Heating upstairs bedrooms

NickTellis

We're planning on converting our bungalow attic and adding a sizeable extension in the next year (or 2) and I'm starting to think in detail about how we're going to heat the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. Downstairs is more than likely going to be a combination of the existing centrally heated rads along with underfloor heating in the extension and I'm now wondering if it's worth adding centrally heated rads upstairs or would it be simpler/cheaper/easier to just go with wall-hung slimline panel heaters in each bedroom. The way I look at it, the heaters will only need to be turned on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening (maybe even less) plus the bedrooms will get the benefit of any rising heat from downstairs.

Anyone care to comment?

sinnerboy

install rads up there , on a seperate zone with its own time control and temp stat control . to add more control on a room by room basis- fit thermostatic valves to rads

NickTellis

Thanks for that sinnerboy, you've just confirmed what I thought.
Another quick question if I may, at the moment we have a Riello Firebird oil boiler running our rads (no idea of the specs on it I'm afraid) - do you think it would be up to the job if a further 7 or 8 rads (for upstairs) + underfloor heating for a 40 square meter extension were added to the equation?

sinnerboy

i would imagine not . most likely the boiler is sized to suit rads you already got .

look here

http://www.sei.ie/harp_search.asp

to see if you can find your boiler . it may pay you to get a max effeciency model - i.e.if yor presnet boiler is running at 70% effeciency - and you get one running at 90% ( b regs min is 86 % ) - easy to see benefit there

spend as much as possible on your roof insulation

it will pay you to appoint a BER assessor

NickTellis

Thanks for that sinnerboy, in fairness we were planning on changing to a higher spec pellet boiler at some stage in the future... looks like the future will be arriving sooner than we thought

sinnerboy

on news this morning - bord gais looking for 20% extra from regulator :eek: