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 underfloor heating historic pier solution that could heat large, irregular spaces while preserving the integrity of the original superstructure.

Our Solution

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

Because the floor layout was complex, 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

NGTouch colour touchscreen thermostats control each zone. Staff can easily manage temperatures across the building. Heatmat’s project manager worked on-site to calculate the heating requirements and align the installation with the pier’s structural limitations. Edmundson Electrical (Crawley) supplied materials directly to site.

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

The Result

Premier Electrical Services installed and commissioned the system in April 2016. The pier reopened to the public on 21 May 2016 with a concert by Madness. The new underfloor heating created 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

Hastings-Pier-Underfloor-Heating-System.pdf