The Best Tiles For Underfloor Heating

Come the winter season, our homes can get a little draughty and we feel the chill throughout the day, a great way to mitigate this chill is to invest in underfloor heating, not only does it feel cosy underfoot, but it actually heats your home more efficiently, avoiding those unpleasant draughts. So, what are the best floor tiles for underfloor heating? In this blog, we discuss the best floor types to use with electric underfloor heating to get the most efficient result for your home. We’ll also discuss what to avoid!

Tiles for underfloor heating are a great choice, particularly ceramic, porcelain, and stone tiles. This is thanks to their high thermal conductivity, and when paired with the correct installation, they will provide an excellent heating system, so you don’t need to worry about traditional radiators. Electric underfloor heating is also quicker and cheaper to install compared to water fed heating systems and it won’t add as much to your floor’s height. Finally, if you use the correct amount of insulation then electric underfloor heating offers a very cost-effective heating solution for your home.

We know the best tiles for underfloor heating but what types of flooring should you avoid? Solid wood and carpet are a big no, they won’t provide much efficiency, and although flooring like LVT, laminate and engineered wood can be used with certain underfloor heating types, we don’t recommend them due to the potential risk of warping which ruins their click installation systems.

When it comes to choosing a porcelain, ceramic or natural stone flooring, they all provide the right requirements for efficient heating, so your decision really comes down to an aesthetic choice, we take you through a couple of our favourite flooring options for each tile type.

Porcelain is a great all-rounder because of its low absorption rate, it can be used in any room of the home as well as outside so, if you’re tiling a kitchen floor, you can carry on your design outside onto the patio for a seamless transition.

Any print can be applied to a porcelain tile which also makes it a great choice for the bathroom as you can use a tile with a stone effect instead of using real natural stone that might not be as suitable for a wet area. There’s an endless choice of porcelain tile designs but we particularly love a bold marble effect and a more traditional looking wood effect for added warmth and texture.

Ceramic is also a great thermal conductor, being able to retain as much of the heat as porcelain, and stylishly ceramic tiles are typically smaller and more decorative than porcelain tiles however its usually because they are more wall friendly. They’re not quite as durable as porcelain tiles but there are some floor friendly ceramic tiles you can use around the home.

If you love pattern and colour, then a ceramic tile is a great flooring option to explore. We love the more intricate patterns based around Victorian design but there’s something very cosy about a traditional quarry tile for that added countryside vibe.

When it comes to natural stone, we’d recommend using this in dry living areas like the hallway and kitchen, particularly if you favour decorative marble as this will stain in humid areas of the home, such as the bathroom.

Once tiled, natural stone in any form (such as travertine, slate and limestone etc) are extremely hardy, so great if your home has a lot of foot traffic. The one downside to stone is that it does need regular maintenance to upkeep it’s look and finish because natural stone, of any variety, is porous. Left unsealed, it will stain and mark.

Overall, if you’re looking for ultimate durability in any room of the home and you don’t want to spend time maintaining your flooring, we’d advise choosing a porcelain tile over any other flooring option. It’s hassle free and provides excellent efficiency.