What Heating Did I Install for My Parents Instead of Wood Burning?
Author: Tóth Tamás · 5 min read
Tamás Tóth, head of Fűtőfólia, shows what heating went into his parents' house in Csorna instead of wood burning: room-by-room underfloor heating, ceiling heating and infrared panels with separate thermostats – and how he convinced them step by step.
In my parents' family house in Csorna, infrared heating replaced wood burning: in the living room and the entrance hall, heating film went under laminate parquet; in the bedrooms full of furniture, ceiling heating was installed; in the bathroom, ceiling infrared panels provide the heat; and every room has its own thermostat. The house was renovated in the summer of 2020, and the decision was preceded by years of getting to know the technology step by step.
Why did I want them to stop heating with wood?
My parents have heated with wood since I was a child. Its great advantage was that it was cheap, but I experienced all its disadvantages as a child. Every summer, in the greatest heat, 2 large carloads of logs arrived, which had to be sawn, split with an axe, stacked to dry, and then, months later, carried into the cellar. In winter the fire had to be lit every day and the boiler refilled every hour so that it would not go out. I probably vowed then that in my own house I would have the most convenient heating possible.
Today I do work I love, and I can spare others the needless wood chopping. My parents are not getting any younger, so I feel responsible for making their everyday life easier. Still, it took a long time to persuade them. A familiar situation: we often take a stranger's advice more readily than a family member's. My father had heated with wood for years, he loved the warmth it gave, and he was wary of electric heating.
They got to know infrared heating step by step
- A sample for the dog. Their first personal experience was a half-by-half-metre sample piece of heating film, which they put under the puppy's bed. The puppy did not want to get off it.
- Pool heating. My mother suggested trying the heating under her small garden pool as well – and she quickly came to love that it heats.
- Wall heating in their own room. This way the main heating did not have to be started if it was only that room that was cooler.
- Infrared panels in the living room. For a year, panels fitted above the bed warmed them, exactly when it was needed.
- Full renovation. When it was time to renovate the house, I offered them infrared heating as a gift so that they could try it throughout the house.
Pool heating
A different solution for each room
When we decide between underfloor, wall or ceiling heating, we always start from the customer's needs and the characteristics of the room. In the house in Csorna it looked like this:
| Room | Solution | Why this way? |
|---|---|---|
| Small bedroom (large bed, narrow passage) | ceiling heating | The free floor area is very small; with underfloor heating the furniture would have covered the space and the system would have heated only a small surface. |
| Another room with a lot of furniture | ceiling heating in a suspended ceiling | Instead of moving furniture around, it was simpler to build a suspended ceiling; the installed heating film worked immediately. |
| Bathroom | ceiling infrared panels | The panels previously used in the living room went here – my parents grew so fond of them that they did not want to throw them away. |
| Living room (ground floor) | underfloor heating under laminate parquet | Here they wanted the most comfortable heating of all; laminate parquet replaced the old carpet flooring. |
| Entrance hall | underfloor heating under laminate parquet | A uniform, warm floor with the living room. |
Every room has a separate thermostat, so everyone can set the temperature for their own heat demand; with underfloor heating, also the temperature of the parquet. The control is simple: they switch the heating on at the thermostat and it starts right away. The living room is also home to the puppy, who was the first to experience heating film.
The video: a tour of the house
I am Tamás Tóth, head and owner of Fűtőfólia and president of the Hungarian National Association of Electric Heating. I am often asked what heating I would put in my own house. In the video I answer through my parents' house: I show room by room how the infrared heating was built in.
What do I recommend to someone thinking of replacing wood burning?
I chose infrared heating for my own house and for my parents' house too: it is convenient, it is not visible behind the floor covering or suspended ceiling, and it can be controlled room by room. Our company has worked with infrared heating film since 2012, and we put that experience to use in our own family house as well.
Which heating is more economical in a given building, however, is best decided not in general terms but on the basis of the house's data. A well-insulated building has a lower heating energy demand, so the difference in annual running cost between heating methods can be smaller – in that case the investment cost weighs more in the decision. To compare a heat pump and infrared heating, we recommend our recent cost comparison, and for a calculation tailored to the building, the on-site survey (available in Hungary).
Anyone can try underfloor, wall and ceiling heating at our showroom in Budapest (1039 Budapest, Rákóczi u. 4.), whichever part of the country they come from. You can read about nearby installations on our Csorna page.
Pictures of the renovation
Request a quote — installation anywhere in Hungary
We survey, design and install heating film and infrared heating throughout Hungary. Tell us about your home and we will get back to you.