Underfloor electric heating to replace storage heaters?

[Clariman]

We have a holiday property with storage heaters. There is no gas in the area and we have no space for storing oil, so we are stuck with electric heating.

In an open plan lounge/dining/kitchen, could we replace 2 storage heaters with underfloor heating? Would that be a decent replacement? We wouldn't benefit from economy 7 rates but I'd sacrifice that for a better heating solution.

Clariman

[richlist]

IMO underfloor heating is only cost effective with suitable underfloor insulation. It works very well installed in New builds but is usually not worth the effort to retro fit.

[csearle]

In an open plan lounge/dining/kitchen, could we replace 2 storage heaters with underfloor heating? Would that be a decent replacement?

Looking around for some kind of equivalence guide, which I didn't find, I came across this site, which seems to have some guidance.

Another page that caught my eye (because I have installed several UFH systems from them) is Warmup UFH Output Guide, this is a firm with whom I have no affiliation other than being a customer.

Chris

[iain123]

A few years ago we got a kit for our dining room from;

http://www.theunderfloorheatingstore.co ... ng-systems

and its been running fine. You lay down and cut to size insulation sheets, then roll out effectively an electric ‘blanket’ and a thermostat wired to a controller to switch it on and off when the desired temperature is reached at certain times of day. You can lay laminate or carpet over the top. It’s a doodle to fit and has been great over the years. The biggest issues you may have is the rise in the floor height for doors and skirting. Oh and it wont store the heat unless you have a concrete floor?

[dspp]

Electric underfloor in a holiday cottage is a nightmare, speaking from fairly direct personal experience. The guests will never believe it is on, and always turn the controls to max/cont. Or break them. It takes hours to warm through. They will be on the phone complaining to you and the mge company. Then about the time it warms through they will go out and leave windows open so it doesn't get too hot. They'll never turn it off and the windows will still be open when they leave after the week / weekend. And you will be paying the whole time. And getting aggro from the mge agent and bad reviews.

Don't do it !

regards, dspp

[PrincessB]

We have a holiday property with storage heaters.

I would consider storage heaters an acceptable solution provided the insulation level of the property is good enough. When my elderly mother lived in a retirement flat, a pair of storage heaters and an electric towel radiator worked extremely well, so well that my mother, who always preferred a cooler bedroom with a window permanently open a crack never needed to switch on the second storage heater.

I did gain an appreciation of the differences between storage heaters. The ones at the flat had pair of controls as well as a boost facility.

The first of two dials controlled the temperature the heater would attempt to reach on economy 7, the higher the hotter. The second dial worked a mechanical baffle which opened and closed to change the speed at which the radiator would deliver heat to the room - If you opened it fully the radiator could easily dump all of its heat before the evening chill.

Finally, they had a small fan heater built into the bottom of the radiator which would provide instant heat if required.

A solution might be a similar type of heater with the proviso to lock the main controls and to trigger the fan heater element using the type of boost switch you find on electric water heaters - Basically a small panel on the wall with a button to switch the heater on for 30/60 or 120 minutes - A nice option as a guest can't leave the blow heater permanently on.

I did wonder whether you might like the idea of an air-conditioner with both heating and cooling modes. There are a number of models made (or sold) by a company called Powrmatic who make an unit that needs very little installation barring a couple of four inch holes through the walls.

http://www.powrmatic.co.uk/products/air ... ision-2-3/

On poster has one of these in an attic extension while I looked hard at one of these units for my ever so chilly front room. The benefit is reduced running costs as heat pumps are far more efficient than conventional heaters as well as the option to cool a room when required.

If you have an older structure with solid brick walls or another similarly poor insulating material your options are to shove more heat in or reduce heat loss by adding insulation where possible. I'm currently having my Victorian cottage improved with internal insulation (not possible to use the external stuff) which has required stripping the walls down to bare brickwork - the point I'm at now - and then using insulation backed plasterboard to hopefully make the place feel more comfortable. I don't have rooms large enough to put in the thickness of insulation recommended but my calculations indicate that the wall insulation will be four times better - Not a bad result from 42.5mm insulation board.

Would you care to share more detailed information on the age and walls and ceilings of your holiday property?

Regards,

B.