Good Morning Christine

If you contact our supplier on the following number 0115 9632314 they will be able to give you the technical advice required

Many Thanks

Nathan Swann

Good Morning James

 If you contact our supplier on the following number 0115 9632314 they will be able to give you the technical advice required. They will also be able to advise on the right system for your application

Many Thanks

Nathan Swann

Varme is one of Scandinavia's top brands of electric underfloor heating cables.  The Varme brand is renowned for its quality & is offered with a full Ten-Year manufacturers guarantee. The instructions are simple to follow & there is also a freephone technical support line to answer any questions you may have. The technical support staff are also qualified & certified electrical installers, so we can offer advice & answer any technical questions you may have, before, during or after installation.

See the installation pages attached to each system type as a PDF download - Varme systems are designed to be laid by anyone with basic DIY skills, but all electrical connections must be carried out by a suitably qualified electrician & in accordance with current regulations.

In the vast majority of cases the answer will be yes, especially in new, well-insulated properties. The exceptions being old properties with little or no insulation, where you have limited floor space available, such as a small galley kitchen, or small bathroom. In such cases if may be physically impossible to get enough heat output into a small confined space.

Yes it can - The digital clock thermostat allows the user full control of the heating system, including the 'occupied' temperature, the 'unoccupied' temperature & the times of operation using a 7-day/24 hr clock control.

The answer to the question is yes it can & the carbon foil has been fitted below thousands of sqm of real wood floors during the last few years & we have had no reported problems of cracking, warping or damage to the floor.

There are however two things you need to consider if using a real wood floor:

1. The installation method, 'floating' is best (where the boards are glued/fixed together using the tongue & groove). It is also possible to install the film onto battens at 400mm centre-centre spaces - please see our web page for details here and see the section titled 'Underfloor Heating for Under Wood/Laminate - Fitting Instructions'.
2. The other consideration is the moisture content. Wood is a natural product & as long as you chose timber that is fully dried out has a low moisture content, you will have no problems. A good wood supplier should be able to give you advice on moisture content & suitability for use over underfloor heating.

Another possibility,  (better than plywood), would be to put a layer of  Marmox, Wedi or similar inert tile- backer board down and tile onto that. 

Regards

How long it takes to heat the floor will vary, depending on your sub-floor & its insulation. Generally the better the insulation the quicker it will heat up, 30 minutes to an hour on a wooden floor, but it will take longer on an un-insulated concrete floor. However, on concrete floors it will also retain the heat in the concrete & therefore take longer to cool down. The carbon film system is supplied with a thin insulation layer so warm up times will be no more than an hour on any sub-floor. However with tiles, if you lay the cables/cable mats onto un-insulated concrete, it can take several hours to heat up. We therefore recommend that you try to use Marmox insulated tile-backer boards wherever possible when installing on an un-insulated concrete floor.

The Varme systems are designed so that the floor surface will feel comfortably warm , but will never get too hot to walk on! The thermostat regulates the floor temperature by turning the system off when the floor gets to the required temperature, then back on as the floor begins to cool - thus keeping a constant temperature. It does this up to 3 times per minute for optimum control & maximum energy efficiency.

1. Why underfloor heating. back to top

Simple - Modern underfloor heating provides many advantages over traditional radiator based systems. Where large warm surfaces such as the floor exist, it is possible to achieve comfortable conditions with a cooler air temperature, making underfloor hHeating more energy efficient and comfortable than traditional radiator systems.

This results in a greater feeling of freshness & will result in lower heat loss from the building,consequently lower energy costs.

It is more comfortable to have a constant, evenly distributed temperature of 20-24 degrees, than it is to have a single high temperature heat source such as a radiator in the corner of the room.

Not only that, but the radiant heat from underfloor heating drastically reduces the constant air circulation & resulting cold drafts & dust!

• More comfortable air temperature
• Warmer at your feet than your head
• No maintenance
• No drafts
• Invisible
• No wasted wall space giving you complete freedom to design your room
• Greatly reduces dust circulation

What constitutes ideal "comfort conditions" in your home is a subject which is constantly debated. However, two factors affecting room temperatures are generally accepted. Comfort largely depends on the mean effective temperature which is a function of the ambient air temperature and the average radiant surface temperature

Where a large warm surface such as the floor exists, it is possible to achieve comfortable conditions with a cooler air temperature by heating that surface. This will result in a feeling of greater freshness and will mean lower building heat losses and savings in energy cost.

It is more comfortable to have a constant evenly distributed lower temperature, of say 20 - 24°C (68-74°F), than it is to have a single high temperature heat source, of say 100°C (212°F), in one corner of a room, this circulates the air and causes the feeling of drafts

Ideal temperatures are considered to be 22°C (72°F) at floor level and 19°C (66°F) at head level (1.7 m, 5 ft 6 in.).

For ambient design conditions of 20°C (68°F) to 21°C (70°F), floor warming systems are normally designed to achieve a surface temperature between 22°C (72°F) and 25°C (78°F), below the maximum recommended temperature of 27° for walking comfort.

A standard radiator heating system causes large amounts of air movement, the air is constantly rising and falling as it is heated. causing cold drafts

Underfloor heating systems work at much lower temperatures and generate warmth where is is required not at ceiling height.

We use the FH01 as a standard thermostat.

We offer an upgrade of a fully touch screen FH02 @ a cost to you of £78.12 +VAT Which is £93.74 inc

Delivery would be 3-5 working days on this

Yes you can. It is perfectly safe. However, you must remember the thermostat needs to be positioned outside the bathroom in accordance with building regulations.

Most floor surfaces except carpets. This includes wood, laminate, vinyl, ceramic tiles, natural stone (marble, terracotta, slate, limestone, flagstone, porcelain) and cork. However, always ensure the manufacturer has certified their products to work with underfloor heating.

Both concrete and timber subfloors can be used. Always ensure the flooring is fully prepared correctly before the underfloor heating is installed.

This is the most common question we get & the simple answer is, that the running costs are determined by many different factors so it is difficult to generalise.

However in most cases the running costs should not be a negative factor, especially in new homes, apartments & conservatories with insulated floors.

When the systems are used in a well-insulated building (in line with current building regulations) the running costs are usually very low, the thermostatic control in each room/zone means that you only use just enough energy to maintain your desired room temperature. A typical new building would perhaps cost around £3-4 per sqm per annum to run , so 100sqm free floor area home would cost around £300-£400 per year to heat.

In a conservatory with an insulated floor, electric underfloor heating will be more efficient than radiators due to the fact that you are using the whole floor as a low temperature radiant room heater. In an average sized conservatory used at weekends & winter evenings, the cost may be up to £8 per sqm/annum to run - so around £80 - £100 per year to heat an average sized conservatory with an insulated floor. A small price to pay for year-round use, when you consider that the average cost of a conservatory can be over £7000.

Varme underfloor heating  has been supplied as sole source electric floor heating systems to much larger homes including barn conversions of up to 300sqm. Electric floor heating stands out as an excellent choice, especially in areas where there is no mains gas supply & the options are electric, oil, or calor gas. Electric floor heating is usually much cheaper to install that 'wet' systems & in some of the properties we supplied, the cost was less than half that of an equivalent 'wet' system.

Electric underfloor heating is also more efficient than radiators & other convected heat & requires no maintenance or servicing & 100% of the electrical energy is turned into heat energy , rather than being lost as exhaust gases as is the case with many gas central heating systems.

In our experience, the only time electric underfloor heating would be considered 'expensive' to run is when it is installed as a heating system in a poorly insulted home, with little or no floor insulation. Our advice for such situations is always therefore to spend that little bit extra on insulation & you will enjoy the benefits of cheaper heating bills for many years to come!

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