Can a mosque be heated with electric underfloor heating?

01

Why is underfloor heating suited to a prayer hall?

In salah the body is in contact with the floor, standing, in sajdah and seated, so a cold floor is the first thing worshippers feel. Underfloor heating warms that surface directly and evenly across the hall, works under existing carpets and leaves the walls free. It is silent, so it never disturbs the prayer.

• 01

  Warm where people pray

  The floor itself, under the carpets, not the air near the ceiling of a tall hall.

• 02

  No fire to tend

  No firewood, no smoke and no one needed to stoke a hamam before Fajr.

• 03

  Wuzu area

  A heated floor in the ablution area dries quickly and is far kinder on bare feet in Chillai Kalan.

02

How do you keep a mosque’s heating bill manageable?

Zone the hall and time the heating around salah. Front rows, the main hall, the women’s section and the wuzu area each get their own thermostat, so only the zones in use are heated. Timers warm each zone shortly before Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha, with larger zones switched on for Jumu’ah.

For planning: at full output the system draws about 2 units an hour per 100 sq ft. A 1,000 sq ft zone therefore draws about 20 units an hour while heating, which is why zoning and timers matter more in a masjid than in a home.

03

What electricity supply does a mosque need for underfloor heating?

Floor heating for a large hall is a heavy load, roughly 20 kW per 1,000 sq ft at full output, so most masjids need a three-phase connection with enough sanctioned load. We size the zones to the supply available and can split the hall so zones never all draw at once.

We check the existing connection on the site visit and tell the committee what load is needed before quoting.

04

Does underfloor heating work under mosque carpets?

Yes. The heat passes up through the screed and the carpet. Thick carpet with heavy underlay slows the warm-up, so we account for the carpet when sizing the system and setting the timers. Prayer mats and jai-namaz on top are fine.

FAQ

Underfloor heating for mosques: questions

• Is the electric hamam suitable for large buildings?+

  Yes. It can be installed in commercial and community buildings, offices, hotels, hospitals and schools, as well as homes. Large halls are split into zones.

• Can the heating be timed to prayer times?+

  Yes. Digital and Wi-Fi thermostats run schedules, so each zone warms before each salah and switches off after.

• Can only the wuzu area be heated?+

  Yes. Each zone has its own thermostat. Many masjids start with the wuzu area and the front rows.

• Does it produce any smoke or smell?+

  No. There is no combustion, so there is no smoke, soot or smell in the masjid.