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Latest News UNDERFLOOR HEATING INDUSTRY 'WARMS' TO NEW CARPET INDUSTRY TESTS
 Commenting on the findings, David Whitefoot, Carpet Foundation Technical Director said: "The issue of the suitability of carpet over underfloor heating systems has long been a concern of both carpet retailers and manufacturers. What is all too often forgotten is that the previous standard of 1.5 tog was based on a little known German standard and actually wasn't clear as to whether it applied to just the carpet or the carpet and underlay.
These findings should be well received by the industry at large and will serve to reassure consumers that carpet and underfloor heating systems can operate -ends- For further information, please contact:
David Whitefoot
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New research by the Carpet Foundation in conjunction with the Underfloor Heating Manufacturers Association (UHMA) has proved conclusively that any carpet can be used over an underfloor heating system without impairing the performance of the system. The work, which used a room sized test chamber as opposed to the traditional double plate test, showed that carpet and any underlay system with a combined thermal resistance of less than 2.5 tog allows the underfloor heating system to operate efficiently. New indications are that for the majority of carpet styles the thermal resistance will be less than 1 tog. The findings cast doubt upon the validity of the previous industry standard of 1.5 tog.
The jointly funded project used the extensive testing facilities of BSRIA in Bracknell. Five different carpet types (a wool rich Axminster; wool rich cut pile Tufted; synthetic cut pile Tufted; all wool loop pile Tufted; synthetic loop pile Tufted) and two different underlays (waffle sponge rubber and crumb rubber) were tested over an underfloor heating system in a 4m square by 3m high test chamber. The results showed that:
What we have demonstrated is that the new single plate test is both far more accurate and reliable. It showed that even a high quality Axminster carpet with a sponge rubber underlay with a tog rating of 3.47 using the 2 plate test performed very well over an underfloor heating system.