It depends on the job, and we will say so plainly. For a new build designed around a heat pump, water underfloor heating deserves serious consideration. For a small tiled bathroom where you only want a warm floor, a cable mat may be all you need. For a retrofit that has to provide primary heat under several different floor coverings with no screed, ribbon is the one we build around.
How we are judging it
Rather than comparing these on technical jargon, these are the questions people actually ask.
Will it heat the complete room, or just the floor? What flooring can it go beneath? How disruptive is the installation? How much floor height does it add? And can it work alongside solar panels and battery storage?
Water underfloor heating
Water underfloor heating circulates warm water through pipes beneath the floor, normally heated by a boiler or a heat pump.
For a new build designed around a heat pump, water underfloor heating deserves serious consideration. It pairs well with a heat pump because both can be designed around lower water temperatures, and where the floors are being built from scratch the depth is not a problem.
The consideration is the installation. Needs pipes, routed panels, a manifold, controls and a boiler or heat pump to heat the water. Traditional systems place the pipes within screed. Modern low-profile systems exist, but they are still a wet system with a board build-up, a manifold and a pump.
Operates at 40 to 60 degrees, so it always needs screed or a heat-block overboard to stop it damaging the floor.
For a new build that may be perfectly manageable. For a house that already exists it can mean adjusting doors, thresholds and adjoining floor levels, and turning a heating upgrade into a much larger building project.
Electric cable
Cable systems use a resistance wire that heats when electricity passes through it, supplied loose or attached to a mesh. They are widely used beneath tiled floors in bathrooms and kitchens, and depending on the system the cable may need to sit within tile adhesive, levelling compound or screed.
A cable system can be primary heating, but only above 180W and installed in screed, at 40 to 60 degrees and a much higher wattage, so the same flooring restrictions as water plus higher running costs.
Many consumer cable kits are installed over a smaller area to warm the floor while radiators do the real heating. That makes cable useful for individual rooms and comfort heating. It does not mean every cable kit has been designed to heat a home.
Foil systems
A similar electric system is the foil type. It goes directly under wood, laminate and carpet and needs no screed, which sounds like the same proposition as ribbon.
Goes under wood, laminate and carpet with no screed, but runs at 21 degrees on a 3mm cable with a 2 to 3 inch gap between cables, so it is background heat only. Between the cables there is a gap of two to three inches, so the heat is not spread across the floor, it runs in lines.
It is a background heat product. If what you want is to take the chill off, it will do that.
Carbon film
A good concept and low profile, but restricted to wood or laminate and it is not double insulated. Its low profile makes it suitable beneath certain compatible floating floors, and in general it is a good concept.
The two limits are what it can go under, and the double insulation question. Those are worth asking any supplier about directly before you commit.
Ribbon
The EkoBuild system uses a 1.8mm amorphous metal ribbon. The element itself is 10 to 30mm wide, and heat is produced across that whole width, and it runs at 150W per m².
Instead of installing water pipes, or relying on narrow individual cable runs, the ribbon gives broad heated coverage across the available floor. It has 300% more heating elements than cable or water.
It is installed as a dry system over suitable insulation. There is no traditional screed, no manifold, no water pipe and no boiler required to operate the heating.
The precise flooring layers change with the finish, but the same ribbon can be used beneath compatible carpet, laminate, engineered wood, LVT, vinyl, tile and stone. That means you are not choosing one technology for the carpeted bedroom, another for the laminate living room and a third for the LVT kitchen.
It also runs on electricity, so it can use power from solar panels, a home battery, or cheaper off-peak periods. There are no pumps, water loops or manifolds, and nothing needing routine boiler-style servicing, though the final 240V connection must be made by a Part P qualified electrician and certified to BS 7671.
Side by side
| Ribbon, operating temperature | 27 to 28°C, averaging about 27°C, giving 24 to 25°C at the floor surface |
| Water, operating temperature | Operates at 40 to 60 degrees, so it always needs screed or a heat-block overboard to stop it damaging the floor |
| Cable as primary heat | A cable system can be primary heating, but only above 180W and installed in screed, at 40 to 60 degrees and a much higher wattage, so the same flooring restrictions as water plus higher running costs |
| Foil | Goes under wood, laminate and carpet with no screed, but runs at 21 degrees on a 3mm cable with a 2 to 3 inch gap between cables, so it is background heat only |
| Carbon film | A good concept and low profile, but restricted to wood or laminate and it is not double insulated |
| Ribbon thickness | 1.8mm |
| Build-up, laminate or carpet | About 15mm with a 9mm laminate |
| Build-up, engineered wood | About 21mm with a 15mm engineered board |
| Build-up, ceramic or stone | 30 to 35mm to the top of the tile |
| Coverage for primary heat | At least 70%, ideally 80% or more |
| Runs on solar or battery | Yes, it is electric |
Where else it goes
The ribbon is not only a house product. It is used in greenhouses, dog beds, animal enclosures, driveways and pathways, and motorhomes with the 24V model.
On voltages, 240V standard; 12V and 24V for campervans, motorhomes and caravans; 110V on special order, up to 4 weeks.
So which is best?
If you are building a new home around a heat pump, water underfloor heating deserves serious consideration.
If you only want to warm a small tiled bathroom, a cable mat may be enough.
If you have a compatible floating floor and only need a thin electric product, a carbon film system may be worth looking at.
But if you are renovating a house that already exists, and you want one low-profile system that works beneath carpet, wood, laminate, LVT and tile, provides primary heating, avoids traditional screed and integrates with solar and battery, that is what ribbon was built for. It is why we specialise in it.
Work out what your room needs
The free Room Designer gives you the layout, the coverage percentage and the price for your actual room, not an example one.
Comparison FAQs
Is water or electric underfloor heating better?
For a new build designed around a heat pump, water deserves serious consideration. For a retrofit, water means needs pipes, routed panels, a manifold, controls and a boiler or heat pump to heat the water, and operates at 40 to 60 degrees, so it always needs screed or a heat-block overboard to stop it damaging the floor. Ribbon is a dry system at 1.8mm.
Can electric cable underfloor heating be primary heating?
A cable system can be primary heating, but only above 180W and installed in screed, at 40 to 60 degrees and a much higher wattage, so the same flooring restrictions as water plus higher running costs.
Are foil underfloor heating systems any good?
Goes under wood, laminate and carpet with no screed, but runs at 21 degrees on a 3mm cable with a 2 to 3 inch gap between cables, so it is background heat only. It is a background heat product rather than a primary one.
What about carbon film underfloor heating?
A good concept and low profile, but restricted to wood or laminate and it is not double insulated. Its low profile suits certain compatible floating floors.
How thick is ribbon compared with the others?
The ribbon is 1.8mm. Finished build-ups come to about 15mm with a 9mm laminate, about 21mm with a 15mm engineered board, and 30 to 35mm to the top of the tile.
Can any of them run on solar panels?
The electric systems can, because they run on electricity. Ribbon pairs with solar, a home battery or off-peak tariffs. A water system still needs a boiler or heat pump behind it.