Dermot O'Loughlin wrote:

The reason I am not inclined to go for underfloor heating is that
after talking to some friends who have recently installed it I made
the following observations:

1) It is very unresponsive. In our climate it can be quite mild during
the day but chilly at night. If I went for UFH I wouldn't have the
option of responsive heating.


What you find in effect is that the floor being concrete has a huge
mass, and it actually - even without being heated - preserves heat in
the place as the outide temp falls. It doesn't NEED to be responsive.

I agree that with older style poorly insultaed houses its a bad thing -
these lose heat VERY rapidly at sunset - bu iof you have teh internal
mass and decent insulation, you already HAVE an 'unresponsive' house.


Ive got my heating set to come on two hours before sunset on a a stat.
Last night we stayed up till 2 a.m. and the room slowly got colder as
teh heating stops at midnight...




2) Timber floors - I've been advised that UFH does not work well with
timber floors. I prefer timber floors in my living area, dining area
and hall as I feel it makes a room look cosier than using tiles.


You can use timber laminate if you like, and even real tiomber boards
over a screed floor. The only issue being that you need to run teh
underfloor hooter and [put more insulation beneath it to ensure the heat
goes upward. This CAN upset the timber.

If you want a more 'responsive' system fit pipes in an airgap below a
timber floor directly over insulation.

If its a new buld you can address the issues much better than
retrofitting UFH.

I have not come across anyine here who has fitted proper UFH who regrets it.





3) Expense - it is cheaper to install a heating system using rads.


It isn't. I did the sums, and teh lengths of plastic pipe were very
similar in proce to radiators. IThe only extra expense was auxilioary
pump, manifold and heat reducing valve -= about 200 squids. But think of
the savings in decopration and hiding ugly rads, and fettling all that
pipework in.

This is new build price of course. Retrofitting is VERY expensive.




I do know that UFH would be the ideal way to heat my large open areas
but the points I make above lead me to look for the best alternative.

I am going to look into the idea of using fan convection rads instead
of normal rads. Does anyone have any experience using these?


Yes. Have these as well. They are 2nd best IMHO. Radioators are teh
worst way to heat a house. Apart from a single open fire.



I also like the idea of the duct in the ceiling taking the heat to the
floor level - can this be used in a room with an open fire?



I hav UFH with teh open fores. Its not a good idea to introduce strong
draughts in rooms with open fires.


Thanks for your help so far,
Dermot.