How Much Does Electric Floor Heating Cost in Australia? (2026 Guide)

If you’re looking at floor heating for your home, the first question is always the same — how much is it going to cost? Fair enough. Here’s a straight answer based on what we see across hundreds of installs every year.

The Shor

For electric floor heating in Australia, you’re looking at roughly $80 to $150 per square metre installed, depending on the system type, room size, and whether it’s a new build or renovation. A typical bathroom costs $650 to $1,200 installed. A living area or open-plan kitchen might run $2,500 to $4,500.

Those are ballpark figures. Every job is different — but they’ll get you in the right neighbourhood for budgeting.

What Affects the Cost?

A few things move the price up or down:

Room size. Larger rooms cost more in total, but the per-square-metre rate tends to come down as the area goes up. A 4m² bathroom will cost more per square metre than a 30m² living area because the thermostat, electrical connection and labour are roughly the same regardless of size.

System type. Under-tile heating mats (DM20) are the most common for bathrooms, kitchens and renovations. They’re quick for electricians to install and work brilliantly under tiles and stone. In-slab cable systems (VCD35) are used in new concrete slabs — they cost a bit more in cable but the installation cost is lower because the cable goes in before the concrete pour.

New build vs renovation. Installing during a new build is almost always cheaper. The slab is open, the electrician has easy access, and there’s no demolition or floor prep. Renovations involve more labour — removing existing flooring, laying the mats, re-tiling — which adds to the bill.

Floor covering. Tiles and polished concrete are the best conductors and simplest to install over. Timber, engineered timber and vinyl work too, but may need specific system configurations. Carpet is the least efficient — it acts like a blanket over the heat — but it can still work with the right setup.

Thermostat. A basic programmable thermostat starts around $200. Wi-fi smart thermostats with app control run $300 to $500. You’ll need one per zone (most homes have 1 to 3 zones).

Room-by-Room Cost Guide

Here’s what typical installs look like across different rooms. These are installed prices including materials, thermostat and electrician connection.

Bathroom (3–6 m²). Most common job we do. A standard Canberra bathroom with tiles runs $650 to $1,200 depending on the size and layout. The heated area is usually 3 to 4 square metres once you subtract the shower, vanity and toilet.

Ensuite (2–4 m²). Smaller than a main bathroom, so usually $550 to $900 installed. Often done at the same time as the main bathroom to share the electrician call-out.

Kitchen (8–15 m²). Kitchens are popular because nobody likes cold tiles at 6am. Expect $1,200 to $2,500 depending on the area. We heat around the benchtop and appliances, not under them.

Living / Open Plan (15–30 m²). This is where in-slab systems shine on new builds. For a 20m² living area, you’re looking at $2,500 to $4,500. Under-tile mats for renovations will be at the higher end; in-slab cable for new pours at the lower end.

Whole Home — New Build (60–120 m²). For a full new home with in-slab heating through the main living areas, bedrooms and bathrooms, budget $8,000 to $18,000 depending on total heated area. That includes multiple zones with separate thermostats so you can heat different areas at different times.

Whole Home — Renovation (60–100 m²). Retrofitting a whole home is more expensive — $12,000 to $22,000 — because of the additional floor prep, demolition, and retiling work. Most renovation clients start with the bathroom and kitchen, then add rooms over time.

How Does Electric Compare to Other Heating?

Electric floor heating vs ducted gas. Ducted gas is cheaper to run per hour across a whole house, but the install cost is higher ($8,000 to $15,000 for ducted), it needs annual servicing, and the ducts take up ceiling space. Electric floor heating has no maintenance, no moving parts, and heats from the ground up — which is more comfortable and more efficient because heat rises. For Canberra and cold-climate homes, a lot of our customers are switching from ducted gas to electric floor heating as gas prices climb.

Electric floor heating vs hydronic. Hydronic (hot water) floor heating costs significantly more to install — $150 to $250+ per square metre — because it needs a boiler, pump, manifold and piping. It can be more economical to run at scale (whole-home), but the upfront cost is roughly double. For most Australian homes, especially bathrooms, kitchens and targeted zones, electric is the smarter investment.

Electric floor heating vs reverse-cycle air conditioning. Split systems and ducted reverse-cycle are great for heating air quickly, but they blow dry air and create temperature gradients (warm at ceiling level, cold at floor level). Floor heating warms from the ground up, which feels more comfortable and is ideal under tiles and polished concrete. Many of our customers run both — floor heating in the bathroom and kitchen, reverse-cycle for the rest.

What Does It Cost to Run?

Electric floor heating is cheaper to run than most people expect. At the current Australian average rate of $0.27 per kWh:

A typical bathroom (3m²) costs around $0.08 to $0.12 per hour to run. Set it to come on for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening during winter, and you’re looking at roughly $30 to $50 for the entire winter.

A living area (20m²) costs around $0.50 to $0.80 per hour. With smart thermostat scheduling, most households spend $200 to $400 per winter heating their main living area.

Off-peak electricity rates (roughly $0.14 to $0.18 per kWh) drop those numbers almost in half — and in-slab systems in concrete are perfect for off-peak because the slab stores heat for hours after the system switches off. If you’ve got rooftop solar, running costs can be close to zero during the day.

Why ELEKTRA?

P.A.P. Heating Solutions is Australia’s exclusive distributor of ELEKTRA floor heating products. ELEKTRA is a European manufacturer with over 40 years in the industry, and their cables and mats are built to a standard that most competitors can’t match.

Every ELEKTRA cable is individually factory-tested at 2,500 volts before it leaves the production line — that’s not random sampling, that’s every single unit. The result is a 20-year warranty that we can stand behind with confidence, because failures are virtually unheard of.

We’ve been installing ELEKTRA systems across Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Australia-wide since 1987. That’s nearly 40 years of floor heating — and we’ve seen what lasts and what doesn’t.

Get an Exact Quote

Every job is different. Room shapes, floor types, access for electricians, thermostat choices — they all affect the final number. The figures above will get you in the right ballpark, but the only way to know exactly what your project will cost is to get a proper quote.

We provide free, no-obligation quotes for any floor heating project in Australia. Give us a call on (02) 6242 9310 or email info@papheatingsolutions.com.au and we’ll get back to you with a detailed proposal — usually within 24 hours.