Underfloor heating insulation helps keep heat generated by an UFH system in the room instead of being lost to the ground and/or fabric of the building, helping reduce energy use and heating bills.
Selecting the proper insulation for your project and meeting current Building Regulations requirements are of utmost importance. U-value calculators or your chosen insulation supplier can assist in making this decision.
Electric Insulation Boards
Insulation is essential to effective underfloor heating; not only does it lower costs and speed up warm-up times, but it also allows the system to run more efficiently. Without insulation, heating cables must first heat both floors at once – potentially taking some considerable time until optimal performance can be reached.
Electric insulation boards work by preventing heat loss downwards away from heating cables, while having an easily cuttable cement coating on both sides for cutting around any obstacles in a room.
Ultralight insulation boards from our selection of electric insulation boards are specifically tailored for use with electric foil underfloor heating systems installed on timber and concrete floors, featuring water and mold resistance as well as an innovative surface layer that combines an aluminum heat spreading coating and non-woven fleece material to offer insulation, decoupling and quick response times to heated flooring systems.
Water Insulation Boards
Water insulation boards work in tandem with underfloor heating insulation to reduce heat loss from below the floor surface and keep heat produced by the UFH system from escaping upward through it.
These eco-friendly polystyrene foam insulation panels are manufactured using extrusion technology that contains no CFC or HCFC blowing agents, giving them zero ODP (Ozone Depletion Potential). Furthermore, they’re resistant to moisture intrusion, insects and fire.
Tile backer boards, also known as Hardy boards, are lightweight insulating boards designed specifically to be used when tiling floors and walls. Easy to cut using fine tooth saws, jigsaws or utility knives, they provide excellent dimensional stability against moisture damage as well as resistance against mold growth, warping or moisture build-up.
These thermal insulation boards feature fast installation thanks to being pre-coated with a tough waterproof coating that can withstand damp environments. Their compressive strength (30 tonnes/m2) provides superior thermal performance, making them suitable for wire and mat electric underfloor heating systems.
Acoustic Insulation Boards
Insulation not only prevents heat loss but can also decrease noise produced by underfloor heating pipes. Since pipe hitting floor noise can easily travel through beams and joists into other rooms, acoustic insulation should be a staple feature in every home.
Recticel Insulation’s Eurothane GP boards offer an excellent option for insulating floors equipped with underfloor heating systems, featuring VCL clips to clip them over. Compatible with both wet and electrical underfloor systems, these boards can quickly insulate any room where underfloor heating systems exist.
Installing an acoustic insulation board beneath the floor finish is also a great solution, with Celotex’s TB4000 foil faced insulation or Xtratherm’s Safe-R SR/UF phenolic core boards offering 0.13 U-value performance being excellent choices.
Insulation Rolls
Insulating your home with underfloor heating insulation helps lower energy consumption by decreasing heat loss from floorboards. In addition, insulation helps reduce outside noise pollution and makes your living environment more relaxing.
Standard fiberglass blanket batts or rolls can be one of the most cost-effective forms of insulation, designed to fit into gaps between wall studs, attic rafters or floor joists in any home. Offering both thermal and acoustic performance benefits for use anywhere within your residence, fiberglass blanket batts/rolls offer great value when it comes to thermal performance and noise dampening qualities.
Steel framed walls benefit greatly from using steel-backed insulation boards; construction workers find them particularly helpful as nets attached to joists can secure them into place during installation. Steel-backed insulation boards also work well under suspended timber floors where sub floor access is available, and may also be suitable for roof insulation where available sub floor access exists. A variety of foil-backed insulation solutions for metal roofs may work effectively with underfloor heating.