Is UFH worth the expense? Ooooooh, yes!!

[lou]

AMc! so glad you are back - I haven't seen posts from you for ages. I endorse your recommendation of the Green building bible and the Green building forum has also proved invaluable - if a little esoteric when the 'boys' start competing with each other.

I think we have an expert - he's a heating engineer rather than a plumber anyway and seemed to know what he was talking about regarding the ASHP and UFH but what would you say was 'too deep' for pipes to be buried? Just so I can sound him out when we next speak....

 

[Tom]

If you are considering an underfloor heating system I would recommend you get a proper design done by an expert, the fitting is not complicated, but if you underspec it then bury the pipe in the floor you can't put it right.

This is good advice. We did ours after site consultations between Ty Mawr Lime (LECA/Limecrete supplier), John Guest/Speedfit (Sytem supplier) and Rayburn.

good info , thankis guys.
whats the greenh bibnle then?

You still struggling with your netbook? :wink:

 

[Feltwell]

Since they took away our child benefit, we can't afford to turn ours on unless it gets to -5 oC !!

Blame those who voted for this chap then!



Sorry, couldn't resist! :wink:

 

[judrop]

Thanks for this post Jaqy Phil now thinking of it for my new kitchen, ! LOL

 

[Tom]

Excellent!! I think it's definitely worth it.

 

[AMc]

AMc! so glad you are back - I haven't seen posts from you for ages. I endorse your recommendation of the Green building bible and the Green building forum has also proved invaluable - if a little esoteric when the 'boys' start competing with each other.

I think we have an expert - he's a heating engineer rather than a plumber anyway and seemed to know what he was talking about regarding the ASHP and UFH but what would you say was 'too deep' for pipes to be buried? Just so I can sound him out when we next speak....

I've been contacting for a few months using big corporate systems where they can see what you browse. Too exhausted to do any more in the evenings!

I do find I spend more time reading/posting on here than is sensible, given the amounts of building and decorating left to do on the house then find a new job to pay for it all.

Honestly I find the Green Building Forum is interesting to read but unless you have quite detailed knowledge or a very specific question it can become a bit 'fundamentalist' about what people think you should be doing as opposed to what is practical/sensible/respectful of the house.

Regarding burying the pipes - I assume you mean the pipes in the house not ground source pipes in a field?

The pipes in our 1st floor are bedded in 25mm concrete screed supported in 'trays' between the joists.
The pipes in the solid floors downstairs are in about 90mm screed on 100mm of ecotherm insulation. The deeper the screed and solid floor covering the greater the thermal mass so the slower the reaction time warming up AND cooling down. This is helpful in our vinery which gets a long solar warm up in the morning and releases it slowly over the afternoon and evening + the input from the UFH.
If you're fitting anything like wood over the top of UFH bear in mind that it works as an insulator - so you need to keep it as thin as practical and ensure there is more insulation underneath than on top!
Also make sure that there is a decent thickness of 'edge' insulation. I'm fairly convinced that this is a cause of some of the poorer performance in some of our smaller rooms.
To be honest I can't imagine there is a 'wrong' depth for pipes in screed. If it's too thin then you'll get hot spots over the pipes & perhaps cracking in the screed. If it's too thick then the warm up will be very slow. Somewhere between the 25-900mm we have is probably ideal. If you are out during the day then I would suggest you go on the thinner side to improve the speed of reaction.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Since they took away our child benefit, we can't afford to turn ours on unless it gets to -5 oC !!

Blame those who voted for this chap then!

View attachment 1

Sorry, couldn't resist! :wink:

Oh no - I blame his predecessor who taxed, borrowed and spent all our money. He really was a complete..... well you finish the sentence!

 

[Feltwell]

Oh no - I blame his predecessor who taxed, borrowed and spent all our money.

Somehow I had a feeling you'd say that!

It would be a boring old world if we all had the same views.

 

[Moo]

If only Our Tone hadn't been lured from politics by the charms of Mammon, and had allowed Gordon to stay in charge of the economy, with his steady hand on the tiller we'd be well on the way to recovery by now, without the need for all these swingeing cuts.
So I think we should blame Tone.

 

[robgil]

i blame greed my self. oh and overly inflated house prices , there is clearly not enough money to go around so why do we make it difficult for our selves.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Moo - I'm trying hard to determine whether that post was honestly held or deeply deeply ironic... :shock: