ThermaSkirt™ replaces standard skirting boards with a slimline aluminium heat-emitting profile. Invisible install, perfect for heritage and low-impact retrofits — heating the whole perimeter of every room.
Skirting board heating with ThermaSkirt replaces ordinary skirting with a 22 mm-deep aluminium profile that carries hydronic water at 45–55 °C, turning the perimeter of each room into a low-temperature heat emitter that looks like normal skirting. It suits heritage homes and renovations where floors cannot be lifted and wall radiators are unwanted, delivering roughly 70–90 W per metre. AHHAC is an authorised ThermaSkirt installer in Sydney and across NSW, VIC, QLD & ACT.
Reviewed by the AHHAC Technical Team — licensed plumbers & hydronic engineers, NSW Lic 262528C.How we write & review
ThermaSkirt™ is genuinely clever engineering — a hollow aluminium skirting profile (just 22mm deep) with internal heat exchangers and integrated 12mm hydronic pipework. It looks like a normal skirting board, but the entire perimeter of your room becomes a low-temperature heat emitter.
It's the perfect solution for heritage homes where you can't lift the floor for underfloor heating, or where you want to preserve original features and avoid the visual presence of radiators.
Warm water (45–55°C) circulates through the integrated pipework. The aluminium profile conducts heat into the room, distributing warmth along the perimeter — exactly where heat is lost through walls and windows.
Each room can have its own thermostatic control via a manifold, just like a radiator system.
Skirting board heating has one limit that radiators do not: its output depends on how much uninterrupted wall you have. At 70–90 W per metre, a room's heat loss has to be covered by the length of skirting available, so on every heritage job we start with a tape measure, not a catalogue.
A bedroom with around 14 metres of usable skirting can deliver roughly 1.0–1.3 kW from ThermaSkirt alone. That comfortably covers a well-sealed room, but a draughty front room with tall ceilings, a bay window and a fireplace breast can need more than its walls can carry. Built-in wardrobes, kitchen joinery, door openings and fireplaces all eat into the run.
The install itself is tidy. The old skirting comes off, the profile is fixed to the wall in its place and connected back to a manifold, so each room can still have its own thermostat. Floors stay down and plaster stays intact, which is why it works so well where original fabric has to be protected.
A few practical points before you commit. Large furniture pushed hard against the skirting reduces output on that wall, so we plan around beds, bookshelves and sofas. The profile is about 150 mm high, so if your original boards are taller we talk through how the new line will meet architraves and door frames. And because ThermaSkirt runs at moderate flow temperatures, it pairs well with a hydronic heat pump, which keeps running costs down in large period homes.
For a real example of these trade-offs, read our heritage Sydney ThermaSkirt case study, or see hydronic heating in Woollahra for how we approach homes in heritage conservation areas.
Written from on-site experience by the AHHAC Technical Team.
AHHAC's in-house design and service team — licensed plumbers and hydronic engineers (Lic 262528C) who have designed and installed 2,400+ hydronic heating, cooling and hot water systems across Australia since 1998.
We design skirting board heating (thermaskirt™) from a room-by-room heat-loss calculation, install it with our own licensed plumbers to AS/NZS 3500 (plumbing) and AS/NZS 5601 (gas), commission and document it, and service it for the life of the system. Nothing is subcontracted out.
Yes — when properly sized to your home's heat loss, ThermaSkirt™ delivers full heating around the perimeter of every room. We design the system from heat-loss calculations to ensure adequate output per metre of skirting.
Almost none. The profile is just 22mm deep and 150mm tall — barely thicker than a standard skirting board. It replaces your existing skirting, so visible footprint is identical.
Yes — ThermaSkirt™ is the most heritage-friendly hydronic option available. Install with no demolition, no visible plant, and no scarring of original floor or wall finishes. We've installed it in dozens of heritage projects across Sydney and Melbourne.
"AHHAC delivered our 22-zone underfloor system on time, on budget and to spec. The crew were tidy, the documentation was thorough, and the commissioning was textbook."
"We've worked with AHHAC for 17 years. They've installed and serviced our hot water plant across three commercial buildings — and they pick up the phone on weekends."
"Three mobs quoted us; AHHAC's design was the only one based on a proper heat-loss calculation. The system runs beautifully — the others would've been oversized and expensive."