Under Floor Heating - good or bad?

[balladmaker]

Does anyone have any experience of under floor heating?  What is you opinion of it so far?

Also, anyone looked into the geothermal heating system...you know the one where you dig down about 150 metres to heat up the water, and then pump it through the house.

Thanks in advance.

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Does anyone have any experience of under floor heating?  What is you opinion of it so far?

Also, anyone looked into the geothermal heating system...you know the one where you dig down about 150 metres to heat up the water, and then pump it through the house.

Thanks in advance.

150m??  - you'll be halfway to Australia at that rate

[The Real Laoislad]

You thinking of electric or hot water underfloor heating?
If it's electric stay away from it

[balladmaker]

Hot water under floor heating Laoislad.  I heard as a rule of thumb it is approx. twice as expensive per year to run when compared to radiators, would you agree? Taking into account that it always has to remain on, all be it at a low level.

Also considering a wood pellet burner or a geothermal system of some sort to create the hot water.

Aaaheemmm..Gabriel....150 'metres'

[Johnnie99]

Moved house last year and new house has underfloor heating on ground floor.  found it very expensive compared to normal central heating in the old house.  Also a pain in the axx if house is cold and you want to warm it up quickly, seems very slow to heat, then when it does, stay warm for fxxxin ages!

[The Real Laoislad]

Too be honest IMHO i would stick with rads and oil heating,I do be in numerous new build houses as part of my trade and countless people are either glad they went with rads and oil or wish they had
If i was building a house i would go for rads and oil and solid fuel in the sitting room,in the form of a normal fireplace or a stove

[heganboy]

I'd disagree with Laoislad though, a number of my family back home have recently gone with pellets, geothermal and solar panels (due to a relative in that business) All are raving about the money saved.
www.powertechireland.co.uk

[pintsofguinness]

Hot water under floor heating Laoislad.  I heard as a rule of thumb it is approx. twice as expensive per year to run when compared to radiators, would you agree? Taking into account that it always has to remain on, all be it at a low level.

I've no direct experience but I've heard it is expensive to run and  install.  That might be fine if you're getting something but  I wouldn't have any type of system that "stores" the heat near the house, they're generally ok if you know how hot/cold you'll be three days from now and can adjust the settings accordingly.  I don't see the benefits of it. 

If i was building a house i would go for rads and oil and solid fuel in the sitting room,in the form of a normal fireplace or a stove

A wee stove works wonders. 

you know the one where you dig down about 150 metres to heat up the water, and then pump it through the house.

150 metres? Are you sure?

[SammyG]

Brother in law has the elctric underfloor heating. He loves the heat but fecking hates the bills, he reckons it costs about 30-40% more than when he had rads.

[The Real Laoislad]

I'd disagree with Laoislad though, a number of my family back home have recently gone with pellets, geothermal and solar panels (due to a relative in that business) All are raving about the money saved.
www.powertechireland.co.uk

Horses for courses i suppose im only saying what i've heard thru my job as a electrician but i defo would advise anyone to go with rads as you will miss them if their not there

[The Real Laoislad]

Hot water under floor heating Laoislad.  I heard as a rule of thumb it is approx. twice as expensive per year to run when compared to radiators, would you agree? Taking into account that it always has to remain on, all be it at a low level.

I've no direct experience but I've heard it is expensive to run and  install.  That might be fine if you're getting something but  I wouldn't have any type of system that "stores" the heat near the house, they're generally ok if you know how hot/cold you'll be three days from now and can adjust the settings accordingly.  I don't see the benefits of it. 

If i was building a house i would go for rads and oil and solid fuel in the sitting room,in the form of a normal fireplace or a stove

A wee stove works wonders. 

Yeah you can't bate a good stove full of the turf and some sticks,Ah memories of my childhood! Feckin all Gas/Oil Heating here in Dublin,Im not even allowed to burn turf

[ludermor]

geo thermal will cost up to 1500 per year to run, which is a lot on top of the huge installation costs. wood pellets are risky, Balcas (based in fermanagh) ran out of pellets so anyone lookin for them up to christmas were fecked. now theyare importing the pellet to meet demand which kinda defeats the 'green' effect of the system.
Solid stoves are very efficient and i am going for one myself with oil back up. And i havent bought into the whole underfloor heating at all, slow to heat and to cool. insulate the house better and you will save more than any heating system will provide

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Aaaheemmm..Gabriel....150 'metres'

I'm not up to speed on this kind of technology/heating system - but how in under god do you lay pipes 150 metres down into the earth? That's the equivalent of a 50-storey building

[pintsofguinness]

Aaaheemmm..Gabriel....150 'metres'

I'm not up to speed on this kind of technology/heating system - but how in under god do you lay pipes 150 metres down into the earth? That's the equivalent of a 50-storey building

f**k me I was looking it up there and you would need to go down that distance (depending on how hot you want your water).   

[ludermor]

its a bore hole. you can do it in trenches as well which is far cheaper ( but will take a few hundres m)