Heating Film Underfloor Heating Installation in Szombathely

In Szombathely we built electric underfloor heating with heating film under laminate parquet. The heating needed no extra layer thickness: the total height of the electric heating is 6 mm. It is controlled by a programmable thermostat, and the warmth of the underfloor heating can be felt within 5–15 minutes of switching on, depending on the floor covering. We show the course of the installation in a time-lapse video.

The installation in Szombathely

For our 2020 job in Szombathely, the intelligent heating film installed at the time went under the laminate parquet as infrared heating; today we install 4th-generation heating film. Electric underfloor heating is popular because the heating film is thin, takes up little space, and is simpler to install than conventional water-based heating systems.

The time-lapse video below shows step by step how the heating film is laid:

Underfloor heating build-up for laminate parquet

We always lay heating films with the build-up appropriate to the floor covering. For laminate parquet, the layers from bottom to top are:

1. Concrete substrate
2. Insulation (for example walkable polystyrene)
3. 5 mm reflective foil
4. Intelligent heating film
5. Vapour barrier film
6. Earthing mesh
7. Concrete or rigid screed – not mandatory with laminate parquet, only an option
8. Underlay paper
9. Laminate parquet

The reflective foil goes between the insulation and the heating film. The earthing mesh reduces the electric field of the film. How the same build-up changes for cold floor coverings or a ship's deck floor is shown in the description of our installation in Sitke.

What floor coverings can have underfloor heating?

With the right build-up, underfloor heating can be installed under almost any floor covering: cold floor coverings, laminate parquet, carpet or ship's deck flooring. Under tiles and ceramic floor tiles, a heating mat may also come into question alongside heating film.

Electrosmog and airborne dust

With professional installation the system's electric field stays within the Hungarian legal limit, and it can be reduced further at installation with the earthing mesh. We published the result of our own measurement in the article on the electrosmog of heating film. Radiant underfloor heating does not create strong air currents, so it stirs up less dust – you can read about this in our piece on dust mites and airborne dust.

What does it cost to run?

Heating film warms the floor evenly, and the floor also stores part of the heat. How much heating costs per year in a given house, and how it compares with, for example, a heat pump, depends on the house's heat loss and on energy prices; with today's prices we calculated it in the cost comparison of heat pump and infrared heating. You can also read about heat pumps on a separate page of ours.

Request a technical recommendation for infrared heating (installation is available in Hungary)

More interesting articles on the topic

• Infrared ceiling heating in a hunting shop
• What heating did I install for my parents instead of wood burning?
• Preparing for infrared heating – what a well-prepared site looks like before installation
• Infrared underfloor heating installation, 135 m², Mátraszentimre – Hungary
• Infrared heating in a timber modular house