Underfloor heating is ideal for our wood floors. Here you will find advice for choosing underfloor heating for your wood floor.
Today, wood floors and underfloor heating are often combined and work well together. Both electrical and hot-water underfloor heating can be used with Kahrs hardwood floors. It is, however, very important to follow both our specially designed installation instructions, as well as the instructions and recommendations given by the supplier of the underfloor heating system. If properly installed, you will achieve a beautiful and long-lasting wood floor with the increased comfort of pleasant warmth. Here you will find instructions and advices on what to consider when choosing underfloor heating for your engineered wood floor.
The surface temperature of the floor must never exceed 27°C. This also applies to areas next to radiators and elements, under furniture and carpets, etc. With good furnishing and without too many carpets, or carpets that are too thick, it is reasonable to achieve a temperature of 23°C over the entire floor area, for a room temperature of around 21°C. Of course, this is assuming that the room requires a normal amount of heating. This means that your sealing, insulation, windows, etc., must be of regulation standard quality. Extra precautions should be taken to ensure the temperature at the feeding of the hot water never exceeds the maximum level, and that installation instructions provided by the supplier of the heating system are followed correctly.
Floors with underfloor heating are more susceptible to moisture than those without. This is because the difference in moisture content between the driest and dampest parts of the floor will increase over time. Underfloor heating can cause extensive drying, which makes the wood contract and shrink. In a cold, dry climate, you can expect to see gaps between strips and slightly concave boards from time to time. We recommend Kährs Original 15 mm parquet flooring or Kährs Linnea 7 mm with Woodloc® or Woodloc® 5S joints for floors with underfloor heating. Both Kährs Original and Kährs Linnea reduce the risk of gaps forming.
It is worth bearing in mind that parquet flooring made from Beech and hard Maple expands and contracts more than other wood species and is therefore not recommended for use with underfloor heating.
Your wood floor must be laid close to the subfloor and without an air gap, as air gaps can cause the wood to dry out very quickly.
When laying a floor over underfloor heating loops, the working temperature should be at least 18°C. This is applicable to boards, subfloors and room temperature. The relative humidity (RH) of the air must be between 30 and 60% before, during and after laying the floor.
Cardboard is preferred for the intermediate layer, as polyethylene cellular plastic and cork particleboard have a higher thermal resistance.
Find out more about installation over underfloor heating in our guide Subfloor Requirements and Underfloor Heating.