A solar underfloor heating system uses solar power to heat water, which is then pumped around a tube that goes in an exaggerated S pattern throughout the floor of a house. The hot water warms the tube it travels in, which then in turn warms the floor. With the floor mass heated this way, warm air radiates upward from the floor and into the airspace of the house. This method of heating a home is distinct from the more traditional method, which uses a single heater in one room to heat the air, and air currents to move the warm air around the house.

Underfloor heating systems are more efficient than traditional heating systems because the warm air stays closer to the floor of the room, rather than near the ceiling. With a traditional heating system that uses air currents, the warm air is given much more time to rise to the ceiling of the house, which leads to a concentration of heat energy above the heads of anyone living in the house. In order to “pile” the warm air on the ceiling down to where people can feel it, much more total heat energy must be generated than in a system that only heats the areas in a room where people can benefit from that heat. Since all the heat energy generated by an underfloor heating system originates inside the floor, all the warm air in the room starts right at the floor and naturally floats upward. As the warm air radiating from the floor mixes with the cooler air in the rest of the room, it cools down, so heat energy never has a chance to collect near the ceiling. Because all the heat energy generated by an underfloor heating system stays close to floor, where people can feel it, underfloor heating systems do not use as much total energy to keep the house a comfortable temperature for the people living in it.

To heat the water used in a solar underfloor heating system, it is pumped through a water heater that is powered using solar panels on the roof of the house. Solar panels collect high-energy electromagnetic radiation from the sun, and convert that energy into an electrical current. This current can then be used in a traditional electric water heater.

Because all the energy used in a solar underfloor heating system is collected from the sun, it costs very little to run once the installation is complete; however, if you are thinking about using a solar underfloor heating system so save money, you will have to consider how long you plan to live in your house. Not only are solar panels themselves very expensive, but it also costs a lot to excavate the floor of a house to install the tubing needed in an underfloor heating system. If you do not plan to live in your house for more than a few years, it may cost you more in the long run to install a solar underfloor heating system.