UFH throughout or UFH with radiators

4 years ago

I have just bought a 3 bedroom end of terrace victorian house which needs renovation. I am adding a loft extension and 3m rear extension.

Rough dimensions in ft (post extension are):

ground floor: lounge (14x10), kitchen/diner (14.5x23)

first floor: bedroom 1 (14x10), bedroom 2 (14x8.5), bathroom (10.5x6), small room to be walk in closet (8 x 4.5)

loft: bedroom plus small ensuite (14x12)

i definitely want UFH throughout the downstairs and in the main bathroom, and very much leaning towards a wet system. Is it easier to then just apply this system throughout the house or would you suggest radiators in the bedrooms. aesthetically i like the idea of having no radiators but i worried the installation cost will be massive. Which option would be cheaper to run in the long term.

also what type of central heating system would i require?

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance!

Shan

Featured Answer

Claire Coulson

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

We did this recently - a full reno on a huge 5 bed victorian vicarage - went for wet UFH throughout the downstairs (3 large receptions and a big eat-in kitchen, had to do a new concrete subfloor and damp proof course so really was the works!) and same wet UFH in the two upstairs bathrooms, with nice column rads upstairs in the bedrooms.

Each room has it's own thermostat for the UFH and works a treat (once you get used to the timing issue - it's slower to heat up especially as our rooms are pretty large and have high victorian ceilings, so you do have to allow for that with the timer settings) and I like the look of the rads in the bedrooms - adds period character I think. We also went for a biomass boiler though as no gas here and we didn't want oil. Cost a FORTUNE to install but was worth it as now very affordable to run the heating for a house this size due to the RHI scheme and UFH being so efficient.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

PRO
PWJ Architects Ltd
4 years ago
Good morning Shan,

We suggest contacting a local contractor/trade to assess the floor build up and suitability for UFH. Alternatively you should contact a UFH specialist.
Shan M
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Thanks, but my only issue is that i feel their opinion may be slightly biased towards having UFH throughout the whole house!
Related Discussions
Hall radiators in Anthracite or white?
Q
Comments (16)
Thank you again for all these thoughts. The windows used to have Roman blinds with a pair of dress curtains framing the door. I think we'll probably do the same again. As to the other wall for a rad, certainly something to think about. At the moment it's designated has having a console table as its where the phone/broadband services are. The wall above will have a wall light, mirror and the central heating stat. It's the only wall for a table. I do like the grey/pale gold colour scheme with a bit of teal. We also need to recarpet, recurtain and decorate the dining room so I'm thinking about running the same carpet as the hall into the dining room and dialling up the furnishings in the dining room too echo the hall colour scheme. We've got a very traditional light fitting in there and Victorian-style mahogany furniture which can't be changed but could be reupholstered. The jury is still out on the rads I'm afraid. I agree it would look very busy on that wall. Oddly, although it's the front door of the house it's rarely used as 99% of visitors come in the side door of the house into the utility room. What's that all about?
...See More
How to efficiently run UFH
Q
Comments (4)
I would recommend Heatmiser controls have a look on their website. If you would like to send me an email, we can discuss further. Maybe worth having a commissioning on the existing system which is recommended by the manufacturers for yearly maintenance and will ensure that everything is running correctly and efficiently.
...See More
Radiators or underfloor heating ?
Q
Comments (10)
Trying to be unbiased....lol.... Check your ceiling heights, underfloor often is a great option if you have lower ceilings and good insulation but in Victorian properties with 3m high ceilings for example, underfloor is unlikely to meet the heat output require. Also bear in mind reaction times, underfloor takes hours rather than minutes to heat up so you should have it on all the time in theory even if just on low. My parents have a Victorian house and have electric underfloor in their basement kitchen/diner, but have a small vertical radiator with hooks on for tea towels and a traditional style column radiator as well. They have the radiators on most of the time as per their central heating programming but they "turn the floor on" when they are planning on doing loads of laundry or its really cold (like today!); it does really speed up drying times. It definitely feels nice having it under the tiles They don't have it on all the time as it is expensive to run. So if you are doing the whole house and decide to go with underfloor, I would definitely try and go for the central heating underfloor as the running costs would be very expensive if electric.
...See More
Engineered wood floor floating or glued with wet UFH
Q
Comments (0)
Any advice on our flooring dilemma, do we glue or float? We are having 150mm celotex with 60mm screed over wet underfloor heating pipes, throughout our ground floor. The traditional method appears to be engineered wood glued directly onto the screed, but several suppliers have recommended a floating floor using a special UFA compatible underlay with a 0.3 tog value. Has anyone got any experience of the performance of UFH using this special underlay and floating engineered floor combination? Many thanks Nicky
...See More
E D
4 years ago
Why not also get in touch with a CV specialist? You can then hopefully make some comparisons.
PRO
PWJ Architects Ltd
4 years ago
Nu Heat are UFH specialists and will be able to advise. You should be able to build some cost comparisons between different options.

You may find the following blog useful.

https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/pros--cons-of-underfloor-heating.html
Shan M
Original Author
4 years ago
thanks, im just trying to get an impartial view as all UFH specialists tell me to get UFH throughout the house! In the end i guess i will have to weigh up the approx instillation costs vs aesthetic benefits. Do you need a hot water tank for wet systems, or can you use a combi boiler?
PRO
PWJ Architects Ltd
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Hi Shan,

Weighing up the costs of installation and long-term energy savings are worth looking at.

The type of boiler you'd need would depend on the output for UFH. You can use a combination boiler, however they are limited to the amount of hot water they can supply. It is usually better to use a separate cylinder. Again of course, you can look at the options and discuss with a specialist!
Shan M
Original Author
4 years ago
thanks Claire! Can you have the UFH in each room plus radiators run independently (or do you have to have everything on at the same time)?
Suzanne C
4 years ago
We built a large extension on the back of house (150m2) and although we had planned to do UFH throughout the whole of downstairs (both original and extension) However, with the cost involved and the upheaval of taking up the concrete in the main house we opted to UH in the new extension and keep the radiators in the older part of the house. We felt that was the cheapest and by far the easiest!
Shan M thanked Suzanne C
Claire Coulson
4 years ago
Shan on our system you can run the UFH independently from the rads as they are two completely separate heating circuits, and we also have the towel rails in the bathrooms on their own separate circuit too, so you can have them on in the summer without having to put the rest of the heating on at all.

In addition, you can run each part of our UFH circuit independently from the rest of the underfloor heating. So, if you only use the sitting room in the evening you can just have the underfloor on in the kitchen or hallway or dining room or wherever you are and want to heat, during the day (for example) and the sitting room only comes on in the evening because each room has an individual thermostat for that part of the circuit. It is very clever but was pretty expensive to install and we only did that as we completely gutted and renovated the entire house (as Suzanne says above taking up floorboards and joists and relaying the entire subfloor and pouring concrete is no joke of a job!) so depends on your reno plans and budget.
Shan M thanked Claire Coulson
PRO
Feature Radiators
4 years ago
It's one of these things where there is no obvious answer I expect. Pros and cons with any option. I feel I can't comment as I might be a bit biased, lol.

More Discussions

Front door not quite right

Miele downdraft induction hob - duct out or recirculate?

Open plan kitchen family room layout help

Kitchen glass splash back vs. tiles & colour?

Ensuite - drainage

United Kingdom

Tailor my experience with cookies

Houzz uses cookies and similar technologies to personalise my experience, serve me relevant content, and improve Houzz products and services. By clicking ‘Accept’ I agree to this, as further described in the Houzz Cookie Policy. I can reject non-essential cookies by clicking ‘Manage Preferences’.

UFH throughout or UFH with radiators

Claire Coulson

Comments (11)

PWJ Architects Ltd

Shan M
Original Author

Related Discussions

E D

PWJ Architects Ltd

Shan M
Original Author

PWJ Architects Ltd

Shan M
Original Author

Suzanne C

Claire Coulson

Feature Radiators

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

UFH throughout or UFH with radiators

Comments (11)

Shan MOriginal Author

Related Discussions

Shan MOriginal Author

Shan MOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Shan M
Original Author

Shan M
Original Author

Shan M
Original Author