How much you have to pay for electricity when using a warm floor

 

 A theory is dead without living practice - we had to be convinced of the validity of this statement more than once. As well as the fact that only a competent calculation can give an answer to the question of the profitability of using a particular technical solution. When choosing a heating system, it is simply necessary to count and compare. For example, fans of electric underfloor heating claim that more economical and efficient equipment cannot be found. At the same time, manufacturers talk about reducing the cost of paying for utilities in comparison with the use of centralized heating up to 5-7 times (depending on the level of heat loss in the room).

To figure out whether electric floor heating is such a profitable system to operate, you need to "trust" the numbers. Only through calculations can you see the real picture and get an approximate amount of monthly costs. Why only approximate and not exact? The fact is that in each case it is necessary to take into account the nuances of the heated room and the conditions for using the heating. For example, the system is the main or only an additional source of heat generation. Nevertheless, after carrying out the calculations, it is clearly visible how economical an electric warm floor is.
What you need to know before starting calculations

As in any business, there are subtleties during the operation of floor heating systems, taking into account which can significantly reduce energy consumption. Here are the main ones:

    Only with a thermostat does a warm floor become truly economical. Combining a thermostat with a temperature sensor in practice reduces costs by up to 70%. The fact is that the system in this case works cyclically - when a predetermined heating level is reached, it turns off. Therefore, heating will consume significantly less electricity.
    Reducing heat loss as a result of high-quality home insulation reduces energy consumption by up to 40%. Therefore, the cost of heating a heat-insulated room will be much lower.
    It is possible to reduce electricity bills by installing a multi-tariff meter - at night, tariffs are reduced by 1.5-2 times.
    Floor heating is not installed over the entire area of ​​the room, but only where it is not planned to place massive furniture and large-sized household appliances. This is done to avoid overheating the system, as well as damage to sofas, armchairs, washing machine, refrigerator, etc. Therefore, on average, underfloor heating is mounted on 40% of the total area of ​​the room (although in each case this value may differ significantly).
    Reducing the set heating temperature by only 1 ° C can save 5% on costs.

Let's pick up a calculator

Let's get down to the calculations. If the system is used as the main heating, the average heating power will be 170-200 W / m². The additional heat source consumes from 120 to 150 W / m². Let's take an average value of 150 W / m².

Let's calculate the cost of heating a 20 m² room. To do this, multiply 20 m² by 150 W / m² and get 3000 W (3 kW) - electricity consumption per hour. However, if the system includes a thermostat, then energy consumption can be reduced by up to 70%. In order not to consider extreme options, we will stop at 50%. We also take into account that the heating element is laid on 50% of the room area (slightly higher than the statistically average value). To calculate the real power consumption, it is necessary to multiply 3000 W by 0.5 and again by 0.5 - as a result, the heating will "wind up" 750 W (0.75 kW) on the meter per hour.

According to statistics, underfloor heating works up to 9 hours a day. Let's round up to 10 and multiply 10 by 0.75 - we get 7.5 kW of daily electricity consumption. Approximately 7.5 kW x 30 days = 225 kW will be consumed per month. We multiply 225 kW by the electricity tariff set by the government from January 1, 2021 - 1.68 kopecks. for 1 kW. And we get 378 hryvnia - monthly heating costs for a room of 20 m².