Underfloor Heating

Vinneyboy

I'm in the process of planning to build a house and was wondering what advice you can give me on underfloor heating, is it worth it? should i just stick to radatiors I'm building a two storey 2000Sq ft house, any sugestions would be great.

prospect

Underfloor heating can be brilliant, as long as it is done right.

DO NOT go for the cheap option, stick with a proven specalist. I learned the hard way!

mousemat

DO NOT go for the cheap option, stick with a proven specalist. I learned the hard way!

Roughly what do you mean the cheap way, did it go wrong for you?

towbar

The advice we got from 'experts' and people who had underfloor heating was that the decision depends on your lifestyle. If there is a need for heat in the house throughout the day i.e somebody at home all day then underfloor is an efficient option however if your heat requirement is more intermittent like off throughout the day or varying day to day then a more responsive system is better. Underfloor as I understand takes 2-3 hours to heat up and retains heat for 2-3 hours after boiler is switched off.

See this link:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/pport/web/supplements/property/Full_Story/did-sg0TSDgFKqSLwsg0aewFBADppk.asp

We have decided to go with radiators individually controlled so that each room will have own thermostat.

Good luck with the project

prospect

mousemat wrote:

Roughly what do you mean the cheap way, did it go wrong for you?

Well there are alot of variables.
I brought my plans into unitherm and they came back with a quote of €10K approx. My builder said his plumber would do it for €6K. Like a damned idiot, I went with the cheaper option.
Since then we had to have the manifold replaced, and the 'actuators' (i think thats what they are called) to suit, we got these from unitherm after all, and they cost €1200, (iirc).
Then I spent a fortnight, with an IR thermometer, switching on and off each zone for a day and taking temp readings to determine which pipes at the manifold went to which rooms, because the builder had fired the first plumber, and the replacement plumber didn't know which pipes went where!!!!
Also the boiler was the wrong size. All-in-all, we burnt 1000L of oil per month from october till march last year......

Overall, a pain in the ass. But only because it was a half arsed job. We have alot of it sorted now, and it looks promising now.

Vinneyboy

thanks everyone for the replies, read the article towbar think i'll go with radiators as there is no one in the house during the day. thanks again everyone.

yop

Jaysys prospect u were unlucky alright!! I am the process of doing the UFH, have the upstairs done now and the downstairs to complete.

I am a big fan of the UFH due to the lower running temp, therefore reduced costs, the lovely warmfloor in the rooms, no cold tiles!!, and no ugly rads on the walls. But as said it may be determined with ur life style also
Best of luck with it Vinneyboy