Factors & 2024 Price Examples
If you’re in the process of building a new home, you’re likely diving into a sea of decisions, especially when it comes to heating solutions. Planning your forever home means thinking about comfort, efficiency, and long-term investment. You’ve got a variety of options to consider: traditional woodburner fireplaces, heat pumps, modern radiators, and underfloor heating systems. Each of these choices has its own set of benefits and costs, and understanding these will help you make the best decision for your family’s comfort and your financial future.
You may have been recommended hydronic underfloor heating as the ultimate heating solution or loved the cosy feeling of underfloor heating in a friend’s new house.
With hydronic underfloor heating, you get that beautiful radiant heat right at your level, rather than hot air coming down from ceiling height. It’s not only the most economical heating system to run but also the most sustainable, so it’s easy to see why more homeowners are choosing this option.
However, you may be unsure, as you’ve heard it’s expensive, and you’re wondering whether to invest a few more thousand dollars on premium heating or save it up for new furniture. Or you may feel frustrated because you can’t easily find any clear indicators of price for the size and style of home you’re hoping to build. They are either too generic or outdated.
You may also have questions about the design considerations that need to be addressed: type of heat source and fuel to use, how different underfloor heating systems compare in cost and efficiency, running costs, and what about installation costs?
It’s important to make the right decision before you start, as it will impact your comfort and the experience of living in your home for many years to come. Particularly the decision whether or not to use underfloor heating, as the pipes need to be installed before the slab is poured. It’s too late to regret not doing it when your bare feet first walk on your cold polished concrete or tiled floors that first winter morning.
The team at Belle Comfort has over 10 years of experience in designing and costing underfloor heating systems for all types of houses. These range from North Island urban to South Island rural high country, from small homes in beach communities to modern city living and large family homes, both single and two-storied.
By the end of this article, you’ll have a clear understanding of the factors that impact the ownership costs of underfloor central heating.
- Factors that Influence the Cost of Underfloor Heating in New Build Houses
- Under Floor Heating Cost Examples (2024 prices)
- Hydronic Underfloor Heating Running Costs
- Tailored Estimates for Hydronic Underfloor Heating Systems
- So, what’s next?
How Much Would Underfloor Heating Cost to Install in My New Home?
Just like any option you are considering, from cladding to kitchens, price varies a lot. But generally, you could spend between S17,000 and S133,000 depending on a bunch of factors.
Factors that Influence the Cost of Underfloor Heating in New Build Houses
The factors that influence the cost of underfloor heating in new builds include:
- Size of home: This is a large factor in the overall cost.
- Design of home: Is it a simple rectangle or does it have several wings? Has it got large picture windows? Cathedral ceilings? Is the installation to the new code or above the code?
- Climate you live in: New Zealand has six climate zones.
- Type of heat source: You choose.
- Add-ons included in the system? E.g., multi-zoned system, domestic hot water heated by your heat source, hydronic cooling, swimming pool heating.
(Note that the first four will impact any central heating system you are considering, as these determine the size and cost for any home. Other systems typically don’t have all the add-on capability.)
Under Floor Heating Cost Examples (2024 prices)
In this article, we’ll give you a few examples so you can get an idea of the ranges to expect depending on the dream home you are planning.
1. Small North Island Coastal Home.
| Under floor heating only | Air to water heat pump |
|---|---|
| Equipment cost | $14440 |
| Estimated installation | $5300 |
| Total Cost | $19750 |
2.Small Home in North Island City
| Simple under floor heating only | Natural Gas |
|---|---|
| Equipment cost | $13050 |
| Estimated installation | $4170 |
| Total Cost | $17220 |
3.Modern inner city living. Mid-sized home
| Gas boiler and domestic hot water | |
|---|---|
| Equipment cost | $32950 |
| Estimated installation | $10500 |
| Total Cost | $43450 |
4.Large country estate
| Diesel boiler and domestic hot water | Rural South Island |
|---|---|
| Equipment cost | $52690 |
| Estimated installation | $15860 |
| Total Cost | $68550 |
5.Large two-story family home
| Air to water heat pump with hydronic cooling and domestic hot water | South Island High Country |
|---|---|
| Equipment cost | $103800 |
| Estimated installation | $29200 |
| Total Cost | $133000 |
If you want to get a quote for your specific circumstance, get in touch here.
Hydronic Underfloor Heating Running Costs
The other thing people often ask us about is the expected running cost. You may not have heated the whole house before or been told that the cost of heating your whole home with central heating is about the same as running two conventional heat pumps. The range can vary from $200 for a little compact house in a warmer North Island region to $7,000 for a very large sprawling farmhouse in a cold South Island region. Note some of these include heating all your domestic hot water as well.
The same factors of size, design, climate, and heat source, as well as the temperatures you prefer, all have an effect on your running costs. We’ll give you some examples.
1.Small North Island Coastal Home
| Under floor heating only | Air to water heat pump |
|---|---|
| Estimated running costs per year | $244 |
2.Small Home in North Island City
| Underfloor heating only | Gas Boiler |
|---|---|
| Estimated running costs per year | $529 |
3.Mid-Large sized Home.
| Gas Boiler and domestic hot water | Modern inner city living North Island |
|---|---|
| Equipment cost | $32950 |
| Estimated installation | $10500 |
| Total Cost | $43450 |
4.Large Country Estate
| Diesel boiler and domestic hot water | Rural South Island |
|---|---|
| Estimated running costs per year | $6738 |
5.Large Two-Story Family Home
| Air to water heat pump with hydronic cooling and domestic hot water. South Island High Country | |
|---|---|
| Estimated heating and DHW running costs per year | $1966 |
Tailored Estimates for Hydronic Underfloor Heating Systems
You’re now wondering how this translates into your unique expected running costs and ongoing savings in energy for years to come.
Understanding the breakdown of all these costs, enhances your understanding, but to get a complete picture, you’ll need a tailored estimate specific to your home. Belle Comfort uses advanced software that takes into account all your unique data to calculate the system requirements and expected running costs for your new home.
It is important these system requirements are calculated correctly, as undersized or oversized units will overwork themselves and not heat or cool your home properly, resulting in higher energy bills and reduced equipment life. Correct sizing of the pipework and other equipment is equally important.
Equipment efficiency rating is important in terms of running costs, and Belle Comfort’s equipment is all chosen for top-of-the-range efficiency ratings. These are factored into the Belle Comfort software.
So, What’s Next?
If you would like to take advantage of this for your new home, simply submit your plans here, and we will prepare an equipment and installation estimate along with expected running costs.
Get a Tailored Estimate with Running Costs for Hydronic Underfloor Heating for Your Home
It’s free, it’s back to you in a couple of days, and you have nothing to lose. You may even join the happy customers who say, “It’s the best decision we ever made” and “I was a bit sceptical, but after experiencing it, I’m a real fan.”
We are here to answer your questions and help you choose the best heating system to suit your home and lifestyle. At Belle Comfort, your trust is our business, and to us, this includes providing the knowledge you need to make an informed decision.
If you would like to discuss underfloor heating more before requesting a quote, request a home heating consultation.
