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Original poster

If you have underfloor heating…

15 replies

Notcontent · 09/12/2022 10:54

How do you use it? It may seem a strange question but this is my second winter with UFH ( just in my kitchen diner). It’s great and I love it. But what I am finding is that it’s not good fir short bursts of heating. Once it get going the heat lasts but it takes a long time to feel the effect. Last winter I was less careful but obviously this winter I smell trying to not have it on unnecessary.

OP posts:

GreenLeavesRustling · 09/12/2022 10:55

Never. We can’t afford to put it on ☹️

GreenLeavesRustling · 09/12/2022 10:56

But more helpfully I think a low temp for longer is more energy efficient

whoruntheworldgirls · 09/12/2022 11:01

Ours comes on at 5:30am for i think 2 and half hours, when we get up at 7 we close the kitchen door and it keeps the warmth in that room, if it is very cold/been coming in and out a lot and drops again it'll kick back in at 2:30 for an hour just as a little boost but that very rarely happens

Roundlampshade · 09/12/2022 11:04

We had it installed in a new en-suite over the summer and have never used it. It would have been lovely to have a lovely warm bathroom floor at the moment but I don’t want to escalate my electricity bill by £60pd.

IToldYouAmillionTimesAlready · 09/12/2022 11:09

We don't use ours. It's too expensive to run. We had a radiator put in the kitchen, a few years ago, so that is on when the heating is on.

Original poster

Notcontent · 09/12/2022 11:11

Thank you. Mine takes a while as I have thick ceramic tiles on the floor - they radiate the heat well once they heat up but it takes a while!

@Roundlampshade I have gas UFH and it’s actually very energy efficient. But I guess electric is ok for a small space like a bathroom as it probably would not be that expensive?

OP posts:

Original poster

Notcontent · 09/12/2022 11:13

@IToldYouAmillionTimesAlready is yours electric? I ask because if it’s gas then it should cost the same as a radiator or less.

OP posts:

JenniferBarkley · 09/12/2022 11:20

We're getting it put in shortly - the builder's advice is that putting it on and off is inefficient. He turns his on at 19 at Halloween and off again at Easter.

AlwaysaLittleBitTired · 09/12/2022 11:22

We have water fed in one room, which is on a thermostatic control separate to the heating system, but is gas fired as it runs from the hot water system. It's set to 20 at the moment, as it's very cold outside and this is where I sit at the computer all day so it's the only room I heat during the day.

In the kitchen/diner area, which is quite a large open space, we have 2 zones of electric underfloor heating. Usually we have set this (or one of them only) via thermostat, and it is on all of the time we're in (in the colder months only) so clicks in and out as the temperature drops. It is hugely expensive to run now, so it's off until we get desperate. I wouldn't use it for a 'quick fix' of heat. It takes too long. Once it's on, we should really leave it on to feel the benefit longer term.

The bathroom ufh (electric) is still off, as we haven't yet felt the need to put it on this winter (even though it was -2C.

hedgehoglurker · 09/12/2022 11:23

When we had wet ufh in a previous house, it stayed on all day from about 2hrs before we got up (5am) to 2hrs before bed (9pm). I was home with little ones, so it ran steadily at a low-moderate temperature.

We have electric ufh in our current ensuite, which isn't used at all. Luckily there is a towel rail which can warm the room well.

hedgehoglurker · 09/12/2022 11:25

And if very cold, it stayed on 24hrs.

Original poster

Notcontent · 09/12/2022 12:06

Thanks for all the replies.

As mine is wet UFH and separate to all the other heating, maybe I will try keeping it on at a low temperature snd see what happens.

OP posts:

Warmwesterly · 09/12/2022 12:29

I have wet and electric UFH.

I never use the electric in the two bathrooms because it is too expensive to run.

My wet system is currently running at 17 degrees all day and 16 overnight.

Last year I ran it at 20 but I can’t afford that this year so am supplementing with the woodburner when at home.

The 16 overnight is to stop the boiler continuously firing as it keeps me awake and I am surprised at what a difference that 1 degree makes.

Justanother123 · 09/12/2022 12:36

We have wet UFH. House built in 2019. The advice the installer gave was to leave it on all the time. Say 20 degrees and just let it do its thing. Initially I had it set to timers but it tripped the electrics and when they came out to resolve they said that was why (as well as a power cut - that wasn’t the only reason it tripped). I haven’t noticed that it costs any more vs switching it on and off. It does take longer to heat though but I think it maintains the heat well.

Yabado · 09/12/2022 12:55

My sons just bought a flat with underfloor heating
he gets a heating separate bill for it I think via the management company as it’s wet
underfloor heating and not electric underfloor heating which is really expensive to run I think

no gas and the rest of the flat is electric

I think he said in the winter its set at 18 and he has a summer and winter switch

The building has a heat pump source and seems to be pretty eco friendly and the flat is always nice and warm

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