Underfloor heating thermostats

A thermostat is simply a switch that turns the heating on and off depending on the room temperature. Thermostats are commonly mistaken for a throttle, turned up high with the misconception that this will speed up the heating of your home.

By correctly using a heated floor thermostat and setting it at the desired temperature, you avoid wasting energy by accidentally overheating your home.

Here’s a video about how to control underfloor heating using a programmable neoStat.

This varies from person-to-person, but generally 21°C is the ideal temperature for living areas. Bedrooms tend to be set slightly cooler at 18°C. You can set this using your underfloor heating control panel.

The underfloor heating temperature you choose can make a big difference to both the comfort of your home and your bank balance. Turning your underfloor heating room thermostats down by just 1 degree could save around £80 and 330kg CO2 per year, according to the Energy Savings Trust.

This can depend on the type of underfloor heating system you have installed and your lifestyle. Generally, for a comfortable and welcoming home that isn’t wasting energy, you should set a timer that ensures your heating is on when you need it.

What is the most efficient way to control underfloor heating? Warm water underfloor heating is highly efficient, but can be made even more so by making sure you’re balancing underfloor heating in the best way.

There are two main types of warm water underfloor heating and they are controlled in very different ways:

How to control screed underfloor heating

In a screed system, common in new builds, the heating tube is embedded beneath a layer of screed.

It will have a high thermal mass, so you can expect it to take some time to warm. Because of this, screed underfloor heating should be turned on around an hour earlier than an equivalent radiator system. A screed underfloor heating system will hold heat well, meaning that longer “off” periods are possible.

For an efficient system and quick response times, set your underfloor heating temperature to 16°C in “off” periods. This will result in a quicker warm up time as the heating system needs to supply less energy.

How to control low profile and retrofit underfloor heating

Retrofit underfloor heating systems, like LoPro^®, or solutions where the heating tube is close to the floor surface will heat up quicker than a traditional screed underfloor heating system.

If you have a low profile system with good heat outputs, you can control your underfloor heating in the same way that you would a radiator system, using your underfloor heating control panel.

Yes, definitely. Underfloor heating room thermostats should be placed in a location where they can receive a free flow of air from the room, to read an accurate temperature for balancing underfloor heating.

It’s important that they are not blocked by items such as curtains, pictures, or furniture. You should also make sure that they are not near any additional heat sources, like a log burner, or draughts.

A heating system should have a boiler thermostat, programmer/timer, and room thermostats (or thermostatic radiator valves with radiators). Providing you have these, it’s generally just a case of understanding how to effectively use them.

If your existing controls are over 14 years old it may pay to upgrade them. Newer, more precise controls could well offer greater savings and comfort levels.

The all-singing, all-dancing neoStat allows you to control your underfloor heating via a downloadable app. It has holiday, temperature hold and temperature override functions. Two key benefits are:

• The energy-saving Optimum Start calculates the amount of heat up time required to ensure warmth when needed, automatically adjusting this throughout the year
• Can be partnered with neoHub to unlock a range of ‘smart’ functions. A great solution if you’re looking for how to control underfloor heating temperature in a precise way.

Programmable heated floor thermostats help improve energy efficiency and responsiveness as rooms are controlled at the precise temperature required throughout the day. They’re particularly suitable where different areas of the house need to be programmed to heat at different times of the day, such as heating bedrooms for shorter periods and living rooms from late afternoon into the evening.

Wondering how to use underfloor heating thermostats?

When you ‘balance’ an underfloor heating system, you time how long it takes for a room to heat up and cool down, using this information to work out how to schedule your underfloor heating. Try these balancing underfloor heating tips.

1. When setting up your timer, use a cold evening and time how long it takes for the underfloor heating to warm up to a comfortable temperature – this is the warm up time.
2. Switch the system off, and time how long it takes the system to cool down to cold.
3. With these two figures, you can now work out an accurate timing schedule for the underfloor heating heating system. If you know it takes 30 minutes to reach 21°C, you can set the heating to come on half an hour before you arrive home from work or get out of bed.

If this sounds too complicated, you may choose to install a more sophisticated thermostat like Nu-Heat’s neoStat. Many underfloor heating controls come with self-learning functions, and are able to automatically adjust when your heating switches on throughout the year for optimum performance.

Due to being wireless, these underfloor heating controllers can be fitted into an existing building without the need to chase wiring into the walls, causing less disruption. They offer the same functionality as the hardwired programmable neoStat thermostat, but are often the best choice for renovation projects.

Our neoStat wireless thermostat is installed like any other wired underfloor heating room thermostat and is suitable for any project. A neoHub – similar to a wireless router – is required to enable remote access to the app.

Each individual neoStat in the property can be controlled via a smartphone or tablet, so there is no need to directly engage with the thermostats. If your home decor is very minimalist, the remote control option, via the downloadable Nu-Heat App, means that underfloor heating controls can be hidden away.

Aside from the standard functions you’d expect from a thermostat, the neo system also offers:

Geo-Location

Use your phone location to turn heating off when a certain distance away from home, then back on again when returning. This can be a great back-up that will automatically turn underfloor heating off when the property is empty – perfect for weekends when the heating may be programmed to be on all day.

Optimum Start

Delay the start-up of underfloor heating to the latest possible moment, to avoid unnecessary heating and ensure the property is warm at the programmed time.

Optimum Start uses the rate of temperature change information to calculate how long the heating needs to raise the building temperature 1⁰C, then starts the heating accordingly. The neo automatically adjusts the heat-up time throughout the year.

Holiday mode

Reduces the set underfloor heating temperature in the property to the frost-protection temperature setting. It will them automatically return to the program mode on the homeowner’s return.

Sensor selection

Enables a choice between air temperature, floor temperature, or both. When both sensors are enabled, the floor sensor is used as a floor limiting sensor and is designed to prevent the floor from overheating.

• Offers simple and effective individual room-by-room UFH control
• Similar to standard heating controls, so most will be familiar with how it works
• Suitable for the majority of heating projects and home renovations

Nu-Heat offers a range of wireless and dial thermostats to suit every property. The wireless neoStat range can offer remote control of the heating system through a downloadable app.

By upgrading to the neoHub and syncing the neo system to a smartphone or tablet, it opens up features such as geo-location, which enables the heated floor thermostat to switch the underfloor heating on and off depending on the user’s proximity to the property.

The hard-wired neoStat and wireless neoAir make balancing your underfloor heating temperature easy, perfectly timed and set to match your lifestyle and daily routine.