Kickspace heaters

nande2000

Hi, Has anyone used Kickspace heaters in conjunction with a heat pump central heating system ? I'm just planning a complete overhaul to our kitchen and retrofitting underfloor heating is out of the question on cost grounds.


Myson for example produce hydroponic kickspace heaters that are suitable for use with heatpumps with flow temps down to 32C. Are there any advantages over rads other than space saving ?

Robwiz

I haven't used one but my understanding is that a kickspace heater is ideal in kitchens where you don't want to give up valuable wall space for a radiator. It's not a bad idea to introduce heat at floor level in a room because it's going to rise anyway and a kickspace heater is a good alternative (and less disruptive to fit) than UFH.

matelodave

I've never used a hydronic one but I'd suggest that you'd need to make sure that the heat output is adequate for the size of the room or you might need more than one to increase the heating capacity or spread it around a bit. As you are aware you need to keep the system flow temperature as low as possible to maximise your system efficiency and keep the running costs down. The warm air coming from it would keep your toes warm when you are standing in front of it.


I'd certainly have considered using them when I installed my heatpump system. However we used an overlay u'f heating system which is just laid over the existing floor and tiles are laid directly on top.

nande2000

Id not considered that, care to ping me the details ?

Thanks.

matelodave

This is what I've got over the whole ground floor of my bungalow http://www.polypipe.com/building-products/plumbing-heating/underfloor-heating/products/overlay


If you want anymore info PM me with your E-mail address and I can let you have some piccies & info on my system

nande2000

thanks have sent you my email, what flow temp are you running ? it says its designed for 45 to 50 C

matelodave

I've sent you some info by e-mail


We run our system at between 25-40 degrees - usually about 30-35. Its got weather compensation so the flow temp is 25 degrees when it's about 15 degrees outside and it increases to 40 when the outside temp drops to zero. If it gets everso cold (-10 or below) I'll manually tweak it up a couple of degrees. The controller has an option to adjust it by +/- 5 degrees and it then reverts to it's normal configuration at the next change so there's no danger of it being forgotten. I've got it to set back by 5 degrees overnight (22:00 to 06:00) so the place doesn't cool down too much. The lounge never drops below 16 degrees and is usually up to about 18 degrees by 09:00 and then sits at about 19 degrees for the rest of the day.
The system was originally set up at a fixed 40 degrees but I've done a bit of tweaking of the controller to reduce the flow temperature and set up weather compensation - it might make the pump run a bit longer but it uses less power when it is. I am fairly happy that its now about right as it does seem to use more electricity when it's on a fixed flow temperature.
We get enough heat out of the system to keep the place warm & cozy even when it's been down to -14 although the back-up immersion kicks in then. I've set it so it won't come on unless the outside temperature drops below -5