Anyone heard of or used this? - TilersForums.co.uk | Tile Forums

bobbin · 08-08-2008

underfloor heating Welcome to Step Warmfloor™ The worlds No. 1 radiant underfloor heating system

I am thinking of doing the whole downstairs in electric ufh as there is no gas to the property so economy 7 is currently used and is rubbish!

I like the look of this and it is far more efficient than traditional electric ufh, just wondering if any one has used it or had any experience with it.

Thanks

**Dave** · 08-08-2008

This is a system worth checking out and there prices are just great....

Underfloor Heating | Electric | Floor Insulation | Uheat

bobbin · 08-08-2008

I am not so fussed about the cost of buying and installing it, but it has to be energy efficient and cheap to run. As this is the only means of heat for the whole downstairs and will be on most of the time. I liked the Step Warmfloor as it runs on a lower voltage.

**wetdec** · 08-08-2008

They are 2 completely different systems you cant compare them as they work differently. To make a comparison would be based on running costs installation material costs.

Uheat do a film system which is a similar install............

tiler

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bobbin · 08-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetdec

They are 2 completely different systems you cant compare them as they work differently. To make a comparison would be based on running costs installation material costs.

Uheat do a film system which is a similar install............

tiler

..

Cheers mate, what type would you recommend for an install as the only heat source, remembering running cost is the main priority.

**wetdec** · 09-08-2008

Check out both sites mate (thers also another ribbon system which if your doing big areas may be worth thinking about) send a few emails re running costs, setup costs, instalation costs dont take any bull**** get to the facts...........then decide............I havn't got to live with it

tiler

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bigandy · 09-08-2008

i think this is one i have used before possibly from topps or tile mart (nw)not sure my thouggh memory gets confused at times. if you have a link or picture of box it may help. from memory they normally put the running costs on the pack or literature for you to compere. i have never heard of complaints from any of my customers re running costs.

**pjrich** · 11-08-2008

Heard of it but never used it.

With regard to effiency, all mains voltage electric underfloor heating systems are 100% efficient. This means that all the power the heating cable, etc receives is turned in to heat. Any losses are assoicated with the heat loss of the area it is installed in.

So if you want maximum effiency use plenty of insulation, floor, walls & ceilings. A good thermostat / controller will also reduce running costs.

Looking at the website for stepwarmfloor, it states that the system is 24V, therefore it must use a transformer to reduce the voltage. All transformers have losses, i.e. core and winding losses. Winding losses are also present even when the heating is not drawing any current. Google 'transformer losses' to learn more.

Peter

Spirit · 14-08-2008

I use this one regularly. It is self regulating, so it can be covered by rugs and furniture without generating a hotspot. I have used the T2Reflecta on a number of jobs with great success and I have a large kitchen/diner to do in a couple of weeks.

Electrical underfloor heating for renovation and new builds > Floor Heating >Tyco Thermal Controls

pt44 · 14-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbin

underfloor heating Welcome to Step Warmfloor™ The worlds No. 1 radiant underfloor heating system

I am thinking of doing the whole downstairs in electric ufh as there is no gas to the property so economy 7 is currently used and is rubbish!

I like the look of this and it is far more efficient than traditional electric ufh, just wondering if any one has used it or had any experience with it.

Thanks

I'm no expert on u/f heating. However, I would question a few points on this products web site.

These systems are fixed wattage and carry higher voltage (110 - 230v)

so what? High voltage is in the floor - it isn't like you are going to be in contact with it.

They require thermostats, sensors and ground fault switches.

The heat mat requires a thermostat as well - it say so. As for the sensor - so what, it needs a sensor. I bet the mat needs one too somewhere along the line, as how else does it know its own temperature. Ground fault switch? Never seen one on a Devimat.

Fragile wires and cables can be easily damaged.

Hmm. Devimats have pretty thick cables. I don't see how they are any more fragile than this mat.

Cable systems require 25mm-50mm thermal mass between heat source and finished floor.

?? Again - I don't understand. Most heating mats (I use devimats - as they have the best looking and seemingly most intelligent controllers.) are installed just under the tile. So there is only the thickness of the tile and a very small amount of adhesive above them. Usually this makes about 10-15mm - not 25-30mm as quoted.

I think this comparison is talking not about heating mats, like devimat - and more about heating cables. That is not exactly a fair comparison. There are plenty of other mat systems about - I would like to see a comparison against them.

I'm not saying their product isn't good - its just that they are using incorrect quotes to boost their product - and that makes me wary of it.

I've installed a few devimats now - and love the system. My own house has one in the bathroom - and its superb. The controller is intelligent. It works out what time it needs to come on in the morning, to reach the desired temp. later on. In my large kitchen/diner, I installed a water system instead. Polypipe Overlay system. Because I wanted something to go over an existing screed, but be quite low profile. Both are superb.

Paul

garythetiler · 17-08-2008

the last job i was on where they used electric under floor heating as the primary heating source the customer used a company called speed heat they were very professional and used a 1mm wire system they laytexed the floors ussing ardex na levelling compound and had alarms on the cables for fault diagnosis i was impreesed with there system
when i install ufh there are 2 brands i mainly use devi which is good quality and reliable but on the pricier end on the market and warmup which is good as it has the narrower cables my biggest bone of contention is getting the cables and matting to stick to the substrate to stop it floating up when laytexing over it i have tried spray adhesive double side tape etc all with varying degrees of sucess the brand i dislike the most is stretchy mats unless you are using foam backer boards forget about them here is my list of favorites based on the products i have used
1.devimat mainly because i am most familar with it and have never had any problems with the installation or running of it
2 . warmup offer cable or matting system well priced readily available from many outlets and i put this in my own consevatory like the narrow cables
3 varme good heating system matting cable on the thick side well priced deal direct with fixers
4. stretchy mats only really any good when used with foam backer boards as this system uses fiddly clips to hold the cables which are also on the thick side
5. i cant pass a comment on uheat as i have not tried it i will however give it a try next time i get a ufh job come up

**Oli** · 17-08-2008

Slightly off topic, but im thinking of changing the rads in my house for the skirting board convectors, not sure how much hassle it will be, already running a combi so may not be too bad. Like the idea of having that little bit of extra space especially in the bedrooms, and being able to push the furniture right upto the wall would be very handy.