Kitchen Heating

5 years ago

Hello, I'm renovating my kitchen soon and I need to choose the right way to heat it. It's north facing with no daytime solar gain; one day last week it was 25 degrees outside, but the kitchen was still cold. This is ok in the summer but not great in the winter. I want to avoid having a great looking kitchen that I don’t want to go in during winter due to the temperature.

The kitchen diner is 2.67m x 7.26 rectangle with no odd angles, with a U-shaped kitchen at one end and the dining table and chairs at the other. There’s a bedroom above.

I'm considering:

1) underfloor heating with engineered wooden floor - advantage is the warmth, disadvantages are it's expensive, the floor level will be raised and won't match the hall, which will also be wood. (The existing floor is 1960s tiles laid on concrete.)

2) changing the existing radiator (which is next to the door) to a vertical radiator in the dining area to make it more powerful and using a plinth heater in the kitchen area - advantage is it's cheaper and won't affect the floor height, disadvantage is I'm not sure if it will be warm enough (but I have used a BTU calculator).

3) changing my proposed kitchen design to include a range cooker instead of an induction hob and double oven in a tall unit.

Any useful tips or advice? Thanks, Maria

Comments (4)

laurz84
5 years ago
This sounds really similar to my kitchen extension.

I spoke to some friends who said their kitchens never seemed cold despite being bigger and one with 2 radiators said one was permanently off.

I have kept the small cube shape radiator and will swap for a vertical one if needed. I also do have a 1000mm range so that should help also. I wanted the range anyway though so didn’t have to compromise on my original design for that. We have tiled floor and couldn’t do under floor heating as we were joining up with the existing tiles in the hallway/original part of the kitchen.

I am just holding out to winter to see how I go. I am pretty sure I will need to change the radiator.

How will your plinth heater operate?
HU-129338908 thanked laurz84
PRO
Anna Auzins Interiors Ltd.
5 years ago
Hi, Maria

There are several types of underfloor heating; some wouldn't add much to the floor height at all. Underfloor heating is always most effective with tiles, so that is definitely something to examine. You may want to consider adjusting the hallway tiles as well, I don't know if you are saving something original to the house, however.

Insulation and windows are also something to check; that can make a big difference even without the heating system. Is cavity wall insulation a possibility?
HU-129338908 thanked Anna Auzins Interiors Ltd.
Related Discussions
Heating for Kitchen/dining room to back sit room
Q
Comments (2)
Just a cheap but effective solution. We also have a kitchen / diner in an L-shape with a small lounge area attached.................all open plan. We have one large radiator that was heating it. Firstly, I notice that you have no curtains on the window in the middle. All the curtains ( including the window ) should be thermal backed and as thick as you can get to stop the heat going out of the glass. Secondly, the little radiator in the middle of the double doors doesn't look like it is large enough to have an adequate heat output for the size of the room, so I would change that. There are charts on line to work out the size you need, or if you enquire at any decent plumbing merchants, they'll work it out for you. Adding a good depth window sill to under the window will help prevent heat loss up and out of the window too. We bought a ceramic radiator to plug in, in the conservatory as a back up to our larger radiator and it works a treat! Really slimline too. However, the biggest saving on the heat loss is our curtains, which are really, really thick, make sure they cover the sill.
...See More
Incredible Renovation Restores Period Property To Former Glory
Q
Comments (2)
Thank you for your comment. We agree the kitchen is a really stunning space and truly takes the breath away in person. The living room is not fully decorated as of yet but you can still get a real feel for the overall look of the spacious room here: https://www.houzz.co.uk/projects/2949468/renovation-and-ground-floor-extension-of-period-home. You are completely right, charred wood is extremely fashionable and very on trend right now. For this project, however, the customer wanted to use oakwood that would naturally age over time for the window frames - so the bright colour you see now will look completely different in 9 months time!
...See More
Help - Parquet Wooden Floor and Underfloor Heating Kitchen
Q
Comments (3)
Hi Emily, Wood flooring in the kitchen is perfectly fine. You can opt for a varnished floor that require no special maintenance apart from adequate cleaning, or an oiled floor that do require regular oiling but that is also easier to repair or re-sand. underfloor heating is not a problem either and although wood is an excellent insulator (unlike ceramic tiles) the heat from the underfloor heating will make your wood floor warm and comfortable. However, always remember that with underfloor heating you need to keep en eye on air and floor temperature and air humidity. Too dry (which is often the case with underfloor heating) and gapping between floorboards can appear. Too humid and the floor may "cup". Fell free to get in touch if you need more info. All the best.
...See More
Extending kitchen into utility area
Q
Comments (1)
Oophs, wrong bungalow layout. Correct one posted now
...See More
HU-129338908
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for your comments. Regarding the plinth heater, I'm looking at a small electric one which is turned on by a kick switch or remote control. There are also plinth heaters that can be connected to the central heating system. Plinth heaters cost between £100-£250. If I choose this option, I'll go for the highest spec, as I might as well do it properly if I'm going to put one in.

As I've never had or used a range cooker, it would be a big change and investment without knowing if it's the best option for me.

For the underfloor heating, I had looked at limestone tiles and a polypipe overlay system. Materials and labour came to just under £5K and the floor would be around 2cm higher. I think electric underfloor heating wouldn't add as much height but would be more expensive to run. If I did the hallway and cloakroom, it would add to the cost of this flooring/heating option.

The window is quite new and double-glazed and the patio door will be changed soon. I'm not sure if cavity wall insulation would be enough to make a difference. I think the main issue is the lack of solar gain.
PRO
Feature Radiators
5 years ago
As per what Anna said, improve your insulation levels wherever possible as this will be the best way of keeping your costs down in the long run.

Heat output will be critical so doing a BTU calculation is essential. We can help check this for you and discuss your heat output requirements and things to bear in mind (our team don't work on commission and just give honest, accurate advice). There is a huge range of vertical radiators now available so when it comes to the style and finish, the radiator world is your oyster. My advice would be to measure up the room and measure the space for the radiator and we can help you narrow down the choice. Feel free to give us a call on 01274 515734.

Re plinth heaters they give a decent output and aren't expensive but they contain fans which over time wear out and get noisy so you need to consider if this will be ok. Definitely check the predicted decibels.

Radiators in narrow spaces · More Info

Kitchen Heating

Comments (4)

laurz84

Anna Auzins Interiors Ltd.

Related Discussions

HU-129338908
Original Author

Feature Radiators

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Kitchen Heating

Comments (4)

laurz84

Anna Auzins Interiors Ltd.

Related Discussions

HU-129338908Original Author

Feature Radiators

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

HU-129338908
Original Author