As a rule of thumb the copper cable underfloor heating is favoured for installation under tiles and usually 200 watt is the preference for primary heat. Due to the higher temperatures the cable underfloor heating produces it needs to be buried in a screed which is a waste of energy and takes a considerable time to heat up. If the Copper Cable underfloor heating is buried into a screed you can use other flooring products but it does open another can of worms with regards to suitability of accoustic insulations and underlay. To install water underfloor heating correctly it should be buried in a polimer modified screed that is usually between 75mm and 100mm in depth, this can take upto 4-5 hours to heat through before it starts heating the room. As you can see from the pictures, the ribbon underfloor heating system covers more of the floor than any of its rivals. Because there is far more floor coverage with the flat ribbon heating and it does not have to work as hard to give a primary heat (only needs to heat to 28 Degrees C) this means it does not need to be on as long as other forms of heating. With the low working temperatures the flat ribbon is the only floor heating product that can fit directly under any flooring product as a primary heat. As it can fit directly under all floor coverings you can put insulation underneath the underfloor heating to reflect the heat up. The benefits of the ribbon - More coverage of the floor than any of its rivals - No subfloor preperation or screeding - Fits directly under any flooring - Heats to optimum temperature within 3 minutes - Massive savings on standard heating bills - Low profile (only 1.8mm deep) - No maintenance required - Part L Complient (needed for newbuilds)