When kitting out your home with new furnishings, better insulation is arguably one of the best things you can add.
Of course the number one reason for better insulation is to keep the warmth in and the cold out. However, it actually works with hot weather too – protecting your home from any extreme outdoor heat that will make its way into you living rooms or bedrooms.
With the UK climate changing fast and some Summers getting hotter than ever, this could be another great reason to invest in better insulation for your home.
Tog Rating – what does it mean?
You might have heard of the word TOG.
Tog stands for ‘Thermal Overall Grade’ which is a unit of measurement used to calculate the thermal insulation of a product.
The higher the tog rating, the higher the level of thermal insulation provided by a product.
You will mainly see tog ratings given to things like duvets, sleeping bags and sometimes coats but the principle is the same with underlay.
Best Value Thermal Underlays
Carpet Underlay With Highest Thermal Rating
Carpet underlays are normally thicker than those used with laminate flooring, so they have a higher tog rating because they are naturally more insulating.
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Carpenter Midas 12mm (3.3 tog)
The Midas 12 has the highest tog rating of all our products (and nearly all other underlays on the market. Meaning it will offer the best insulation when being used in places such as living rooms and bedrooms. It particularly excels when being laid on a cold concrete floor.
Under the feet, it will give your carpet a more luxury and comfort feeling mainly due to its 12mm thickness.
As well as keeping your home that little bit warmer, the Midas 12mm also has great sound insulation.
The Midas 12 has a medium density so we recommend it isn’t used in high traffic areas such as the stairs, landing and hallway.
Best Insulating Underlay for Laminate or Wood Flooring
Products suitable for laminate or wood flooring need be much thinner so they have a lower tog rating. They also need to be moisture resistant to increase the lifespan of your flooring.
Super Gold Laminate Underlay – 1.1 Tog Rating
Super Gold is the best insulating laminate underlay. It is the thickest product (5mm) you can use so it also has the highest tog rating. It’s difficult to find a laminate underlay that has a better warmth and insulation rating
As well as being insulating it also features a plastic vapour barrier which protects against humidity and it has a noise reduction rating of 22db.
Because the Super Gold is designed to be insulating, it is not recommended for use with underfloor heating.
Does Underlay even work as heat or floor insulation?
A good quality, insulating underlay will act as a high-quality thermal barrier. Especially when used over a concrete floor or draughty floorboards.
But it isn’t the only factor when choosing the right product for your home or building.
Things like thickness, density, noise reduction and the room it’s going to be used in are also very important.
To find out more about the right underlay for you, read our FAQs page.
Why is insulation in the home so important?
The biggest benefit of insulating your home is the money it saves.
You’ll find that with good quality insulation, you don’t need to use your heating as much. By being able to turn on your heating later in the Autumn and turning it off earlier in the Spring, you’ll save weeks’ worth of energy bills.
Not only is it great for the wallet, it’s great for the environment too!
To find out more about the economic benefits of home insulation, read this blog post.
How is the thermal property of a product rated?
Thermal properties in the UK are rated in the form of Tog rating.
Whenever we get asked about tog, we always say that the best way to look at it is “the higher the hotter”. However, it’s important to remember that the highest is not always what you need. For example if you’re fitting underfloor heating, you need the lowest tog.
Ultimately, tog is a measure of how much insulation a material has based on the unit area.
Underlays are vital in providing extra warmth in the home and their tog ratings generally range from 1.5 at the low end to 3.5 at the high end
Carpet and laminate underlays have various features, which in turn come with different benefits. Tog is one of those features whereby different products will have different levels of tog rating
Tog ratings are the most important factor for many customers who are looking to purchase an underlay for their living room or bedroom. While, when fitting on the stairs, density is usually more important.
An underlay with a high tog rating can make a huge difference to a cold concrete subfloor or draughty floorboards. Not only will it prevent warm air escaping – it will also act as a barrier to cold air trying to get in.
