Heated floor in the kitchen: the pros and cons of cable, film and core systems

Content

Types of electric underfloor heating

Underfloor heating is not an essential thing and at the same time increases energy consumption, and the heating system itself and its installation require investments. The question arises, do you need a warm floor in the kitchen? In our opinion, in many cases it is really needed and worth its money.

Heated floor in the kitchen is necessary if:

You are planning attach a loggia to it and you want to equalize the temperature in two parts of the room.
You want to tile the floor or laminate, while the child lives in the house.
You and your household love walking barefoot.
You live above the basement, on the first or second floor.
If the apartment is not well heated.
Or if you just want to make the kitchen more comfortable.

Warm floor in the kitchen may not be particularly needed (except in the off-season), if:

The apartment is perfectly heated, and on the floor laid cork, linoleum or any wooden coating.
The kitchen windows face south or south-west, which means that in summer most of the time the room is flooded with sunlight.
You and your family prefer to go around the house in slippers.
There is not and is not planning to have a small child in the house.

So, the main advantage of such a heating system is comfort. Next, consider what types of warm floors are their pros and cons, and how to minimize the cost of their creation.

Types of electric underfloor heating

Having decided on laying of a heat-insulated floor, first of all you need to choose the system suitable for your case. Electric floor heating can operate on the principle of convection (cable floor heating) and infrared radiation (film and core system). Let's look at all types of electric floor heating in more detail.

Cable

In general, cable floor heating can be called obsolete, but still it is still in demand. Cable floor heating is different: resistive and self-regulating, two-and single-core, shielded and unshielded, with an insulating teflon or PVC-coated, in the form of mats or a separate cable, powerful or weak.

Most often for heating the kitchen in a city apartment choose resistive systems with a twin-core shielded cable of low power in the form of mats.

For heating cold kitchens, for example, on the veranda of a house or kitchen with an attached loggia, it is worth choosing a powerful system.

As for the choice of coating, then the matter is yours - Teflon coating is more reliable and thinner than PVC, but increases the cost of the system by 15-20%.

Cable underfloor heating is part of the “pie” with insulation, a rough tie and aluminum foil, which directs heat to the room. The heating cable is poured 3-4 cm cement-sand screed, after which the finishing coating is laid.

Laying cable infrared floor heating in the form of mats

Pros: It can fit under any floor covering, including tile.

Minuses:

Since the cable system fits directly into the concrete tie, it is available only to those who plan to overhaul.
Another disadvantage is that if one section of the cable breaks, the entire system will fail.
Cable warm floor can be installed only where there will not be heavy furniture, for example, kitchen set or sofa. Otherwise, in places of pressure, the cable will overheat and eventually burn out.
Several times greater heat loss compared to infrared heating systems. Heat in this case rises to the ceiling and "accumulates" there. This means that most of the energy is wasted.
Consumes more electricity than infrared film or core heating floors.

Detailed instructions for laying a cable heating mat with their own hands are presented in the following video:

Film

The film floors themselves are classified according to the materials used for the film. It may be:

Bimetallic compound based on aluminum or copper.
Carbon film with copper and carbon elements.

Pros:

It is spread directly under the coating (linoleum, laminate, parquet) without a screed. This means that you will not need to raise the level of the floor and carry out major repairs.
Saves up to 20% of power consumption.
Due to the parallel connection of the heating elements, the breakdown of one of the sections does not lead to the breakdown of the entire system.
Heat loss is several times less as compared to cable floors.

Minuses:

The film warm floor is intended only for "dry" laying.
The film floor is not suitable for tile installation.
It can be installed only where heavy furniture will not stand (due to the danger of overheating).

How to calculate how much film underfloor heating you need to buy to heat the kitchen, as well as how to make a warm floor using this system with your own hands, we suggest watching this video:

Rod (carbon)

This is another type of infrared floor heating, which is a mats with carbon fiber rods, interconnected by copper cables.

Rod infrared floor is standard and high power. Powerful heated floors are designed to heat cold rooms, such as attached loggias, verandas or those located above the basement or on the first floor of a building. Standard power floors are suitable for all other rooms.

Core carbon floor heating under tiles

Pros:

Such a heating system is suitable for any coating, from tile to linoleum.
Evenly distributes heat, which saves up to 60% of electricity consumption.
The rod warm floor self-adjusts, which also significantly saves energy (the areas under the furniture automatically heat less, and at the window or exit to the balcony more).
Mats with carbon rods are durable (20 years warranty for Unimat floors).
It does not fail if one of the sections breaks (due to the parallel connection of the heating elements).
Heat loss is several times less as compared to cable floors.
The system heats up quickly - in about 2-3 minutes.
Laying the infrared core system does not greatly thicken the floor. In finished form, its thickness can be as low as 3 cm.
This is the only type of warm floors on which you can put heavy furniture without fear of overheating.

Minuses:

Requires major repairs, as fit on the "wet principle".
Laying carbon floor heating with your own hands can be, but it is better to entrust the installation to professionals, because the rods are very thin and fragile.
You can run into a fake.