Underfloor heating has been known since at least the Roman times, and possibly before that. Methods of underfloor heating from those days mainly involved the movement of smoke from fires beneath the floor of buildings. Today's modern houses have two options of underfloor heating though.

These two types are electrical and water, with the water systems sometimes being addressed as hydronic. There are some differences between the two. The main difference, however, is that a hydronic system can not only warm but can also cool if a room is too hot. An electric system can only warm.

If you were considering the benefits of electric vs water underfloor heating systems, then this would be the main thing to keep in mind. So, if you expected to have to cool your room as well, opt for the hydronic option. However, the electrical system has a lower profile, so if the space under the proposed floor is at a premium, then an electrical system would be the best option.

Although both systems should ideally be installed by professionals, if you were to embark on the process yourself, then an electrical system would be the easiest to install. A water system involves a lot of knowledge about water pressures, boiler thermostats and more.

So, as you can see, both options have their benefits, although overall, the electrical system is probably the easiest to install, as long as you believe that the room will not need cooling as well.