Wood, tiled or carpet - what would you go for?

jonnydeppiwish!

Niv said:

WIAWSNB said:

jonnydeppiwish! said:

Thanks, it’s a solid concrete base

How old is the house? Ie, what level of insulation will be in that floor?

Electric UFH? I'd have thought not due to running costs, at least not unless your calculations show that it can be affordably handled by your PV and battery. But with an EV needing charging, I suspect not. On the other hand, you could - most likely would - just have it on tickover during winter, not to 'heat' the room, but just to make the floor 'nice'! Ie, the main source of heating would still be a rad. You might consider this if you go for a tile or laminate floor covering, but pointless with carpet.

Sil has a suspended concrete floor, circa 2007-ish. On this she had vinyl planks glued down. It looks good, is highly durable (Forbo), and whilst 'cool', is not unpleasant to sit on. Of course, there are rugs on top which provide the cosy factor. 

So, if your floor is relatively well insulated - not a flagstone-on-earth jobbie - then this is an option if you want it. 

Carpet will always feel better underfoot, but is unlikely to make a tangible difference to the overall heating of the room - it'll just feel warmer to the touch, that's all. 

We have a solid concrete floor in our recent extension, so it has 4" or so of Celotex in it. 8mm laminate flooring on top. It's obviously 'cool' to walk on, especially compared to the carpet in the adjacent room, but not 'cold'. And it makes no difference to how that room heats up. 

So, if you have an 'insulated' concrete floor, stick on it what you want, knowing the only difference it'll make is how it feels to your toes. 

Mil has wet UFH in her retirement bungie. She had it covered in glue-down vinyl planks. What's that like? Bludy AWESOME! Shoes off, and socked feet feel greaaat. It's still 'cool' in summer, tho', so carpet is nicer to sit on...

So, UFH if you want, but make sure - being leccy - it's ok to run. 

It would be naïve to charge your EV using your self generation.

Thanks I missed that - I totally agree, very few people charge their cars from generation. Electric underfloor heating would run from the batteries charged over night at 6 p per kWh.

We’re now leaning towards tiles I think for the whole ground floor with some nice rugs.

CliveOfIndia

jonnydeppiwish! said:

The radiator is the largest I could find to fit under the window but it’s not the best.

Another potential option.  It's not all that difficult to replace the rad with a double rad (if it's currently single), or else add another rad somewhere else in the room - they don't have to go underneath a window.  Adding another rad into the circuit is a bit of a faff, but it's not super-difficult - and shouldn't be mega-expensive - for any half-decent plumber.

Obviously this won't address the heat-retention issues, but if the current rad is too small for the room, it's potentially a relatively cost-effective solution.

You'd need your plumber to check that the boiler has enough oomph to handle an additional rad - but it's unlikely to be a problem if you're just adding one more.

jonnydeppiwish! said:

the room has a large (3 x 1.6m) window, it’s east facing and does not retain heat very well at all.

One other thought - is the window double-glazed?  If not, that may be worth considering, it can make quite a difference.  Or even, if funds don't run to complete double-glazing, one of those DIY secondary glazing kits you can get?

jonnydeppiwish!

CliveOfIndia said:

jonnydeppiwish! said:

The radiator is the largest I could find to fit under the window but it’s not the best.

Another potential option.  It's not all that difficult to replace the rad with a double rad (if it's currently single), or else add another rad somewhere else in the room - they don't have to go underneath a window.  Adding another rad into the circuit is a bit of a faff, but it's not super-difficult - and shouldn't be mega-expensive - for any half-decent plumber.

Obviously this won't address the heat-retention issues, but if the current rad is too small for the room, it's potentially a relatively cost-effective solution.

You'd need your plumber to check that the boiler has enough oomph to handle an additional rad - but it's unlikely to be a problem if you're just adding one more.

jonnydeppiwish! said:

the room has a large (3 x 1.6m) window, it’s east facing and does not retain heat very well at all.

One other thought - is the window double-glazed?  If not, that may be worth considering, it can make quite a difference.  Or even, if funds don't run to complete double-glazing, one of those DIY secondary glazing kits you can get?

Thanks, all double glazed. The radiator sized for the rooms (1850w and the rad is 2200).
A new radiator would mean taking the flooring up and digging up the floor for the pipe as I don’t think I’d want pipes on the walls