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Everyone building or renovating a country house asks this question. There is no single answer — both systems have their strengths. But there are situations where one clearly wins.
Parameter | Underfloor | Radiators |
|---|---|---|
Heat evenness | Excellent | Medium (hot air above) |
Energy efficiency | High (35–45 °C) | Medium (60–75 °C) |
Comfort | High (warm feet) | Medium (dry air, gradient) |
Install cost | 2 000–3 200 ₽/m² | 1 200–2 000 ₽/m² |
Install difficulty | High (before screed) | Low (any time) |
Warm-up time | 2–4 hours | 30–60 min |
Maintenance | Minimal | Periodic |
Repairability | Low | High |
Floor covering limits | Parquet ≤27 °C | None |
Aesthetics | Complete freedom | Radiators take wall space |
Metric | Underfloor | Radiators |
|---|---|---|
Average supply | 38 °C | 65 °C |
Output efficiency | 92–95% | 82–88% |
Gas per season | ~2 100 m³ | ~2 850 m³ |
Gas cost | ~17 850 ₽ | ~24 225 ₽ |
Savings per season | 6 375 ₽ | — |
Savings over 10 years | ~63 750 ₽ | — |
Condensing boilers benefit the low-temp regime of underfloor heating even more (up to 108% on LHV).
Retrofitting an existing house with finished floors
Limited budget — radiators are 80 000–120 000 ₽ cheaper for 100 m²
Ceilings above 3 m — convection wins
Part-time houses — 1–2 h vs 6–10 h warm-up
New construction
Energy efficiency priority
Small children
Designer interiors with floor-to-ceiling windows
Underfloor in bathrooms, entrance, kitchen, living room. Radiators in bedrooms, high-ceiling rooms, mansard.
Requires a mixing group: the boiler supplies 65–70 °C; radiators get it directly, while a blending valve drops the underfloor supply to 38–42 °C. Each zone has its own thermostat.
Metric | Underfloor | Radiators | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
Install | |||
Equipment + materials | 160 000–250 000 | 80 000–130 000 | 150 000–230 000 |
Labour | 45 000–70 000 | 30 000–50 000 | 50 000–75 000 |
Manifold / automation | 35 000–60 000 | 5 000–10 000 | 40 000–65 000 |
Install total | 240 000–380 000 | 115 000–190 000 | 240 000–370 000 |
10-year operation | |||
Gas | ~178 500 | ~242 250 | ~205 000 |
Maintenance | ~15 000 | ~30 000 | ~25 000 |
Replacements | ~10 000 | ~25 000 | ~20 000 |
10-year total | ~203 500 | ~297 250 | ~250 000 |
GRAND TOTAL | 443 500–583 500 | 412 250–487 250 | 490 000–620 000 |
Radiators are cheaper up front and close in 10-year total cost. Underfloor pays back over 15–20 years. The combined system is the most expensive but the most comfortable.
StroyInvest24 helps choose the right system for the construction, budget and occupancy pattern — from heat-load calculations to installation across the Leningrad Region.
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