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Environmentally Friendly - Under floor heating is more environmentally friendly than heating with radiators as lower temperatures are required to provide the same comfort level of a radiator. |
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Reduced bills - a lower temperature is required to provide the same comfort as a radiator. This is because a radiator will only heat the air which is convected from top to bottom whereas under floor heating heats objects from the ground up providing a much more comfortable atmosphere. |
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Works Well with Heat pumps - this complements the heat pumps as lower temperatures need to be generated. |
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Doesn’t Impact Interior Design - Under floor heating also provides heating to a home without compromising interior design as no radiators are required. |
Heat Pumps and Under-floor Heating – A Great Combination
When pairing these two systems together you get fantastic results. Eu Ray (Euro Radiant Floor Heating) reported adding a heat pump instead of a gas boiler can save up to 30% with ground source and 20% with air source. With the continual rise in fuel prices this combination will not only protect your pocket but also the environment.
With a Heat Pump you can also emits heat through over sized radiators and fan heaters, however this method is not as efficient as underfloor heating as the pump has to run at higher temperatures. In our office we have a Stieble Eltron Air Source Heat Pump running on fan heaters, this works perfectly and has definitely brought the bills down, the only downside would be the slight humming noise of the fan heaters in the office.
Underfloor heating runs at a lower temperature then radiators, typically between 35-40 C which matches the heat pump range perfectly. Most Heat Pumps maximum temperatures are about 55 C. To increase efficiency extra underfloor pipe loops can be run, so the flow temperature can be reduced even lower. Insulation is vital to increase the efficiency, a well insulated system is the cheapest and most effective way to boost CoP (Coefficient of Performance)
(CoP (Coefficient of Performance) is a measure of the efficiency of a heat pump. A Ground Source Heat Pump has a CoP of about 4. This means the Heat Pump has created 4KW of free energy to every 1KW it uses of electricity to power it.)
The combination of Underfloor Heating and Heat Pumps are affected by 4 variables. Flow temperatures, quantity of pipe, insulation and thermal resistance of the floor covering. If you can accomplish the right blend this will be the perfect system to install in all types of properties. I believe this is the future of heating, it’s just a matter of building consumer confidence.
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