Which is more energy/gas efficient?

agnes · 23 Dec 2010 at 17:03

My girlfriend and I are going to view a place tonight and it has underfloor heating throughout the house, not come across this before (aside from EVH's legendary thread).

Is it cheaper than radiators?

Renting by the way...

ags

Lamo · 23 Dec 2010 at 17:37

depends if it is a heating element under the floor or hot water pipes?

Nzyme · 23 Dec 2010 at 17:39

Depends on the boiler and the types of radiators. It is unusual to find underfloor heating an no radiators as underfloor heating works at lower temperatures and therefore will struggle when temperatures drop

Metalface Mark · 23 Dec 2010 at 17:39

Whats the heat source?

Standard boiler, heat pump, or electric?

If its done correctly it will be more efficient than standard radiators (runs at lower temp), if its electric it will be more expensive than a standard boiler.

(I own a company that installs underfloor heating btw).

Metalface Mark · 23 Dec 2010 at 17:40

Nzyme said:
Depends on the boiler and the types of radiators. It is unusual to find underfloor heating an no radiators as underfloor heating works at lower temperatures and therefore will struggle when temperatures drop

A lot of new develoments are purely underfloor heating (other than bathrooms and things where theres not sufficient room so a radiator is put in).

Especially council funded projects.

agnes · 23 Dec 2010 at 17:41

Cool, will ask in detail when I see it in a bit then.

Cheers chaps

ags

J1234 · 23 Dec 2010 at 17:50

Get air conditioning fitted with reverse cycle heating - it's extremely cheap to run and you have the ability to cool in the summer and heat in the winter.

voodooGT · 23 Dec 2010 at 17:51

Underfloor heating far more efficient than radiators in my experience.

It was -18oC at my house last week and temperature remained static in the house. I would say that underfloor heating does need to be coupled with a well insulated building though.

Our system can be programmed to change the temperature in the house according to need, i.e. lower temps while at work and at night, with temps increasing in the morn and evening. Temperature increases are somewhat slower than radiators though as it can take up to 30 - 40 mins to raise the room temperature by 1oC. This means effectively the heating needs to be running 24/7 in winter. We have a LPG gas coupled with a newish energy efficient boiler. Gas is running low and was topped up end of last year, the gas company aren't delivering now until the new year :eek:

Here's hoping we don't run out!

Metalface Mark · 23 Dec 2010 at 18:08

Justin said:
Get air conditioning fitted with reverse cycle heating - it's extremely cheap to run and you have the ability to cool in the summer and heat in the winter.

If anyone was doing that, they would be as well putting in a air sourced heat pump rather than air con which can do the same thing, but at a cheaper running cost.