Underfloor heating.....EVERYWHERE!

Bonfire_Bride

We have just bought a 4 bed detached that was built in 2005. The only radiator in the entire house is a towel rail in the ensuite. :eek:

The house is lovely and toasty constantly but the heating seems to be on most of the time (including the night) It has thermostats in every room so each room can be controlled individually but lowering these doesn't have much effect on the overall temperature of the room???

The boiler was installed in 2015 and I currently have it on heat setting number 2 (out of 7)

Is it best to keep underfloor heating on constantly or should I make an effort to switch the boiler off?

I'm terrified that I'm going to get a whopping bill. Do you think it would be wise to call out a gas man to try and explain it all to me?

:rotfl:

TRB

For peace of mind what I would do is take a reading of your gas meter and see what you are using in a 24hr period .

macman

Are you saying that you have a 'wet' underfloor heating system powered by a gas boiler? Or a gas boiler maybe for hot water, and electric underfloor heating as well? I'm not at all clear what system you have. Tell us the make and model of the boiler for starters, and how the house is hot watered.
Presumably when you bought the house, the heating system was described in the property particulars, and you viewed the house and saw what was installed? There will also have been an EPC supplied to you by the EA.
No, it is not 'economic' or necessary to have heating of any kind on 24/7, and if you do your bills will at least double. A system from 2005 should almost certainly have some sort of programmer installed which will enable you to time the heating hours-at present it appears to be set to be permanently 'on'. I suspect you haven't found this yet?

footyguy

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/energy-saving-myths

Bonfire_Bride

The boiler powers the underfloor heating...it's gas.

The EPC rating was B. Don't get me wrong, the boiler isn't on constantly...you can hear it power up throughout the day - I'm guessing this is when the thermostats tell it that it needs warming up somewhere in the house. If I turn it off completely, it is freezing cold the next morning and takes hours to heat up.

The manual says that the boiler operates to ensure the temperature does not exceed or fall below 18 degrees.

I'm off to have a look at these thermostats.

Bonfire_Bride

footyguy wrote: »

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/energy-saving-myths

I'll get my cling film out.

Thanks

thozza

http://www.yougen.co.uk/blog-entry/2463/How+do+I+run+my+underfloor+heating+system+efficiency'3F/

matelodave

Underfloor heating has a much slower response than conventional radiators and that which is embedded in the floor screed can be very much like a storage heater. The operating temperature is also much lower than a conventional system, usually around 50 degrees or even less - mine runs at a water flow temperature of around 30-35 dgrees. So turning it on and off like a conventional system won't wor.

If I shut mine right off it takes around two days to get the place up to temperature again so the best way of operating it is by setting the temperature back by 2-4 degrees when heating isn't required and turning it up again when it is.

You'll have to spend some time working out how long it takes to get the place up to temperature after it's set back to optimise the temperature profile..

We have ours on all the time - mainly because we are at home all day and each room has a programmable thermostat which controls the floor heating in that room. The set back temperature is 17 degrees. Each room has the comfort temperature set to suit when it's in use. So bedrooms and bathroom when we want them warmer (getting up and going to bed) Study and Lounge at 19 during the day, spare room 15 degrees unless it's in use, hall at 17 degrees and kitchen at 18 in the mornings and evenings.

The stats also control the heating unit (Heatpump) and it runs when any of them call for heat, frequently during the middle of the night at this time of the year - the flow temperature is weather compensated so is hotter when it's cold outside and not so hot when the ouside temperature isn't quite so cold.

Because the floor is warm all over there are very few draughts and we are comfortable with a lower temperature thats more even than with radiators that are getting hot and cold all the time.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Bonfire_Bride wrote: »

I'll get my cling film out.

Thanks

It under performs compared to small diameter bubble wrap, which under performs compared to the double the size 60 micron. Ask anyone with commercial greenhouse's or any poor sod with a megga gazeebo who can't / won't pay to heat it.