Underfloor Heating System at Hastings Pier

The Goal

During the £14.2 million restoration of Hastings Pier in East Sussex, the Pavilion Restaurant & Bar required a heating system that would not add excess weight to the historic cast-iron structure.

A traditional wet system was ruled out — it would have placed too much load on the refurbished flooring and risked long-term structural stress. The challenge was to deliver a lightweight, efficient electric underfloor heating system that could heat large, irregular spaces while preserving the integrity of the original superstructure.

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Our Solution

Through our subsidiary Heatmat, Heatcom Group supplied a complete 160 W/m² electric underfloor heating system for the restaurant, kitchen pod, staff areas and service zones.

To manage the complex layout, the system was divided into three heating zones using a combination of:

• Loose 3 mm heating cable for awkward floor shapes
• 160 W/m² heating mats for the main open areas

Each zone is controlled by NGTouch colour touchscreen thermostats, allowing staff to easily manage temperatures across the building.

Heatmat’s project manager worked on-site during construction to calculate the heating requirements and ensure the installation aligned with the pier’s structural limitations. Wholesaler Edmundson Electrical (Crawley) supplied materials directly to site to support the installation schedule.

This configuration delivered full heating coverage while keeping weight to a minimum – a critical requirement for a Victorian pier that originally opened in 1872.

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The Result

The system was installed and commissioned in April 2016 by Premier Electrical Services and performed flawlessly at reopening.

When the pier re-opened to the public on 21 May 2016 with a concert by Madness, the new underfloor heating helped create a comfortable environment for staff and visitors — without adding structural stress to the historic cast-iron framework.

The final system provides:

• consistent warm floors throughout the pavilion
• flexible zone control
• a lightweight solution that preserves the building’s long-term integrity