Underfloor heating

Power   needs to  be on  a lot of  time  it will  consume a  lot  of  electricity.  Yes  it a  great  idea  under floor   heating   but practical   it would  not be  for  me or  a  lot  of people. If  you  have nice  mats on  floor  they need to lift for  heat  to rise  or  a  nice  warn mat after 2 or 3  hours.

The  seller  never used it.??????    Maybe  running  costs  might have influenced  his decision. As  we say back.  Maybe  he was sold  a  Pig  🐖   in  bag

Ye I wasn't going to depend on it. I have air con new ones in our other place and find the heating grand on that and economical in colder months. We will install air con n ceiling fans. There's a few bits to be done. Builder is booked. 

Hi,

    one of the main negatives for underfloor heating is the cost of installation, so if you have it already then I recommend you try it out when the weather permits. You'll have to wait until later in the year now.

Google underfloor heating pro's&con's and you'll find a lot of info available online. 

 In the UK underfloor heating is recommended if air-source or ground source heat pumps are being installed, it is more efficient at evenly distributing heat than conventional radiators. 

 In the past we have rented properties abroad in Northern Europe that had underfloor heating installed, great on cold mornings to walk of warm floors, especially if they were tiled bathrooms! Maybe a bit of a luxury in Spain though the weather was pretty cold this Jan/Feb when we were over.

Rgds,

Aitch.

Hi Aitch that's good advice thanks 

We have underfloor heating. In principle there are two main types, either the electric mats, which may be installed over the floor surface and under timber for example, but which in UK are mainly used for bathrooms and small areas like conservatories as they can be installed retrospectively. They are very good if attached to an efficient thermostat and we had it in the bathrooms in uk. Or the type which we have here, which is basically pipework installed in differing configurations into the screed, when the property is constructed, controlled by a boiler or whatever and a thermostat. Ours runs on an external heat pump, air to water configuration, we have no gas at all in the property. We also have a separate heat pump for hot water.

I would not now be without it from choice, it keeps the house amazingly warm in the cold months. The heat pump reacts to a remote WiFi thermostat, which is also on a timer, so effectively running twice a day. We find it fantastic, and honestly, does not break the bank to run, as otherwise we would have, presumably, to pay for some other kind of heating. We do have a pellet stove for supplementary heating in the evenings or when extremely cold. I believe that radiators run by a heat pump are not necessarily that efficient.

This house is some 20 years old, miles out in the campo. Yes, we have had to have both heat pumps replaced during the past couple of years, but the originals were at least 15 years old at the time and the cost, whilst not inexpensive, was comparable with replacement gas boilers, to my understanding.

Hi I really don't know what type. Its tiled over anyway. Were not back over till after closing. I'll try find out about it. That's great you find it good.  I like my warmth 

What I forgot to add is that when it is first switched on in the winter it may take a couple of days to start operating correctly. This is because the system has to heat the fluid in the pipework, which in turn has to heat the subfloor sufficiently to heat through, in our case, two layers of floor tiles. Once that is achieved, it functions remarkably.

The heat pump produces approximately four times the output of that which it uses to run itself, hence, presumably, it’s efficiency and reasonable running costs. It heats a floor area of roughly 70 sq mt, all tiled over concrete screed. We use it for some four months or so, depending on the weather obviously. The highest electric bill we had for one month, including absolutely everything, was 156 euros. That includes cooking, all the usual computers, tv etc, the bathroom radiators, underfloor electric mat in one bathroom, wall heater in bedroom. We don’t have to buy gas in any form, nor mess about with bottles or those mobile heating things, which I personally hate! I don’t feel that cost is unreasonable.

When  heating  is  switched on  it must  remain  on  as  it cannot  be switched on and off  yes  thermostat   help. But  if  go away on  2 weeks  break in  winter months  it  must  remain on as when you  return  to your  home.  It  will  be Cold  and  as said in previous   message  it  could  take up  to  4  days for it  to  function  properly.    So  it  Air conditioning  for me.

I’m sorry but I did not say four days to work, I actually said it may take a couple of days. Once it has reached temperature after being off during the summer, yes it obviously cools if one switches it off for two weeks. However there is enough residual heat for it not to take very long to heat up and of corse, with the correct thermostat and the app on one’s phone, it may be switched on whenever you wish from anywhere in the world. This facility is extensively used by people who travel a lot, for business for example.

What I did say is that the output is approx four times the consumption of power.