HYDRONIC OR ELECTRIC HEATING – WHICH IS BETTER?
Is it better to heat your home with a natural gas fired boiler or with electricity?
To make an informed choice that corresponds to your specific needs, several aspects must be considered:
- Installation;
- Energy cost;
- Consumption;
- Comfort.
Unlike the rest of Europe, in Italy we are used to heating homes almost exclusively with natural gas, which is available in almost every area of the country. However, electric heating systems are currently becoming more and more widely used.
There are two reasons for this:
- greater ease of use;
- combination with solar and photovoltaic panels, which allow self-generation of energy to be achieved.
How much do we actually spend to heat the home with an electric underfloor heating system and with gas heating? How much for a gas heater?
For the same usage, natural gas has slightly lower supply costs than electricity.
However, this saving is only apparent, as it does not account for losses during operation of the system.
WHICH IS BETTER – HEATING WITH RADIATORS OR UNDERFLOOR HEATING?
Compared with traditional heating and the temperature being equal, underfloor heating systems allow an average energy saving of over 30%.
Why?
The large radiant surface of the floor allows the temperature of the heating element to be kept low.
The thermal gradient generated with an underfloor heating system ensures that heat losses are lower than those with a conventional heating system.
This is possible because heat that is normally wasted due to air stratification is recovered and utilized. In fact, the room temperature is higher close to the ceiling. This recovery increases with the height of the room: in practice, the higher the ceiling is, the more advantageous underfloor heating will be.
As the heating body is the floor itself, it is very easy to clean. The absence of convection prevents accumulations of dust from forming. What’s more, as the low temperature gradient between floor and room (around 4%) does not cause convective motion, there is a considerable decrease in airborne dust and bacteria that are harmful for those with allergies.
Irritation of the airways, often caused by combustion of the dust that deposits on radiators in which fluid circulates at high temperatures (around 70 °C), is totally avoided. It is important to know that the heated floor reduces humidity, which is the main carrier of bacteria, in particular house dust mites. A dry floor for the whole of winter is sufficient to halt the spread of dust mites in floors and rugs.
Moreover, an optimal degree of humidity greatly increases the level of comfort of the home.
WHICH IS BETTER: ELECTRIC OR WATER/FLUID UNDERFLOOR HEATING?
We have now established that underfloor heating is the most efficient, effective and comfortable solution. However, we still need to understand why we should choose electric heating over hydronic heating. The reasons are above all related to cost:
The cost of supply and installation is 50% lower than hydronic heating; installation times are also much lower;
No maintenance is required. Once the underfloor heating has been laid, you will have no running costs;
Its thickness of just 3 mm makes this heating suitable to be laid under any type of flooring;
Consumption is reduced thanks to responsible heating of the home, via a load management unit:
Underfloor heating can also be installed in small spaces, for example in bathrooms where the only alternative would be to use a radiator or bathroom heater;
The use of gas is totally eliminated.