Underfloor heating - Page 2

Stephanie86 wrote on Thu May 25, 2023 6:26pm:

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...

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... 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. 

Sligogent wrote on Thu May 25, 2023 7:32pm:

This  method  of  Heating  never  really  the  Hit  the  heights   manufacture  were  expecting 😳.   Even on new buildings. I  have a   family  member  who purchase a   new  prope...

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...rty  with  this  method of  Heating   and  is  very  disappointed   with  it

Classic man wrote on Wed May 31, 2023 11:28am:

We have had two different types of underfloor heating. First was the thin pads that go between the carpet and floor. They are very low wattage and take quite a while to heat up, but once you have got the mass of the floor warm we found them quite efficient.   You need to have a good set...

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... back thermostat in each room set to the requirements for said room.

Secondly we have had water pipes set into the floor screed which run at a low temperature that would suit a heat pump, but we used a gas boiler.  Ideally when installing underfloor heating the slab should be insulated from the ground so effectively you have a huge heat store.  Many installers simply lay the pipes onto the slab and screed them over so you get heat losses downwards into the soil.

Heat pumps are not much use unless the house has been designed for them since far more insulation is needed.  The heat output of a heat pump is considerably lower than a conventional boiler so radiators or floor coils have to be larger then if you were using a boiler with a mixing valve.  Their reaction time is considerably longer too, so you don't go switching them on and off all the time. Many people don't appreciate the fan noise from a heat pump either.

Many people in the UK who have been forced into heat pumps by government cons are now finding that they are not such a good idea as they were told.  The other thing that the government fails to appreciate is that if everyone went for a heat pump and an electric car they charge at night, then the Grid would collapse due to a total lack of generation capacity.  But that is another story.

Andycolleen wrote on Wed May 31, 2023 12:15pm:

We have gas boiler and under floor heating all round a 6 bed house. It works well but if your running it on gas you may want to consider a large tank fitted in the garden . We have just order one from Cepsa it’s free to have fitted but you have to purchase a min of 300kg of gas per year. Yes it...

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...’s more expensive then bottles but it’s worth it . 

Stephanie86 wrote on Wed May 31, 2023 12:10pm:

 I take your points completely. However, our own ground floor underfloor heating was installed at construction stage into the screed with the insulation required to prevent escape of heat into, as it happens, the air of our underbuild. The replacement heat pump which we installed last year, ...

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...the original being now not worth repairing, runs virtually silently and runs perfectly efficiently on a twice daily timer and thermostat during the cold months. Attempting to install this retrospectively would not be possible. The separate heat pump for hot water is never turned off.

Classic man wrote on Wed May 31, 2023 12:34pm:

Yes, the best way to install under floor is in the construction stage then you can insulate properly to prevent heat going downwards.

The main slab (not the screed) should be laid with Visqueen (thick plastic sheet) below on the soil/hardcore, then 6ins of insulation BEFORE  the slab. The slab should also be insulated from the walls. By doing it this way your whole floor becomes a huge heat store and once warm takes very l...

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...ittle topping up,

This is how we had ours done. I have not seen many floors done this way in the UK but having been in Canada for a couple of winters all houses are done this way.

Stephanie86 wrote on Wed May 31, 2023 12:38pm:

Exactly. But heat pumps and underfloor are more commonly installed in Europe and America/Canada than UK.  Ours was originally inherited when we bought this house in Spain and now we cannot imagine having anything else.

Classic man wrote on Wed May 31, 2023 11:28am:

We have had two different types of underfloor heating. First was the thin pads that go between the carpet and floor. They are very low wattage and take quite a while to heat up, but once you have got the mass of the floor warm we found them quite efficient.   You need to have a good set...

Read more...

... back thermostat in each room set to the requirements for said room.

Secondly we have had water pipes set into the floor screed which run at a low temperature that would suit a heat pump, but we used a gas boiler.  Ideally when installing underfloor heating the slab should be insulated from the ground so effectively you have a huge heat store.  Many installers simply lay the pipes onto the slab and screed them over so you get heat losses downwards into the soil.

Heat pumps are not much use unless the house has been designed for them since far more insulation is needed.  The heat output of a heat pump is considerably lower than a conventional boiler so radiators or floor coils have to be larger then if you were using a boiler with a mixing valve.  Their reaction time is considerably longer too, so you don't go switching them on and off all the time. Many people don't appreciate the fan noise from a heat pump either.

Many people in the UK who have been forced into heat pumps by government cons are now finding that they are not such a good idea as they were told.  The other thing that the government fails to appreciate is that if everyone went for a heat pump and an electric car they charge at night, then the Grid would collapse due to a total lack of generation capacity.  But that is another story.