
STREET VIEW
BLOOMING BRILLIANT
GARDEN INVADER
GLITTERING BUYS
COMING SOON
SARAH SAYS
MANSION MARVEL
LAST WORD
STOCKISTS
PERFECT PROPERTIES

AT Home with Sarah Beeny - December 2011