How much does underfloor heating cost in the UK?
Underfloor heating costs £90 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £50 and £150 per m². System type: Electric mat or cable £50 to £90, Wet £90 to £150. Prices reviewed June 2026.
Underfloor heating is priced by the area covered and by the system type. Electric mats are cheaper to fit and suit single rooms, while a wet water system costs more but is cheaper to run over a whole floor.
Underfloor heating cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your underfloor heating in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Underfloor heating cost breakdown
Typical underfloor heating costs, by the unit:
| What | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Per m², supplied and fitted | £50 to £90 per m² |
| + Wet water system instead of electric | add £40 to £60 per m² |
| 8 m² | £400 to £720 |
| 15 m² (typical) | £750 to £1,350 |
| 30 m² | £1,500 to £2,700 |
Underfloor heating cost by system type
Underfloor heating is priced by the type of system first and the floor area second. An electric mat or cable is the cheaper one to fit and the dearer one to run. A wet system, warm water in pipes under the floor, costs more to install and less to run, and it is the one that suits a whole floor.
| System type | Cost per m² installed | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Electric mat or cable | £50 to £90 | One room, especially a bathroom or kitchen, laid on an existing floor. Cheap to fit, dearer to run |
| Wet (warm water) system | £90 to £150 | Whole floors, extensions and new builds. Needs screed or an overlay board, cheaper to run, works well with a heat pump |
Supplied and fitted, per m² installed. UK guide prices reviewed June 2026, not quotes.
Underfloor heating cost by floor area
Whole-floor jobs are quoted on the area actually heated, and the per square metre rate falls a little as the area grows because the manifold, thermostat and connection cost the same whatever the room. These worked totals use the full guide range, so an electric system sits at the bottom of each row and a wet system towards the top.
| Floor area | Floor area | Typical total |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen electric or wet | 12 m² | £600 to £1,800 |
| Living room wet system more usual | 20 m² | £1,000 to £3,000 |
| Open-plan kitchen-diner usually wet | 35 m² | £1,800 to £5,300 |
| Whole ground floor of a 4-bed wet, often with a new screed | 60 m² | £3,000 to £9,000 |
Totals are the guide rate of £50 to £150 per m² applied to each size. Indicative, not quotes.
What's included in the price?
Typical underfloor heating prices include:
- The heating mats or pipe, and the manifold or thermostat
- Fitting and connection
- Floor build-up or screed where needed
- Testing and commissioning
What changes the price?
The things that move underfloor heating prices most:
Electric system, cheaper to fit, versus a wet water system
Area in square metres and number of rooms
Retrofit into an existing floor versus a new build or screed
Floor finish on top and any insulation upgrade
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, underfloor heating typically costs around £110 per m², about 20% above the UK average of £90. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £85.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £50 | £90 | £150 |
| London | £60 | £110 | £180 |
| South East / South West | £55 | £95 | £160 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £50 | £85 | £150 |
Guide prices per m², scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Underfloor heating cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £50 | £85 | £140 |
| Birmingham | £50 | £90 | £150 |
| Bristol | £55 | £95 | £160 |
| Cardiff | £50 | £85 | £150 |
| Edinburgh | £50 | £85 | £150 |
| Glasgow | £50 | £85 | £150 |
| Leeds | £50 | £85 | £150 |
| Liverpool | £50 | £85 | £150 |
| London | £60 | £110 | £180 |
| Manchester | £50 | £85 | £150 |
| Newcastle | £50 | £85 | £150 |
| Sheffield | £50 | £85 | £150 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for underfloor heating, not quotes.
Fairly consistent nationally, with London a little higher on labour.
Compare this with a real quote
The figures above are guide prices. Two or three quotes for your underfloor heating tell you what it costs where you live.
Free and no obligation. You answer a few questions on Bark, local pros get in touch, and you decide who, if anyone, to hire. We may earn a fee, at no extra cost to you.Common questions
Is electric or water underfloor heating cheaper?
Electric is cheaper to install, usually £50 to £90 per square metre, and suits a single room like a bathroom. A wet system costs more to fit, around £90 to £150 per square metre, but is cheaper to run across a whole floor.
How much is underfloor heating for one room?
An electric system in a typical bathroom costs £500 to £1,200 fitted. That is more than the per square metre rate above implies, and deliberately so: only 2 to 3 square metres of a 4 to 5 square metre bathroom floor is actually heated once the bath, WC and fitted units are left out, while the thermostat and the electrician's connection and certification cost the same whatever the room size. The per square metre figures describe a whole floor, such as a kitchen or an open plan room, far better than one small room. A kitchen or open plan room on a wet system costs more.
Can underfloor heating go under any floor?
It works well under tile, stone, engineered wood and many vinyls. Thick solid timber and deep carpet insulate too much and reduce the heat output, so check the floor finish first.
Is underfloor heating expensive to run?
Electric underfloor heating costs more per unit of heat than a gas-fed wet system, which is why it suits bathrooms and single small rooms rather than whole floors. A wet system costs more to install (£40 to £60 per m² extra) but runs at low temperatures, so it is cheaper to run and pairs well with a heat pump. Insulation under the heating makes more difference to running cost than the system choice.
What are the downsides of underfloor heating?
It responds slowly, so it suits rooms kept at a steady temperature rather than quick bursts of heat. Retrofitting raises the floor level, which can mean trimming doors, and a fault under a tiled floor is disruptive to reach. Electric systems are also noticeably more expensive to run in large rooms. None of these are deal-breakers, but they are why quotes should state the floor build-up height.
Can I install underfloor heating myself?
Partly. With electric underfloor heating you can lay the mat or cable yourself, which saves on the £50 to £150 per m² fitting, but the final connection to the mains must be done by a qualified electrician. Water underfloor heating is harder, as it ties into your heating system and usually needs a plumber. DIY suits a small electric mat in one room more than a whole-house water system.
How long does underfloor heating last?
The pipe is the part that lasts, and it lasts a very long time: the DIN 4726 standard the industry works to requires a projected life of at least 50 years, and manufacturers commonly warrant pipe for 25 to 50. Since the pipe is buried in screed, that is the number that matters, because it is the component you cannot easily get at. What does need replacing sooner is everything you can reach: the manifold, pump, actuators and controls are usually good for 20 to 30 years and are serviceable. An annual check as part of a boiler service is enough maintenance for most systems. In practice a wet system installed properly should outlive the floor finish above it and probably the boiler feeding it.
Is underfloor heating worth it?
It depends why you want it. At £50 to £150 per m² it is a real cost, and it rarely pays for itself in resale value, so treat it as comfort you buy to enjoy while you live there. It works best fitted during a renovation or new floor, where the extra over a radiator is smaller. Retro-fitting into one existing room is where the cost per m² bites hardest.
Cite this data
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Costwise (2026): Underfloor heating typically costs £90 in the UK, ranging from £50 to £150 per m². Reviewed June 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Underfloor heating cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-09-28. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/underfloor-heating-cost/2026-09-28 (156 jobs)Dataset DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21159943 · also on Kaggle, Hugging Face and Figshare. Method: how we price. Downloadable CSV.
These are independent guide prices based on typical UK jobs in 2026. Your actual cost depends on your property, spec, access and where you live. Always get at least three written quotes before committing.