ᐅ Is underfloor heating in the bathroom sufficient, or is an additional heater—such as a wall-mounted heater—needed?

Good morning,

The heating system in our new build is scheduled to be installed in the coming weeks.
However, I am concerned whether the heating output of the underfloor heating in the bathroom will be sufficient.
Therefore, there are three options:
1. Plan for a wall heating system right away, connected to the underfloor heating
2. Connect a towel radiator to the underfloor heating
3. Use an electric towel radiator

Now the questions. Approximately how much extra cost would option 1 involve for a 16m² (172 sq ft) bathroom layout?
Option 2 seems more viable for me, especially since my partner wants it and it would be sufficient if it only gets lukewarm due to the low flow temperature.
Option 3 is what the heating installer suggests, but I’m not keen on it because of electricity costs and efficiency. However, it can be added later if the heating output really isn’t enough.

Who has experience with any of these options?

How about a combination of 2 and 3? Simply integrate it into the underfloor heating system and supplement with electric heating when needed.

Hello hg6806,

We faced the same issue a few weeks ago.

After several discussions with new homeowners among family and friends, we decided to go with option 3.

Reasons for this:

Option 1: Only works if the underfloor heating is running anyway.

Option 2: Only works if the underfloor heating is running and, as you already mentioned, it only gets lukewarm. Getting a nicely warmed towel is difficult – drying a towel in a reasonable time is nearly impossible.

Option 3: Works in addition to the underfloor heating but also independently. The advantage, in our view, is that with this setup I can quickly warm up the bathroom on a cool morning during the transitional seasons, even if the underfloor heating is not yet or no longer in operation. Towels get nicely warm and dry within a reasonable time.

However, we assume that under normal circumstances the underfloor heating alone is sufficient; the towel radiator is just a “nice-to-have” for us...

For this reason, in our second bathroom (guest shower room) we deliberately left out the towel radiator. However, we planned the corresponding connection so that we can easily retrofit it later if needed.

I’m not too worried about the electricity costs – it’s not running continuously...

Regards,

Dirk

Hello,

we are just starting the groundwork – so we have not yet installed a "real" heating system. However, we have planned an additional heating circuit for our guest and main bathrooms, allowing us to heat those areas at a higher temperature than the first heating circuit for the other rooms.
In addition, we have electric heaters in the form of towel warmers in both bathrooms.

I have already seen this installation in use at friends’ homes, where they have lived for about a year and are very satisfied with the warmth in the bathroom.

Unfortunately, I cannot tell you the extra cost because it was planned from the start. The electric heaters obviously vary in price depending on the model, and you will have additional electrician costs.

Best regards!

I would simply share your concerns with your architect or plumbing specialist. Usually, the heating pipes for the underfloor heating in the bathroom can be spaced closer together to ensure the room gets warm enough.

Also, you will likely have separate thermostats for each room, so the bathroom temperature can be set higher.

Regarding the wall-mounted radiators/towel warmers: when frequently used with towels, the towels retain the heat and dry nicely, but little warmth is transmitted into the room itself.

We have also already considered this question. The result is likely to be an electric towel warmer, so the whole bathroom doesn’t have to be heated just because a towel is hanging over the radiator. For heating the bathroom, underfloor heating will be used.