What You Need to Know About Under-Tile Heating
Under-tile heating is when you have an electric heating system installed under your tiles to meet your unique heating needs. Examples of these needs can be to warm up your house during the winter and save on energy bills while doing so and to keep wet rooms (bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms) dry, which prevents mould growth and accidental slips. Here's what you need to know about under-tile heating:
Energy Audit
Before installing under-tile heating, especially to warm your house during the winter, it is important to have an energy audit carried out. An energy edit investigates the structural condition of your house and how it affects heat loss and retention. With such data, it is possible to choose the under-tile heating system that will meet your home's heating needs and know how it will be installed.
Preparation
It is advisable to plan for under-tile heating at the planning and design stage of your home or before renovation. This enables you to account for the changes that might be needed early, which will help you avoid wastage of money when you have to redo an under-tile heating installation.
Installation
Under-tile heating should be done by a qualified and licensed specialist. Even though it might look simple to do yourself, a lot can go wrong. You can get electrocuted, damage the expensive system and install the tiles wrongly. Some space needs to be left for expansion and contraction purposes. Failure to leave this space can lead to tile cracking. You might also do shoddy work that needs to be redone.
Temperature Control
During the installation of the under-tile heating system, a thermostat control is installed on your wall to help you control the tile temperature as needed. This gives you the ability to lower or increase the temperature in a room depending on how cold it is and whether you want to keep surfaces of a bathroom, kitchen or laundry room dry.
Are Under-Tile Heating Systems Safe?
Yes, they are very safe. Under-tile heating systems are made in such a way that you cannot get electrocuted or burnt. What you, however, need to know is that if you are installing under-tile heating systems in a wet room, you might need to apply waterproof solutions to your tiles. That is why it is recommended to use the services of qualified and licensed technicians to install under-tile heating systems in wet rooms like bathrooms.