Under floor heating?
Discussion
We will be building an extension off the back of our kitchen in the next few months and I need to make some decisions about heating it. The extension will be roughly 6 x 5 meters single storey with a vaulted roof.
We currently have gas to rads everywhere else including the kitchen that the extension will be attached to although the extension will be a self contained room rather than part of the kitchen. The kitchen has a tiled floor with water pipes buried underneath and I don't want to end up pulling up the floor to get the radiator pipes into the new room at the moment although the kitchen will be refitted within the next 12 months when funds allow. So firstly it looks like a wet underfloor system is out due to this, would electric underfloor heating be sufficient to heat the new room? If so in very general terms how does the cost of electric heating compare to a wet system in terms of running costs?
I would have liked to have fitted a wood burner but Mrs T5GRF has ruled this out so whats best electric heating only or do I get the builders to dig out the kitchen floor to run a wet system in and do a temporary fix on the floor until we can refit the kitchen?
We currently have gas to rads everywhere else including the kitchen that the extension will be attached to although the extension will be a self contained room rather than part of the kitchen. The kitchen has a tiled floor with water pipes buried underneath and I don't want to end up pulling up the floor to get the radiator pipes into the new room at the moment although the kitchen will be refitted within the next 12 months when funds allow. So firstly it looks like a wet underfloor system is out due to this, would electric underfloor heating be sufficient to heat the new room? If so in very general terms how does the cost of electric heating compare to a wet system in terms of running costs?
I would have liked to have fitted a wood burner but Mrs T5GRF has ruled this out so whats best electric heating only or do I get the builders to dig out the kitchen floor to run a wet system in and do a temporary fix on the floor until we can refit the kitchen?
In general, electric systems cost about three times as much as mains gas to run.
One option could be to lay wet UFH in the extension without connecting it through, and in the short term rely on hot air blowers, or a Superser to keep the place warm. Then when you do your kitchen, join it all up and bask in the toasty warmness.
One option could be to lay wet UFH in the extension without connecting it through, and in the short term rely on hot air blowers, or a Superser to keep the place warm. Then when you do your kitchen, join it all up and bask in the toasty warmness.
I fitted electric ufh in our bedroom and ensuite, about 14m2 iirc. i was told how efficient it was and how it wouldnt be dear to run.
So when i looked at my hideous bill i worked out it was costing 80p a day which imo is crazy so i have now turned it off and just use occasionaly, luckily for me the room is really well insulated so when it robs a bit of heat from the house its stays warmish in there, the tiled floor is a little cold though.
I feel a bit silly really as its not hard to work out that its about 3kw or so........
I am gutted i never fitted a rad now but never mind, if i were you i would either use wet ufh or just get a nice rad in there.
That said it is absolutly lovely to get up or go to bed when its freezing cold out there and have a stone floor thats so warm i could literally sleep straight on it.
So when i looked at my hideous bill i worked out it was costing 80p a day which imo is crazy so i have now turned it off and just use occasionaly, luckily for me the room is really well insulated so when it robs a bit of heat from the house its stays warmish in there, the tiled floor is a little cold though.
I feel a bit silly really as its not hard to work out that its about 3kw or so........
I am gutted i never fitted a rad now but never mind, if i were you i would either use wet ufh or just get a nice rad in there.
That said it is absolutly lovely to get up or go to bed when its freezing cold out there and have a stone floor thats so warm i could literally sleep straight on it.
We are having an extension built roughly the same size, we were having underfloor heating but after long deliberation have opted for a log burner approx 12kw for a room that size. Theres lots of pros and cons but in the end its down to personal choice and having three already it seemed the easist solution.
Tacagni said:
We are having an extension built roughly the same size, we were having underfloor heating but after long deliberation have opted for a log burner approx 12kw for a room that size. Theres lots of pros and cons but in the end its down to personal choice and having three already it seemed the easist solution.
Wow, our whole house runs on approx 4kW.Thanks for the replies. I have done a bit of research since posting and electric as confirmed here is not the way forward.
I had already thought about laying the wet pipe work in place in readiness for doing the kitchen next year so I guess if I can talk the wife round a wood burner would sort us out of the next winter until we can connect up to the kitchen.
We have a ten year old Baxi boiler which I think is powerful enough to heat the new space but wondered if we would need to make any changes to this if fitting the wet system?
I had already thought about laying the wet pipe work in place in readiness for doing the kitchen next year so I guess if I can talk the wife round a wood burner would sort us out of the next winter until we can connect up to the kitchen.
We have a ten year old Baxi boiler which I think is powerful enough to heat the new space but wondered if we would need to make any changes to this if fitting the wet system?
T5GRF said:
We have a ten year old Baxi boiler which I think is powerful enough to heat the new space but wondered if we would need to make any changes to this if fitting the wet system?
Not really, just a new zone as above. System wiring will be difficult if you have a mid-position valve rather than zone valves.Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff