Floor heating guide
Which floor heating system is best: water or electric?
For a whole home, a water-based (hydronic) system is usually the best choice: warm water runs through pipes in the screed and can be heated by a boiler, a heat pump or solar. Electric mats suit one small room, such as a bathroom, or a renovation where the floor cannot be raised.
By GSAT Group, floor heating in Lebanon since 1990. Updated 2026-10-27.
The two types
- Water-based (hydronic): multilayer or PEX pipe laid on insulation panels and covered by the screed. Low-temperature water from a boiler, heat pump or solar system warms the whole floor.
- Electric: heating cables or mats under the tile or in a thin screed. Simple to fit, but every hour of heat is paid for in electricity.
Which is most efficient
Hydronic floor heating runs at low water temperatures, roughly 35 to 45°C compared with 60 to 75°C for radiators. That is exactly where heat pumps, condensing boilers and solar water heating work best, so the running cost per square metre is lower than with electric cables, especially for large areas heated all winter.
Electric heating turns electricity into heat one for one. In Lebanon, where electricity often comes from a generator subscription or a solar system with limited capacity, that makes it expensive to run over a whole house.
Which is cheapest
Electric mats are cheaper to buy and install for a single room. For a whole home, hydronic costs more at the start (pipe, manifolds, a heat source) but less every winter after, and the pipe lasts as long as the building.
What makes one system better than another
- The pipe: certified multilayer or PEX pipe with an oxygen barrier, in one continuous length per circuit under the floor.
- The layout: pipe spacing, circuit lengths and zones planned room by room, not guessed on site.
- The manifold and controls: flow balanced per circuit, with a thermostat per room or zone.
- Who installs and stands behind it: a local team that pressure-tests before the screed and is there for service years later.
What GSAT installs
GSAT has designed, supplied and installed hydronic floor heating in Lebanon since 1990, using Emmeti systems (GSAT is the exclusive Emmeti distributor in Lebanon and Syria since 1996). The pipe carries a lifetime warranty, and a villa is installed in under a week.
Questions people also ask
Which heated floor system is best?
For a whole home, a water-based (hydronic) system heated by a boiler, heat pump or solar. Electric mats are best kept for a single small room or a thin renovation.
Which type of floor heating is the most efficient?
Hydronic floor heating paired with a heat pump, condensing boiler or solar, because it runs at low water temperatures. Electric cables convert electricity to heat one for one.
What is the cheapest underfloor heating?
Electric mats are cheapest to install in one room. For a whole house, hydronic is cheaper to run every winter after installation.
What is the best underfloor heating brand?
Look for certified pipe with an oxygen barrier, a quality manifold and a local supplier who installs and services it. GSAT installs Emmeti, an Italian system it has distributed exclusively in Lebanon since 1996.
What is the best electric floor heating system?
For one room, a thin electric mat under the tile with its own floor-sensing thermostat. For a whole home in Lebanon, a hydronic system usually costs far less to run.