UFH Owners - would you do it again?

GoneShootin

Interested to know the opinion of those of you that have had UFH working for a while in your houses. I'm forever having the debate with myself regading heating in my new build and cant make my bloody mind up.

RKQ

My only regret is not putting it upstairs!
Its hard to explain but UFH gives a consistant "all over" heat which IMO is very different to the "dry" heat off a radiator. I notice the difference immediately and find heat from radiators uncomfortable.

GoneShootin

RKQ wrote: »

My only regret is not putting it upstairs!
Its hard to explain but UFH gives a consistant "all over" heat which IMO is very different to the "dry" heat off a radiator. I notice the difference immediately and find heat from radiators uncomfortable.

Did you have to change your way of evaluating the performance of it? For example if were used to rads and went to UFH did you find it "colder" at the start and were you firing money at it in the early days to bring the floor surface up to temperature?

I'm trying to make my mind up on rads vs ufh but anyone I talk to on ufh tells me a different negative story.

sydthebeat

goneshootin

in order for a bit of balance in this debate... how about putting the use of the UFH into context of the posters replys...

ie get them to also say:

1. what the fuel type is
2. what the boiler type and output in kw/hr or btu's is
3. what size house
4. what ventilation type, ie passive or MHR
5. what degree of insulation ie standard or above standard


if you dont you end up with an unbalanced argument where people may have installed UFh into a leaky, min standard insulated house fuelled by a heat pump which costs them a fortune....

RKQ

GoneShootin wrote: »

Did you have to change your way of evaluating the performance of it? .

No, I was pleasantly surprised by it. Ou heating went off nearly 3 hours ago and I'm sitting in a t-shirt, jeans & socks at the moment.

GoneShootin wrote: »

For example if were used to rads and went to UFH did you find it "colder" at the start and were you firing money at it in the early days to bring the floor surface up to temperature?

I didn't find it colder, its more like natural high temperature of a summers day at 23 degrees rather than "position" heating of a rad - the closer you are to the rad the warmer you get.

IMO ufh is ideal if you have kids playing on the floor all day or either of ye work from home. No point in ufh if you are not in the house for long peroids - so rads on a timer for 2 hours before you arrive home will be better value, if you commute etc.

Why not try and visit afew homes with ufh installed - personal experience could be the deciding factor.

I don't want to influence your decision as its your choice ultimately.
Look at the advantages & disadvantages of each system, look at your existing & proposed family needs etc and decide from there.

Good luck:)

CJhaughey

I use dry UFH, 2 5kw cables running under the North and south sides of our house, it works well is reasonable to run on Night storage rate 8c and is not dependent on a boiler to provide heat.
Cable failure is covered by the installation of a second cable that is installed in the exact same path as the first.
We are very happy with it.

GoneShootin

RKQ wrote: »

No point in ufh if you are not in the house for long peroids - so rads on a timer for 2 hours before you arrive home will be better value, if you commute etc.

This is interesting. Are you suggesting that UFH cannot be setup to heat the rooms from cold in a sufficient amount of time/effecient use of energy?

sinnerboy

UFH / Rads will require the same amount of fuel to deliver the same heat energy . Simple law of physics .

Problems can arise when users , used to rads , can't adjust to to slow heat up / slow cool down of UFH . The mistake is to let it run on for longer than required .


Some genuine difficulties i.e nothing UFH or it's users can do much about are sudden temp variations

Example 1 - warm winter afternoon . with rads - turn them off . With UFH - open windows dump heat

Example 2 - sudden cold snap - you just have to wait for UFH to catch up .

Most end users I have spoken to say that in practice these are in frequent and minor hassles .

BUT - some do find it in-tolerable and wish for rads back ....

RKQ

GoneShootin wrote: »

This is interesting. Are you suggesting that UFH cannot be setup to heat the rooms from cold in a sufficient amount of time/effecient use of energy?

No, it might take longer to heat up from a cold start but this is not what I'm saying.

UFH heats up the slab and radiates up from the slab. Whereas in a rad the water in the rad is providing heat. Once the rad is turned off theres no more heat. Once the water and metal cools thats it!

UFH your are heating the water in the pipes only to a lower temp than required by radiators. This heat is stored in the floor. If you are out all day then this heat will have deminished. Naturally it will come on during the evening but why have a heated empty house during the day?

The heating system choice should be made to suit your individual requirements and needs. Occupied during the day or evening only. This is a question only you can answer.:)

GoneShootin

RKQ wrote: »

This is a question only you can answer.:)

Cant you answer it for me?

Thanks lads - good info there. There's so many options out there now it's tough to decide on the best way forward....

gummibear

House not finished yet but have had LPG fuelled UFH on for past few weeks. 2700 sq.ft dormer. Standard Vents. It comes on for 2 hours in morning, 2 in evening and 2 at night. Have been on site at all hours during this time and house has been very comfortably warm. Stats set to 16 C. High spec insulation including internal insulation of external walls. Stat in every room. 13 zones altogether. Rads upstairs and heat feels different up there sometimes. Only have them on for 1 hour in am and pm. very happy so far but early days. High spec insulation and high degree of controls seem to be key!

whitelightrider

Have oil fired boiler with ufh downstairs and rads upstairs. The heat from the ufh is a nicer heat than the rads.
Im finding it hard to get the right settings though with the stats. When they should be off and when they should be on. We're gone all day until 5pm so finding the off on balance is tricky. Any suggestions from others using ufh would be great!!

Msmaloney26

Hi guys,
I am looking to install UFH on both ground and first floor of a domestic build also and as per Goneshootin would really like to hear some feedback too!
I have read alot of the threads on this forum on pro/cons to UFH and some great input there, but really end user experience would be great from current users.
Getting alot of the " hmmmm I dunno if I would do that" and "if it goes wrong you have to pull up everything = loads of €€€€" comments when I speak to people about it . Kind of off putting really but I remain steadfast to getting it installed.
I am opting for the 3 pronged heating approach: oil fired system (using aga/stanley etc or similar range), solar panels and stove with back boiler. I know I will need heat exchanger system /set up etc for this.Am I crazy to approach this with oil or that set up?
Once more dont mean to hijack but in the same boat as the OP and would appreciate any recommendations and feedback.
Thanks

If you have a buffer tank and an oil boiler, you will sometimes find that the UFH will be calling for heat, the boiler will fire up and try to raise the temperature in the tank to 65c.

The UFH only needs about 35c or so, after a while you will find that the return from the tank is 40c+ - this results in unnecessary heating of water.

I installed an additional thermostat on the return pipe of the tank and set it to 35c so the boiler will only fire if the return from the tank cools below 35c.

The hot water still fires the boiler to 65c when called for.

This has had a dramatic affect on oil consumption - much lower!

AckwelFoley

UFH... many have problems which are not the fault of the UFH idea but the design and installation.

Example.. the plumber that installed UFH upstairs at 12 - 14 inch centres on plywood, battened in between and put more ply on top.. no screed..



I rest my case your honour




UFH on a standard build needs

• 125mm HD insulation ground floor 30mm upstairs
• 50mm insulation (cut at an angle) around the screed at all walls to prevent heat loss into the walls and foundation
• 16mm alu pex oxygen barrier pipe at between 4 - 6 inch centres - 7" max..

depends on if you have a vaulted ceiling or if you have alot of, or very large windows in the room