Maincor Underfloor Heating - Underfloor Heating Systems - System Design

Oct 25, 2026

Maincor Underfloor Heating outlines UFH history, principles, and practical benefits, explaining how warm water circulated through floor-embedded pipes transfers heat efficiently at lower operating temperatures. The document contrasts underfloor heating heat movement with radiator heating, highlighting energy savings, reduced CO2 emissions, comfort and uniform warmth, low maintenance, and safety advantages. It further covers project support including layout drawings, site preparation, planning requirements, and key health and safety considerations, followed by design guidance such as temperature strategies and heat output composition.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryTechnology

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Overview

SYSTEM DESIGN

Maincor Design Support

Project Planning for Site

Underfloor Heating Design

Maincor Underfloor Heating UNDERFLOOR HEATING SYSTEMS | Introduction | | | --- | --- | | Underfloor heating (UFH) is not a new concept; it was brought to Britain about 2,000 years ago by the Romans. Their heating technique was to allow hot gasses from a fire/furnace to pass through an ingenious network of flues under the floor of the building. The hot gasses in turn heated the floor structure, which radiated up to the rooms above and kept them warm through the cold months.
Various systems have been introduced into the UK since then ranging from electric underfloor heating (circa 1960), which were expensive to run, to steel pipes under the floor, which were expensive due to material costs.
In 1975, Plastic underfloor heating pipe was introduced into the UK, which greatly reduced the material cost and allowed wider access to this way of heating. The increasing quality of new building techniques (insulation, controls etc) and the drive towards renewable energy technologies makes underfloor heating the ideal heating system in the current environment. | | | Overview

Underfloor Heating Heat Movement
Underfloor heating works by pumping warm water through pipes laid into the floor of the room. Due to the large surface area of the floor much lower water temperatures are required to warm the room efficiently as the heat rises. An underfloor heating system will generally run at around 45oC as opposed to 80oC used in radiator systems, which means that there are energy and running cost savings, especially when used with renewable heat sources such as heat pumps. Lower fuel usage means lower CO2 emissions, which helps the environment.
The diagrams above illustrate how the heat travels around the room in an underfloor heating system (left) and in a radiator system (right). The underfloor heating system heats the living area in the room, whilst the heat from the radiator system collects at the ceiling – a much less efficient heating method. Slower moving air particulates make underfloor heating the system of choice for asthmatics. Floors dry quicker after cleaning, reducing slip hazard. Underfloor heating also eliminates the risk of contact burns and collision damage from radiators and frees up valuable wall space. |
Radiator Heating Heat Movement
Why use Underfloor Heating?
There are a huge number of benefits to using an underfloor heating system; here are just a few of them:
• Comfort-Heat rises uniformly from the floor, rather than having warm air pockets around radiators.
• Aesthetics-Complete freedom of interior design, every square inch of wall space can be used for room layouts.
• Silence-Virtually silent when running.
• Low Maintenance-No need for manual operations, such as bleeding or painting of radiators.
• Cost Effective-The lower water running temperature requires less energy and reduces heating bills.
• Healthy Living-Slower moving air particulates make underfloor heating the system of choice for asthmatics. Floors dry quicker after cleaning, reducing slip hazard. | 44 SYSTEM DESIGN | Maincor Design Support
Quotes for UFH Projects
For a free no obligation quote please call on 01455 555930 or visit [www.maincor.co.uk](www.maincor.co.uk) where you are able to upload your details and project plans. One of Maincor’s highly trained technical team will send you a full quote with material schedules giving you everything you need to take to your local Maincor distributor.
UFH Layout Drawings
If required, Maincor can produce project specific underfloor heating layout drawings showing dimensions, layout of the loops and manifold location(s) to assist you with the project installation. Typically, these are requested at the time of order placement and usually take a week to produce.
An example layout is below:
Example of supplied Maincor project drawings | Project Planning for Site
Site Requirements
Before starting to install underfloor heating systems the wo

FAQs

How does UFH transfer heat compared with radiators?

UFH pumps warm water through pipes in the floor, so heat rises from a large floor surface. Radiator systems collect heat higher up, and the airflow and heat distribution are typically less efficient than UFH.

What temperature range does an underfloor heating system typically use?

An underfloor heating system generally runs at around 45°C, compared with about 80°C used in radiator systems.

What main factors influence the fuel savings of UFH?

Fuel savings depend on design and system conditions, with the highest savings expected when UFH is combined with renewable heat sources such as an air source heat pump.

Oct 25, 2026

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