Underfloor heating

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Underfloor heating is a modern and energy-efficient way to warm your home. It’s cleaner, more sustainable, and can help lower carbon emissions.

How it works

Low temperature hot water moves through pipes under your floor. It heats the space evenly and quietly. Unlike radiators, heat is distributed slowly and evenly across the space.

Underfloor heating works at lower temperatures than radiators. This means it uses less energy, costs less, and makes your home more efficient.

Underfloor heating systems take longer to warm up because they operate at lower temperatures and cover a large area. It may take time to reach your desired temperature. Set the temperature slightly earlier so that rooms are warm when you need them.

The size of your property and the type of floor, such as tiles, wood, or carpet, can affect warm-up times.

Controlling your underfloor heating using a thermostat

To maximise comfort and efficiency, use thermostats to control your heating. Smart thermostats allow for ‘zoning’, meaning you can:

  • Set different temperatures in different rooms/zones
  • Schedule heating to match your daily routine
  • Reduce heating in unused rooms/zones to save energy

Check the instructions from the manufacturer to find your home’s thermostat info. You should have received these when you moved in.

Getting the most out of your underfloor heating

Radiators typically need to be heated to around 65-75°C to heat a room effectively. In contrast, underfloor heating systems usually operate at lower temperatures.

Here are some tips to maximise your comfort levels and efficiency of your underfloor heating system.

Maintain a consistent temperature

It’s more efficient to maintain a constant temperature (between 18-20°C) instead of turning it off and on. This helps maintain warmth and prevents long heat-up times.

Use a thermostat

Use your thermostat to set the temperature slightly earlier so rooms are warm when you need them. Lowering temperatures in unoccupied rooms will reduce energy costs.

Avoid overheating

Underfloor heating works slowly and steadily, so avoid dramatic temperature changes. Heating the system higher than necessary doesn’t warm the space faster but does increase energy consumption.

Use zoned heating

You can set different temperatures in different rooms/zones, each controlled separately. This is efficient as you can heat only the rooms in use, rather than the entire house.

Recommended Temperature Settings

Using your thermostat, you can change the temperatures in different rooms/zones. For example you may want your living area warming than your bedroom. The below temperatures are just a guide and it all depends on your routine, your schedule and your preferred temperature.

Living room

You might often use your living room for relaxation, so maintaining a comfortable temperature during active hours is ideal.

TimeSuggested
temperature		Description
From 5am21°CStart your morning at a comfortable temperature.
From 9am18°CReduce the temperature during the day to save energy when the room is not being used.
From 4pm20°CPreheat the room before you need it for evening comfort.
From 6pm21°CWarmer temperature for relaxation during the evening.
From 9pm20°CLower the temperature at night to save energy.
Overnight18°CMaintain a minimal temperature during the late hours.

Bedroom

You may want a cooler temperature in the bedroom, to promote restful sleep.

TimeSuggested
temperature		Description
From 4am18°CStart your morning at a comfortable temperature.
From 9am16°CReduce the temperature when the room is empty during the day.
From 6pm17°CSet a minimal but comfortable temperature for early evening.
From 8pm18°CWarmer setting for evening relaxation if using the bedroom.
From 10pm16°CCooler temperature for optimal sleep.
From 11pm15°CMinimal setting to save energy during late hours.

How long does it take to heat up?

Underfloor heat-up times vary based on: 

  • The size of the room 
  • The heat-loss and the insulation of the space 
  • The type of floor finish (tiles, wood, carpet)
  • The type of system and its heat source 

How can my underfloor heating be serviced?

All serviceable parts and plumbing joints are located in the manifold above the floor so they are accessible.

Metropolitan recommend that your underfloor system is serviced by a qualified plumber.

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How is your
bill calculated?

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We aim to make your billing as simple and transparent as possible.

You’ll receive:

  • One bill from us for your fixed monthly charge. We charge you one month in advance, similar to a mobile phone bill.
  • One bill from your electricity supplier. Your heat pump uses electricity to boost the ambient heat from the ground and deliver it to your home. When you adjust the temperature or use heating or hot water, the system uses electricity.

Ground source heat pumps are very efficient. For every 1 kWh of electricity used, the system produces around 3–4 kWh of heat. This makes them a low‑carbon and cost‑effective alternative to a gas boiler.

Fixed monthly charge

This is a fixed monthly fee. You’ll have peace of mind all this is included in this one cost:

  • The heat you use from the ground source heat network
  • Network pipework and borehole maintenance
  • Your heat pump is serviced every two years. Maintenance, repairs and replacements are included – no unexpected bills

We’ll also apply VAT, the tax you have to pay when you buy goods or services, at the lower rate of 5%.

Electricity for the kWh used

  • The ground source heat pump is connected to your home’s electricity supply. You’ll need to pay a separate electricity provider for the electricity you use to power the heat pump. This will be a volumetric rate in kWh.
  • Your electricity bill depends on your provider’s rate, and how much you use the heating.
  • You can choose your electricity provider as usual.

For every 1 kWh of electricity used, the system produces around 3–4 kWh of heat.

You will receive two separate bills –

Heat from Metropolitan and electricity from your supplier

FAQs

Why do I receive two bills?

What does the fixed monthly cost include?

Why don’t I pay you for daily usage?

How much electricity does the heat pump use?

Do I have to use a specific electricity supplier?

Who is responsible for servicing and repairs?

What are the ways to pay?

Help with paying your bill

We know sometimes it can be hard to find the money to pay for bills. We have ways we can support you. If you need some help, please let us know.

Find out more

Priority Services Register

Our Priority Services Register is free to join and designed to give you extra support when you need it most. We can tailor our services to support you.

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Moving in or
moving out

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Moving in

It’s great to welcome you to our low-carbon heat network community.

Create an account

We’ll need to know

  • The date you moved in
  • Your full name, date of birth, contact details and your full address
  • Your Direct Debit details (or details of how else you would like to pay)

You can find out more information about Direct Debit and our other payment methods here.

Payment methods

With an online account, you can manage your personal details, make payments online, view your bills and set up a Direct Debit.

Moving out

Saying goodbye is never easy. We want to make your move smooth, no matter where your next adventure leads you.

You can let us know you’re moving out by logging into your online account or by contacting us.

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Contact us

Switching supplier

Since our heat network is integrated into the community, you can’t switch your heating and hot water supplier. You’re protected by:

  • Our Guaranteed Standards of Service
  • Ofgem regultion
  • Heat Trust regulation
How we are regulated

Priority Services Register

Join our Priority Services Register for free if you need extra support because of your health, age, disability, or circumstances.

Find out how we can support you if you need extra help.

Find out more

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Making
a complaint

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We know it can be frustrating and disappointing if our service isn’t as good as it should be. If you’re unhappy with our service, we want to be able to put it right quickly and smoothly.

How you can complain

By telephone: 02920 100346.
We’ll aim to resolve your complaint there and then.

Send us a contact form

Chat to us live online

By post: Metropolitan, Driscoll 2, Ellen Street, 
Cardiff, CF10 4BP.

We are not active on social media. Therefore we cannot accept complaints via social media.

We’re here to help

We aim to resolve all complaints within 10 working days.

If English isn’t your first language, we’ll find ways to help us communicate better. This may mean it takes a little longer to resolve your questions.

Our Complaints Process

We’re sorry if you’re unhappy with our service. Here’s what will happen next:

Step 1

  • Let us know about your complaint as soon as possible.
  • We aim to respond to you in 10 working days in the most appropriate way.
  • If we need more time to investigate, we’ll keep you updated and try to reduce any immediate impact on you.

Step 2:

  • If we can’t resolve things straight away, we’ll escalate your complaint internally.
  • You can ask for a manager to review your complaint at any time.
  • If we’re unable to resolve your complaint, we’ll explain our final position. You may receive a “deadlock letter” (or you can request one), confirming we can’t take things further.

Step 3:

If steps one and two have been followed and you’re still unhappy, you can take your complaint to the Energy Ombudsman if:

  • You’ve received a deadlock letter, or
  • 8 weeks have passed since you first made your complaint

The Energy Ombudsman offers a free and independent review, but only after our complaints process has been completed.

The Energy Ombudsman

If you’re not satisfied with how we’ve dealt with your complaint, you can contact the Energy Ombudsman, a free and independent agency that can help.

Telephone: 0330 440 1624

Website: www.energyombudsman.org

Email: [email protected]

In writing: Energy Ombudsman, P.O. Box 966, Warrington, WA4 9DF

Our responsibilities

If you’re unhappy with our service, we promise:

  • We’ll get back to you within 10 working days
  • We’ll pause any actions recover an outstanding balance, if your complaint is about our billing
  • We’ll use any feedback to try and improve our service
  • We’ll thoroughly investigate your complaint to determine what’s happened
  • We’ll identify what the problem is and what caused it
  • We’ll find out how we can resolve the problem
  • We’ll determine if there’s anything we can do to stop the problem from happening again
  • We’ll inform you if any Guaranteed Standards of Service or compensation payment is due
  • We’ll say sorry if we made a mistake and explain what went wrong
  • If your complaint was caused by a company policy, we’ll explain it to you
  • We’ll tell you how to escalate your concerns if you’re unhappy with our response to your complaint

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Your tariffs

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Living on a heat network won’t cost more. We make sure our prices are fair, and we’re transparent about how your bills are calculated.

To view your tariffs, please log in to your account.

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Our price promise

Your heat is provided by a ground source heat pump installed in your home.

The system uses natural heat from deep underground to provide ambient heat to your ground source heat pump, which then boosts the temperature providing space heating and hot water to your home, in an efficient, low‑carbon way. If you use a smart electricity tariff, your system can automatically run more when electricity demand is lower.

Our price promise means you won’t pay more to heat your home than you would if you owned and maintained your own individual air source heat pump*.

*Our price promise is based on the nearest alternative comparator for each network and is based on typical heat consumption in an average home.

All-inclusive price

Enjoy simple, stress-free heating with a clear price:

  • Your bill covers everything (excluding the electricity your heat pump uses) – the ambient heat you use, plus repairs, maintenance and replacements
  • No unexpected costs for servicing, repairs or replacements
  • No need to worry about big repair bills or replacement costs like with a gas boiler or individual air source heat pump

It’s heating with total peace of mind — everything taken care of, all in one place

What you can expect

A better, fairer way to pay for heat.

  • Flexible ways to pay that work for you
  • Fair, transparent pricing, guided by Ofgem
  • At least 31 days notice before any price changes
  • Prices reviewed no more than twice a year
  • Clear, easy to understand bills
  • Support if you’re struggling financially

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Passiv Smart
Thermostat

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If your home has a Passiv Smart Thermostat, you will have full control over your home’s temperature.

You can control your heating and hot water in your home with the Passiv Thermostat and Programmer, or from anywhere using the free Passiv app.

Passiv Smart Thermostat

(not available in every home)

Your home includes a Passiv Smart Thermostat, an award-winning, heat pump smart controller that can improve your comfort while lowering your bills. The Passiv Smart Thermostat factors in local weather forecasts, the home’s thermal performance, electricity tariffs to help reduce your heating bills by up to 30%.

Passiv Thermostat

The Passiv Thermostat displays the current temperature, setpoint and status of the heating zone and can be used to quickly adjust setpoint temperatures and manage home comfort.

Passiv Programmer

The Passiv Programmer contains the full functionality required to manage your heating and hot water including the ability to create, edit and delete schedules, boost hot water or turn on Away mode.

Passiv App

The free Passiv app for Apple and Android devices is the easiest way to control your new heat pump and can be used once the Passiv Hub has been connected to your broadband router using the supplied ethernet cable.
To get started with the Passiv app, go to app.passivuk.com on your smartphone.

Responsibility of the Passiv Thermostat

If you notice a problem with your Passiv Thermostat, please contact us to report this. We are responsible for maintaining this, and we will be able to troubleshoot any issues you report to us.

Get in touch

Visit the Passiv website to find out more about the Passiv Smart Thermostat

Passiv website

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Your heat
equipment
explained

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Your low-carbon home

Instead of a traditional gas boiler, your heating and hot water are powered by a Ground Source Heat Pump. It’s efficient, quiet, and designed to keep you comfortable year-round.

Your home still heats up just as you expect. It’s now cleaner, safer, and ready for the future.

By using a ground source heat pump instead of an individual gas boiler:

  • Less carbon is released into the air
  • Homes rely less on fossil fuels
  • Heating can be generated in a more efficient way

As gas boilers are phased out, our heat networks provide an alternative low‑carbon solution to individual air source heat pumps.

The equipment in your home

Ground source heat pump

The heat pump is a quiet, compact and discreet unit.

Your heat pump is connected to an underground network of pipes which extract heat from the ground. It then uses electricity to boost the temperature of the heat providing space heating and hot water to your home.

The heat pump delivers warmth through your pipes to the radiators or underfloor heating.

The heat pumps are very efficient. For every 1 kWh of electricity used, they generate 3 – 4 times more heat.

We maintain the heat pump and carry out a service every two years.

Hot water cylinder

Like most traditional heating systems, the hot water cylinder stores a large volume of water heated by the heat pump. This means you have plenty of hot water ready for taps, baths, and showers whenever you need it.

You or your landlord are responsible for maintaining this.

Thermostat

You stay in full control of your comfort with thermostats.

Your system lets you set different temperatures for each zone or room. This is efficient as you can heat only the rooms/zones in use, rather than the entire house.

Your property may have a Passiv Smart Thermostat. If it does, click here for more information.

Passiv Smart Thermostat

Fan Coil Units (if applicable in your home)

If you have heating and cooling in your home, you will have fan coil units.

In this case, the heat pump will provide heating for your underfloor heating or radiators. It will also supply hot water to your taps, showers and baths. It will also send cool water to your fan coil units when in cooling mode. The fan coil units circulate cool air through the room.

Making sure everything runs smoothly

Being on our networked ground source heat pump gives you peace of mind.

We service your heat pump every two years. This keeps it working efficiently, safely, and reliably. We’ll always reach out first to set up a convenient appointment.

  • Inclusive servicing fees
  • No call‑out charges
  • No separate maintenance contracts to arrange

This is all included in the cost you already pay to us.

If you had a traditional gas boiler or individual air source heat pump, you’d usually need to arrange and pay for servicing and replacement yourself – on top of your energy bills. With our water source heat pump, there are no unexpected costs.

Responsibility of the network

We are responsible for:

  • All network pipework
  • The heat pumps
  • Passiv thermostat (if you have one)

We service your heat pump every two years, so you have complete peace of mind.

You or your landlord are responsible for:

Everything after the outlet from your ground source heat pump, including:

  • Pipework and valves
  • Water outlets
  • Thermostat*
  • Radiators and/or underfloor heating
  • Hot water cylinder
  • Fan coil units (if applicable in your home)

*If you have a Passiv Smart Thermostat in your home, this will be the responsibility of Metropolitan.

You may also have Underfloor Heating in your home. Find out more about Underfloor Heating here.

Underfloor Heating explained

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Our guaranteed
service standards

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We know you need to be able to rely on us. That’s why we guarantee minimum standards of service. Our standards are aligned with Heat Trust recommendations, although we think we can work harder for you. So, in some cases our promises exceed what the Heat Trust asks us to do.

If we don’t meet the promised standards, let us know and we’ll put things right.

We’re a proud member of the Heat Trust; an industry body providing consumer protection for residential customers living on heat networks within the UK.

Making appointments

Your account

Payment arrangements

Complaints

If your heating isn’t working

Temperature and flow rate

Standards for cooling

Direct debits and standing orders

Court claims

Exceptions

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How are we
regulated?

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We want you to feel confident and cared for when it comes to pricing and service – we’re already committed to meeting the highest standard of customer care and fairness.

How you are protected

Ofgem regulates Heat Networks, so you can trust that we’ll always work hard for you. All our networks are registered with Heat Trust, offering you peace of mind and a reliable service.

Heat Trust is a voluntary scheme that protects customers whose homes are connected to a community heat network. It sets clear standards for service and customer care, so you receive fair, transparent, and good-value service.

Find out more information about Heat Trust.

Ofgem
Heat Trust

What you can expect from us

We recognise that we are in a position of responsibility and we take this very seriously. Metropolitan has been providing heat to thousands of homes and businesses for many years.

  • Exceptional customer service from our UK-based team.
  • Quick and fair resolution if anything goes wrong. Access to an independent complaint-handling service.
  • Your feedback matters to us. We always aim to improve our service based on your comments.

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What are ground source
heat networks?

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Cleaner, greener heating

A ground source heat network is a low-carbon, energy-efficient way of heating homes without using gas. They use natural heat from the ground and electricity to keep your home warm all year round, even in cold weather.

Unlike traditional gas boilers, ground source heat networks do not burn fuel. Instead, they transfer renewable heat from the ground to your home, making them one of the cleanest and most future-proof ways to heat homes in the UK.

Ground source heat networks offer reliable, low-carbon heating and is designed to support the UK’s transition away from fossil fuels – while still giving you the comfort and control you expect in your home.

Every 1 kWh of electricity generates 3 to 4 kWh of heating – providing 100% heating and hot water needs throughout the year. That is…

3-4 times

more efficient than gas. This means more heat is produced using less energy, helping keep running costs lower.

How does a ground source heat network work?

In simple terms, the system captures natural heat from the ground, boosts it using highly efficient heat pumps, and delivers it to homes as hot water through insulated pipes.

1. Heat is taken from the ground

Pipes are placed deep underground in boreholes and filled with a water and anti‑freeze mix. As the liquid flows through the pipes, it absorbs natural heat from the ground, which stays at a steady temperature all year. The warmed liquid is carried through flow and return pipes to a central manifold and into each home.

2. The heat pump warms it up

The ground source heat pump in your home takes this heat and uses electricity to increase the temperature. There is no gas, no flames, and the system runs automatically.

3. Your home is heated

The heat is sent to your radiators or underfloor heating and provides hot water for taps and showers. You control the temperature using a thermostat.

Why Ground Source Heat Networks are more efficient than gas

Uses renewable heat

Unlike gas boilers, which burn fossil fuels to create heat, Ground Source Heat Networks capture renewable energy from the ground. This reduces carbon emissions and supports national net‑zero targets.

More efficient

Heat pumps are highly efficient because they move heat rather than generate it. For every unit of electricity used, a heat pump can typically deliver three to four units of heat. This level of efficiency is far higher than traditional gas boilers.

No combustion in the home

There is no gas burning inside the property. This removes flues, reduces maintenance needs, and improves indoor air quality.

Benefits of Ground Source Heat Networks

Heating all year round

Ground temperature stays consistent and warm even in winter. This helps keep your home cosy whatever the weather outside.

Cheaper to run

Using renewable ground energy provides greater cost savings than individual air‑source heat pumps.

Energy efficient

Ground source heat pumps are highly efficient, producing three to four units of heat for every unit of electricity used.

Better for the environment

Because ground source heat pumps don’t use gas, they create less carbon emissions, supporting greener living.

Maintained by us

We’ll service your heat pump every two years. All servicing, repairs and replacement are included in our service at no extra cost to you, so there’s no unexpected bills to worry about.

Quiet and safe

The heat pump makes less noise than most traditional boilers. There are no combustion, flames or flues inside your home and no risk of carbon monoxide leaks.

Supporting low-carbon and the Future Homes Standard

Ground source heat networks play a key role in supporting the UK’s transition to low-carbon housing:

  • They align with the UK’s Net Zero 2050 targets by eliminating fossil fuel use for heating
  • They are compatible with the Future Homes Standard, which aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions from new homes and avoid reliance on gas heating

Still got questions? Watch our video on how it all works

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