Electric Slab Floor Heating from Amuheat

Electric slab floor heating uses electric cables embedded in a concrete slab floor to provide home heating. The slab stores the heat, and steadily releases it to provide continuous warmth to your home 24 hours a day.

When using off-peak electricity, electric slab floor heating can be an economical method of providing home heating if set at a suitable temperature in a well-insulated home. In new homes, cables are laid when the slab is poured and testing is carried out throughout the pouring stage to ensure the cables are not damaged. Where off-peak tariffs are available, the system is charged overnight for 7 hours and during the afternoon for 3 hours. If the system is sized correctly at approx 200W/m2, it will provide sufficient heat for comfortable temperatures over a 24 hour period. An afternoon boosting period is generally required as overnight charging alone is insufficient to heat most homes.

Electric slab floor heating should be designed for zone heating. A zone is a group of rooms used for a similar purpose. For instance, the kitchen, living, dining and family rooms constitute the 'living' zone. Bedrooms are the 'sleeping' zone, and bathroom, toilet and laundry the 'service' zone. This allows homeowners the ability to maintain appropriate temperatures in each zone - 18°C is recommended for living areas, and 16°C for bedrooms. Supplementary heating may be required in bedrooms and similar areas during periods of exceptionally cold weather. Estimated running costs of in-slab heating on off-peak electricity is approximately 88c/kW per 24 hour day period (based on off-peak rate 8.8c).

Some of the shortcomings of electric slab floor heating include not being able to switch the system on and off to deliver instant heat as it takes at least one to three days for the slab to heat up to deliver sufficient heat to a room and is not an economical heating solution for use in homes where occupants are only home for short or irregular periods. Slab heating requires careful temperature control in north-facing rooms with access to the winter sun as these rooms can become overheated if both the slab and incoming sunshine are providing too much warmth, which may lead to the heating cable overheating and becoming brittle.

Advantages of electric slab floor heating include unrestricted furniture placement and no building modifications are required for installation in a new home with a slab floor. Slab heating has no moving air or draughts, enabling rooms to be adequately heated at slightly lower temperatures and is especially suitable for people suffering from allergies or respiratory complaints caused by moving air or dust particles. It is quiet, clean and safe, it evenly distributes the heat throughout a room, with no hot or cold spots and offers use with low maintenance.