Specialists in central heating systems.
Looking at home heating, considering central heating? You've come to the right place. We will guide you through the choices you need to make to decide which central heating system is right for you.
Build your own central heating system
A 3 step process: use our calculator to determine your heating needs, then select the components of your customised central heating system.
Central Heating
Radiators & Underfloor
Boilers & Fuel
Global Warming
Solar Heating
Heat Pumps
Radiators & Underfloor
Radiators or Underfloor heating, what will be best for you?
Room Heating Options
| Benefits | Downsides | |
| Radiators | Quick response time, turn the radiator on and the room is warm in less than half an hour. Option of towel rails for bathrooms. Silent. |
Needs wall space. Limits furniture placement. |
| Underfloor heating |
Hidden, so walls are completely clear. Even temperature from the floor up. Silent. |
Slow response time, from cold floor to feeling warm can be 24+ hours. Only possible in new build or major refurbishment. Floor covering choice may affect performance. Running costs may be higher with losses from the slab. |
Radiators and Underfloor
Underfloor only
Radiators only
Here’s a way to look at this choice: Underfloor systems originate from continental countries, with continental climates. At summer's end, autumn is brief and then it is consistently cold for months, which is perfect for underfloor heating.
New Zealand has an island climate with wide temperature variations over a few days. In this instance radiators come into their own.
Have both? Why not, underfloor in the bathroom is divine and living areas where wall space may be limited work well too. We do suggest the living space has another heat source, say a fire, for unexpected cold days and ambience.
A big consideration with these systems is that they tend to require a substantial upfront investment. They also tend to be fairly inefficient in small spaces, and are better suited to large rooms or an entire home.
"When we were building our plumber didn’t give us any information or choice! But if we were building again we would definitely never be without central heating but, I’d go for radiators. There’s better control for each room and it is faster to heat up."
Susan - Dunedin
What we call a radiator was invented by Russian Franz San Galli, in St. Petersburg around 1856. We’re not quite sure why they’re called radiators as the majority of the heating radiators give is by convection; warming the air and everything else in the room. True radiant heating effect is dependent on a high source temperature (e.g. Fire) so can be unsafe for every room.