The questions people ask before they commit. Answered straight.
30+ years of client questions, answered by the Perth engineers who design these systems and install them with our own team. Straight answers – no sales pitch.
What it is, in plain words
What is hydronic floor heating?
Warm water, heated by a heat pump outside, runs to a manifold – the box where every pipe loop starts and ends – and through loops of pipe buried in the screed under your floor. The floor warms, and the room warms from the floor up: no blown air, no noise.
The screed is the layer of concrete-like topping the pipes are buried in, poured over the main slab and under your tiles or timber. Laid on insulation, it sends the heat up into the room instead of down into the ground.
What does hydronic floor heating cost to put in?
It depends on the house, so there is no honest figure to put on a web page. Four things drive the price: the floor area, the heat source, whether the pipe goes into an insulated screed or into the slab, and the controls.
The number worth comparing is not the install price on its own. It is the install price plus what the system costs to run, every winter, for as long as you live there. On our model, the same 200 m² house costs about $240 a month through winter built right, and about $601 built the cheap way (modelled estimates, not a quote).
Got a quote? See what it leaves out →
Building new? Your own numbers are what The Comfort Guarantee Roadmap works out – $1,450, 100% credited to your build.
Can I have floor heating in the home I already live in?
Usually not the practical way. In a lived-in home, floor heating means lifting the floors and laying a new screed – the concrete-like layer the pipes are set in. It is worth it in a major renovation, rarely otherwise.
For most existing homes, European radiators are the practical route: the same quiet, even, fan-free hydronic warmth – from the walls instead of the floor. No new slab, no torn-up floors.
Do I still need other forms of heating in the house?
Usually not. In a home built to today's standards, a designed floor covers the whole heating load. Where a room loses more heat than its floor can put back – a wall of glass, a double-height void – the heat-load calculation shows it, and we deal with it at design stage.
The common belief that floor heating only "takes the edge off" comes from poorly designed systems that underperform. When the heat-load calculation is done correctly and the pipe layout is matched to each room's actual heat loss, floor heating is a complete solution.
What does it actually cost to run?
How much does floor heating cost to run – in real numbers?
Modelled estimate, not a quote or a promise. Assumes Synergy's A1 rate (33.26 c/kWh, July 2026), a 200 m² heated area and a five-month Perth heating season (May–September): the monthly figures are per winter month, and the 20-year gap is over 20 winters at today's tariff. Actual costs depend on final build quality, occupant behaviour and energy prices.
The biggest single reason for the gap is insulation. Insulation under and around the heated layer cuts the heat lost into the ground and structure by most of it – which is why a built-right floor costs a third to a half as much to run.
What is the running cost per hour for hydronic floor heating?
Four factors determine it: the thermal efficiency of your building, the quality of the system design and installation, the heat source type, and your energy rate.
On our model at current Perth rates, a well-designed system on a 100 m² floor runs as low as about $0.46 an hour. A worst-case, poorly built suspended slab (a concrete floor with open air or a room underneath it) – no insulation under it or at its edges, the heat pump pushed hot to compensate – runs as high as about $1.84 an hour: up to four times as much, for the same warmth. Both are modelled estimates at Synergy's A1 rate (33.26 c/kWh, July 2026), not a quote or a promise.
Design is where that gap is won or lost. The pipes and the heat pump are the same; the physics of how heat moves through your slab is what decides whether you end up at the low end or the high end of that range.
Is hydronic floor heating cheaper to run than reverse-cycle air conditioning?
It depends entirely on the quality of the hydronic installation. Both are heat pumps, with similar efficiency. A poorly designed floor can cost significantly more to run than reverse-cycle. A floor built right runs about the same as the best reverse-cycle system, and up to about 30% less, because you're comfortable at a lower air temperature.
The reason: with air conditioning, warm air rises to the ceiling while the lower portion of the room stays cold – you need more energy to feel warm. Hydronic floor heating warms your body through radiation from the floor, which is a more effective heat transfer mode.
Getting there requires correct screed depth, proper thermal breaks, and a heat pump sited for good airflow. Without those, the saving evaporates.
Electric or hydronic floor heating – what's the difference, and which is cheaper to run?
Electric floor heating uses resistance wires or mats in the floor. Simple to install, expensive to run: it turns 1 kW of electricity into about 0.99 kW of heat. That's the ceiling – even free solar power gives you a near 1-to-1 return.
Hydronic floor heating circulates warm water through pipes under the floor, with a heat pump or boiler as the heat source. A heat pump running a floor typically delivers 3 to 4 units of heat for every unit of electricity (300–400%) – more on a mild day, less on a cold morning. Run it on your own solar and every unit of solar power becomes three to four units of heat.
So running costs for hydronic are typically a third to a quarter of electric floor heating's, for the same area.
For one small room, electric can still be the practical choice – see I only want to heat my bathroom floor. For a whole home, hydronic is the economic choice over time – when it's designed right.
Why does an engineered quote cost more than a plumber's?
The difference between our work and others is the size of the electricity or gas bill you pay for the rest of your life.
Pretty much anyone can lay floor heating pipes and attach a heat pump or gas boiler. The problem: if the physics aren't accounted for – thermal bridges, screed depth, heat pump airflow, pipe spacing matched to each room's heat loss – the heat source works at low efficiency and the energy leaks out everywhere. The floor warms up; the bills are shocking; the system gets turned off.
We see it every year. The quote looked cheaper. The system costs more to run for decades. There is no fixing it without ripping up the floor.
Our price reflects engineering done properly at the start, and our own team building to it – so you're not paying for the shortcut monthly for the next 20 years.
How does design affect performance?
Should I heat my whole house, or only parts of it?
The most consistent feedback from clients who left rooms out – a laundry, a hallway, a spare room – is that they wish they'd heated the whole house. Every time you walk into an unheated room in winter, you feel the difference.
Leaving a room or two out might save a couple of thousand dollars upfront. The ongoing reminder that you made that compromise is permanent.
Should I zone my floor heating system?
Yes – but zone by how you use the house, not room by room. A zone is an area on its own thermostat and timer. For most homes, three zones is the right balance:
- Living areas (kitchen, dining, lounge) – warm during the day, cooler at night
- Bedrooms – most people prefer sleeping cool; set to a lower temperature or off during the day
- Bathrooms – a dedicated zone, warm in the morning and evening
In a two-storey home, the levels are zoned separately. Rooms used infrequently, such as a guest room, can be turned down at the manifold – no separate thermostat needed.
Dividing a house into many small zones increases complexity and can cause inefficient operation. We've also found that clients who zone room by room usually end up running almost every zone on the same schedule, which negates the benefit.
Hydronic heating is not like reverse-cycle. You're not heating air that you turn on and off quickly. Turning zones on and off frequently doesn't suit how the system works.
How long does it take to heat up?
It depends on the thermal mass – how much concrete has to warm up – and on whether it's the first day of the heating season or you're weeks in.
- Once it's in its winter rhythm: an insulated screed starts giving out warmth within about 15–30 minutes of a call for heat, and an insulated on-ground slab within about 45–60 minutes.
- From stone cold, at the start of the season: a different job. A 50 mm screed takes around five to six hours to come fully up to temperature, and a thick suspended slab can take more than a day.
At the start of the heating season the floor slab, walls, ceiling and furniture are all cold, and the floor heating has to warm all of them before the rooms feel comfortable. After a few days of operation, the system finds its rhythm and response is much faster.
That's why we run it on a schedule, not on a whim: "set and forget", not switched on each morning like a reverse-cycle unit.
Can an air-source heat pump be installed inside a garage?
No. An air-source heat pump extracts heat from fresh air – it cannot do this in an enclosed garage. It must either be positioned outside with unrestricted access to fresh air, or be ducted (drawing in fresh air through a duct and expelling exhaust outside through another).
Ground-source and water-source heat pumps can be installed inside – they extract heat from the ground or from water rather than from air, so airflow is not required.
What the slab needs, and what the code requires
Do I really need thermal insulation under the slab?
You don't have to install it beyond what the building code requires – but without it, a large proportion of your heat escapes to the surrounding environment (the ground below, outdoor paving, footings, nearby walls) rather than warming your rooms. Heat moves toward wherever it's coldest. Without insulation, that's the ground.
A note that comes up in Perth often: sand under a slab is not an insulator. It conducts heat at a rate many times higher than polystyrene insulation.
Insulation under and around the heated layer cuts the heat lost into the ground and structure by most of it. It's a one-time cost that pays back across the life of the system.
What building code requirements apply to hydronic floor heating?
Two main requirements for residential in-slab and in-screed systems – and they're often missed:
- NCC 2022, Housing Provisions 13.2.6: a heated slab-on-ground (a concrete floor poured straight onto the ground) needs insulation rated at least R1.0 down the full depth of its vertical edge – about 30 mm of XPS board does it. The R-value measures how well insulation resists heat flow; higher is better. WA has applied the NCC 2022 energy provisions since 1 May 2025.
- AS 2870: a heated slab is poured at least 25 mm thicker than the same slab unheated, with the reinforcing mesh upgraded by one grade (e.g. SL62 to SL72).
Further clauses apply to the heat source and heat distribution. These requirements are not optional, and missing them creates compliance problems later. We design and build to these standards as a baseline.
What to expect once it's running
Will my floors feel warm to the touch?
Not necessarily – because hydronic heating works by gently warming the entire space through radiant heat, not by making the floor surface hot.
If the system is designed correctly, you won't notice a hot floor – you'll notice a comfortably warm home with no cold spots. Tiled areas (bathrooms, kitchen) will feel slightly warmer underfoot than carpeted rooms.
Electric mats are usually thin and sized to warm a small floor fast, so they often run the surface hotter. Hydronic spreads a lower temperature over the whole floor – lower surface temperature, and more comfortable.
Can I heat only certain rooms, or does the whole system have to run?
You can – that's what zones are for. Most homes run best on three: living areas, bedrooms and bathrooms, each on its own thermostat and schedule. How we set them up, and why not every room gets its own: Should I zone my floor heating system?
How do I control the heating system?
Wall-mounted thermostats control temperature zone by zone. Wi-Fi-enabled systems can be adjusted remotely from a phone.
The system runs automatically – it adjusts to the weather and your schedule without manual intervention. Set your preferences once during the first season, fine-tune if needed, then leave it. At handover, we visit the home and help you set the controls to your specific needs.
Is floor heating safe for kids and pets?
Yes – it's one of the safest heating options available. No exposed hot surfaces, no blowing air, no burn risk. The warmth is gentle and even. Many pet owners specifically appreciate it for exactly the same reason children benefit from it: a warm surface at floor level with no risk of contact burns.
What maintenance does the system need?
Very little, compared to other heating options.
- Heat pumps and boilers: a check every 1–2 years keeps them at their best and catches a pressure drop before it matters
- Pipes: no routine maintenance. The pipe is rated for 50 years under its standard's test conditions, and at floor-heating temperatures it will outlast most houses
Some systems we installed 15–20 years ago are only now being serviced for the first time. They still run – but the regular check is what keeps a heat pump at its best. With remote monitoring available on newer systems, we can check performance without a site visit.
Will heat from the lower floor rise upstairs?
Some does – the warm air component will naturally rise. But the majority of the heat from floor heating is emitted as radiation, not air movement, and stays on the lower level.
Upper floors with their own floor heating zones get much more consistent results than relying on heat rising from below.
Extending the system further
Can I use floor cooling instead of air conditioning?
Generally no – not in Australian climates. Floor cooling output is typically 20–50 W/m². Cooling in older homes is often sized at 100–150 W/m² (more energy-efficient homes: around 70 W/m²).
There are two further physics problems: cool air stays at floor level (unlike warm air, which rises), and floor cooling cannot remove latent load – the heat held in air moisture. Air conditioning handles both. Floor cooling alone does not.
Floor cooling can provide gentle supplementary cooling in mild weather or well-insulated homes. It is not a replacement for air conditioning in Perth summers.
Can I combine floor heating with air conditioning?
Yes. Because heat pumps produce chilled water as well as hot water, that cooled water can be sent to a ducted air-conditioning system in summer. For most residential homes, it's currently still cheaper to install separate floor heating and air conditioning systems. The combined approach is worth considering for larger homes or where space for multiple units is limited.
Can I use solar panels (PV) with floor heating?
Yes – and it's a very good combination. A heat pump that uses electricity becomes extremely cost-effective when fed by solar. The key is matching solar output to heat pump draw, and running the system when the sun is actually producing. There's no point having solar if it generates during the day and your heating only runs at night.
Properly timed, solar panels feeding a heat pump are one of the lowest-cost heating configurations available.
Can solar hot water panels help with my floor heating system?
Solar hot water panels provide free heat – but generally when you need it least (summer), and least when you need it most (cold winter days with minimal sun). The result: too much heat in summer with nowhere to put it, and limited contribution in winter.
We recommend integrating solar hot water panels only if you also have a pool. The excess summer heat can be directed to the pool instead of wasted, which makes the economics work.
Can I utilise the heat source for pool heating during summer?
Yes. In summer, the heat source can send heat to the pool via a heat exchanger – a unit that passes heat from one water circuit to another without mixing them – instead of to the floors. For maximum efficiency, use a heat pump for this, ideally combined with solar panels. Where the heat pump is sized for both – which we check at design stage – it removes the need for a separate pool heater.
Can the same system supply my domestic hot water?
Yes – but it must be designed in from the start. The heat pump or boiler can supply both floor heating and household hot water, eliminating the need for a separate water heater. Additional equipment is typically required, and it needs to be integrated into the system design at the planning stage, not added later. When done correctly, it reduces the number of units in the home and lowers overall energy costs.
Is there a real advantage to combining floor heating with air conditioning, pool heating, or hot water?
Three advantages:
- Less equipment: one unit instead of four – useful where space is tight or aesthetics matter
- Lower power draw: instead of allowing 80A for four separate units, you might need 32A for one
- Running cost savings: when combined with intelligent controls and a PV system, there are real efficiency gains
The disadvantage: a premium on the integrated unit itself. For most standalone homes, individual systems are still cheaper to install. The combined approach pays more when space or power supply is constrained.
What's inside the floor, and how long does it last?
Can the pipes leak – and what happens if they do?
In the floor, a pipe leaks when it is cut or punctured – quality hydronic pipe does not burst or wear through on its own. It is rated for 50 years under its standard's test conditions, and at floor-heating temperatures it will outlast most houses. The material is extremely durable under normal embedded conditions.
What does happen on site is accidental penetration during subsequent trades work. This is immediately obvious – water squirts from the puncture point, because the pipes remain under pressure during construction. The pipe can be repaired, and reputable pipe manufacturers guarantee their repair even when the pipe is later re-covered in concrete.
This is one reason we keep systems pressurised during the build period.
Does brand of pipe or heat pump matter? Aren't they all the same?
For pipes: the material quality across manufacturers is broadly similar. The real differentiator is the joins. With water running through pipes embedded throughout your home, a joint failure is a serious event. We choose pipe manufacturers based on the long-term reliability of their joining systems – from 30+ years of seeing which ones hold and which ones eventually don't.
For heat pumps and boilers: efficiency, noise, reliability, and lifespan tend to move together. The unit that is least energy-efficient is typically also the noisiest, least reliable, and shortest-lived. We only work with manufacturers whose units we know to be genuinely efficient, quiet in operation, and reliable over decades. We've seen too many cheap units replaced within a few years.
What is the warranty on a floor heating system?
Each component carries its own manufacturer warranty:
- Floor heating pipes: 10 to 25 years
- Manifolds: 10 years
- Boilers: 2 to 5 years
- Thermostats and controls: 1 year
- Heat pumps: 2 to 5 years
Euroheat provides a 5-year warranty on all workmanship, plus ongoing support for all installations. On top of the warranties, The Comfort Guarantee covers how the system performs – see What guarantees do you offer?
Can't my normal hot water unit provide the water for floor heating?
In theory, yes. In practice, four obstacles make it unworkable:
- A hydronic heat source does more than produce hot water – it circulates it around the system and includes expansion vessels (small tanks that take up the water's expansion as it heats) and specialist valves. Adding these to a standard hot water unit negates any cost saving.
- Standard hot water units heat to 50–65°C. Hydronic heating runs at 25–40°C. You'd need to mix the water down constantly, adding cost and reducing efficiency.
- Anything that touches the drinking-water supply requires specific government approval to ensure it won't contaminate the water supply. Heating system components don't carry this approval.
- The hot water unit manufacturer's warranty would be voided for use "outside intended purpose."
Does a condensing boiler have to be positioned outside?
In Australia, the common practice is to mount boilers on an external wall. In Europe they're typically installed inside (laundry, kitchen) with a flue – the exhaust pipe – running out through the wall or roof, because positioning inside where it's warm reduces heat loss from the unit itself.
We can install a gas boiler inside the building in Australia. The energy efficiency case for doing so is less critical here than in Europe, because Australian winters are less severe. Either approach is acceptable and compliant.
Carpet, timber, tiles – what works?
Can I have carpet or timber over my floor heating system?
Yes – but it must be planned for from the start, not added as an afterthought. Carpet, timber, and other thermally resistive finishes reduce the amount of heat that reaches the room, so the system design must account for this from the beginning. Retrofitting over a system not designed for these finishes can result in underperformance or, in the worst case, damage to the floor finish.
The easiest finishes to pair with floor heating are hard: polished concrete, stone, or tiles. They conduct heat well and make the difference between a cold, uninviting room and a naturally warm one immediately apparent.
Carpet and timber still make a noticeable difference to comfort – they just require correct design. We've been installing floor heating under all floor finishes in WA for 30+ years.
Will polished concrete crack if I have floor heating installed?
Not if the system is designed and installed correctly. The pipe must be at the correct depth within the concrete, and the steel reinforcing mesh must sit near the top of the slab, at the cover the structural engineer specifies. Expansion joints are typically required.
Collaboration between the structural engineer, the concreters, and the floor heating contractor is essential. We've been successfully installing floor heating into polished concrete floors for over 30 years – it's well-understood territory when done in the right sequence.
I only want to heat my bathroom floor – can I use hydronic?
Technically yes, but it's rarely the right choice for small areas. For areas under 35m², the initial investment in a hydronic system is high relative to the benefit. Electric floor heating has much higher running costs, but the saving on the initial installation will offset this for many years when the area is small. For whole-home heating, hydronic makes more sense – when it's designed right.
Who you'd be dealing with – and what you can hold them to
Who are Euroheat and what do you do?
Euroheat Australia designs and installs hydronic heating, cooling and hot water systems – our own team, from the heat-load calculation to commissioning. We're Perth-based and have been doing this since 1992 – which means over 30 years of Western Australian homes, WA climate, WA building practices, and WA soil conditions.
We focus on highly efficient, correctly designed systems. Our work covers underfloor heating and radiator-based systems, heat pumps and gas boilers, and smart control integration. Most of our work is residential; we also take on select boutique commercial projects.
What makes you different from other heating companies?
We handle everything in-house: thermal load calculations, system design, component supply, installation, commissioning. We do not outsource critical work. That means consistent quality from start to finish, and a single point of accountability if anything isn't right.
Most heating problems aren't caused by bad installation alone – they happen because the heating wasn't coordinated with the architect and builder. We work directly with both from the start. And if something isn't right, we fix it. There's no finger-pointing between contractors.
Are you local? Do you work outside Perth?
Yes – we're Perth-based and work across the metro area. For larger projects or specialist systems, we can travel further by arrangement. Most of our work is residential in Perth and south-west, Western Australia.
Do you do supply-only, or supply and install?
We design and install. Our own team runs the whole job – design, supply, installation and commissioning – because The Comfort Guarantee only works on a system we designed and built.
What guarantees do you offer?
The Comfort Guarantee, on every system we design and build: Warm every winter, for as long as you own the home – guaranteed on every part we control.
- Warm, and it stays warm. Every room reaches and holds the temperature we designed it for, through Perth's coldest mornings. If it doesn't, we fix it at our cost.
- Warm without a wrecked floor later. The system can be serviced and rebalanced for decades without a jackhammer touching your slab.
- Warm because the design was right – and if it wasn't, that's on us. If the system underperforms because of our engineering, we correct it at our cost, build consequences included.
- You'll know the running cost before you decide. We model it and show you the number up front, and hold to that model under the conditions we state. We never promise a dollar figure – but we do guarantee the design that keeps it low.
On top of that: manufacturer warranties on all components, our 5-year workmanship warranty on every installation, a pressure test before any concrete is poured, full commissioning documentation and ongoing support.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Fully licensed and insured. Our team is qualified in the relevant mechanical and plumbing disciplines, and we follow all applicable Australian standards and building codes.
Do you service systems you didn't install?
Yes – depending on the system and its condition. We'll assess it first to confirm compatibility and parts availability. Older or non-standard systems may have limitations, but we're generally able to service, upgrade, or replace them.
Can I see a running system before I commit?
Yes – by appointment. We can show you a system running at our workshop or, with their permission, at a completed client home. Seeing (and feeling) a running hydronic system is the best way to understand how different it is from blown-air heating such as ducted or split systems.
Ready to see the numbers for your home?
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