Skirting heating

[aVdub]

Long story short.

We have decided to remove the late Victorian lath & plaster wall in the bedroom (North facing and cold) and replace with metal stud work and insulation & plasterboard.

During the searching for bits and pieces a video by Roger (Skill Builder) popped up (cookies) that runs all the rooms heating via skirting and it got our attention, as these things do and tbh I considered it one that would be worth sharing here for those doing building work, or looking for other options for their rooms.

I do not own that company, work for them or receive a commision by posting this.

It is even possible for the confident home DIY'er to install, which makes this system quite attractive.

 

[Deleted User 298457]

Unclear what problem it is solving. If you are doing such a major reno then underfloor is presumably a better answer.

Also it says 560btu per sqm at 75 degrees - I have a single column radiator that does 6500 btu. It keeps the house at 18 @ 55 degrees with minimal effort.

Great video (I watched it yesterday) but I think you'd need a specific reason for it to be a good idea.

 

[aVdub]

Not sure what part of On My Blocked List is UNCLEAR!

I cannot see you, unless I click to see hidden comments, which I don't always do and this will be my very last comment directed directly at you dlockers

 

[GeX]

Not sure what part of On My Blocked List is UNCLEAR!

I cannot see you, unless I click to see hidden comments, which I don't always do and this will be my very last comment directed directly at you dlockers

Huh?

FWIW, a flow temperature of 75°C isn’t good. Boiler is out of condensing range and will be running less efficiently than it can.

I’d also not want modern looking skirting in a period house, our Edwardian house has the original slightly fancy skirting boards

 

[aVdub]

Huh?

FWIW, a flow temperature of 75°C isn’t good. Boiler is out of condensing range and will be running less efficiently than it can.

I’d also not want modern looking skirting in a period house, our Edwardian house has the original slightly fancy skirting boards

Yeah it'll be the same for us, with Victorian skirting and the like, but as said, it caught our attention and thought it'll be half decent to post here for those that have new builds or are considering a different way to heat their rooms.

 

[GeX]

I think it’s a nice idea for an empty room but not really practical without additional heating.
I’m looking round my lounge and most of the skirting is behind furniture or huge thick curtains.
The radiator is behind one of the sofas and is sized to heat the room on flow temps of 30°C iirc. It just means that one sofa is a few inches further away from the wall.. which is fine

 

[Deleted User 298457]

Not sure what part of On My Blocked List is UNCLEAR!

I cannot see you, unless I click to see hidden comments, which I don't always do and this will be my very last comment directed directly at you dlockers

It's a discussion forum not a direct message

I think it’s a nice idea for an empty room but not really practical without additional heating.
I’m looking round my lounge and most of the skirting is behind furniture or huge thick curtains.
The radiator is behind one of the sofas and is sized to heat the room on flow temps of 30°C iirc. It just means that one sofa is a few inches further away from the wall.. which is fine

Yeah that's what I pondered too..altho skirting at the back of my PC desk being nice and warm would be a treat for my feet

 

[Buffman]

Waste of time/effort/money. Needs a high temp (which will significantly impact boiler efficiency) to get any heat out of them and will still be worse than normal radiators.

I would not expend effort on installing them.

 

[B@Th*nG]

Huh?

FWIW, a flow temperature of 75°C isn’t good. Boiler is out of condensing range and will be running less efficiently than it can.

I’d also not want modern looking skirting in a period house, our Edwardian house has the original slightly fancy skirting boards

would you mind explaining your condensing comment, please?

 

[Deleted User 298457]

would you mind explaining your condensing comment, please?

"
Condensing boilers need to operate at lower temperatures to non-condensing boilers in order to recover the lost heat. The process is called condensing because the heat needs to turn back into water before it leaves the flue via the second heat exchanger. When the temperature of the water - as it returns to the boiler - is less than 54°C, the boiler will run in what is known as ‘condensing mode’. This is when the boiler starts to recovers its lost heat.

Even this is a sliding scale however. At 54°C the boiler is 87% efficient (in perfect testing conditions). The boiler does not reach 90%+ efficiencies until the return temperatures are around 45°C. This means water must exit the boiler at a maximum of 65°C, impart 20°C of heat to the room via the radiators, and return at 45°C. This makes radiator balancing very important to ensure enough heat is given off to the room to lower the return temperature sufficiently.

The problem is, most boilers are still set up to output at 80°C and return at 60°C. Some are reduced to 70°C because this is deemed efficient by many boiler manufacturers but as most systems are not balanced the return temperature can still be 60°C. The boiler still works but it does not condense and it certainly does not reach 90%+ efficiencies."

Why our condensing boilers do not condense

Jo explains how condensing boilers rarely achieve the efficiency on the box and what needs to change in the gas industry.

www.theheatinghub.co.uk

Cliffs - if your boiler is running at 75* it is pretty inefficient as the condenser can't work quick enough to extract the remaining heat. You need much lower flow temps where your house warms nice and gently to get the efficiency boiler manufacturers state.

Most "plumbers" are not heating engineers; and leave the boiler set to 70 odd degrees because a measure of success in the past was "how quick the house heats up".

 

[B@Th*nG]

"
Condensing boilers need to operate at lower temperatures to non-condensing boilers in order to recover the lost heat. The process is called condensing because the heat needs to turn back into water before it leaves the flue via the second heat exchanger. When the temperature of the water - as it returns to the boiler - is less than 54°C, the boiler will run in what is known as ‘condensing mode’. This is when the boiler starts to recovers its lost heat.

Even this is a sliding scale however. At 54°C the boiler is 87% efficient (in perfect testing conditions). The boiler does not reach 90%+ efficiencies until the return temperatures are around 45°C. This means water must exit the boiler at a maximum of 65°C, impart 20°C of heat to the room via the radiators, and return at 45°C. This makes radiator balancing very important to ensure enough heat is given off to the room to lower the return temperature sufficiently.

The problem is, most boilers are still set up to output at 80°C and return at 60°C. Some are reduced to 70°C because this is deemed efficient by many boiler manufacturers but as most systems are not balanced the return temperature can still be 60°C. The boiler still works but it does not condense and it certainly does not reach 90%+ efficiencies."

Why our condensing boilers do not condense

Jo explains how condensing boilers rarely achieve the efficiency on the box and what needs to change in the gas industry.

www.theheatinghub.co.uk

Cliffs - if your boiler is running at 75* it is pretty inefficient as the condenser can't work quick enough to extract the remaining heat. You need much lower flow temps where your house warms nice and gently to get the efficiency boiler manufacturers state.

Most "plumbers" are not heating engineers; and leave the boiler set to 70 odd degrees because a measure of success in the past was "how quick the house heats up".

beautiful! thanks!

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Also, the future is heat pumps at even lower temperatures with flow temps maxing out at 50c (at -2/-3 outside) on a retrofit. Ideally you want to be lower than that, 45C.

You can’t exactly upsize these to work at 50C if you need more output.

Best case scenario 40c if doing a full refurb/new build.

Ideally you want to be running gas down in the 50s at -2/-3 outside for max efficiency also. If it’s warmer outside than you go lower via weather compensation.