Roger, nice to meet you the other day. We need to have a talk about the UFH design, manifolds, and pumping and mixing on them. The way you did this in the video is a high-temperature setup - this is not the way UFH should be done in the 21st century. I would love to explain the modern way of doing those systems to you.
Hi Simon I understand the concept of leaving out the mixing valve and circulation pump but this house has six bedrooms with radiators and a dining room and music room that will never be changed to low temperature. Like it or not, the customer's wishes must be respected. I am concerened that you and the other Heat Geeks are putting the environmental issues before the customer's best interests. It will erode trust and undermine your good work.
@@SkillBuilderRoger - running UFH in this manner is less efficient on fuel and less comfortable for the customer. You need 40C to that UFH at -2 but not at +10. There is also no need to send 60-70C to the manifold just to be blended down to 40C again. Please, let me take you on some of my projects and show you the modern way of installing UFH - everyone wins here - the client has lower bills and higher comfort, the boiler cycles less, and has much less wear and tear. I am talking about WC and electronic blending valves here.
I heard all that but you didn't answer my point about the rest of the house needing a flow temperature of 60 deg. The mixing valve works to solve this.
@@SkillBuilderDoes the rest of the house actually need 60 deg, though? Have they tried turning the boiler down to 45/50 deg on a cold day to see if the house is still heated effectively? Does it have weather compensation? Personally, I can run my boiler flow at 45c and the house still gets warm on a cold day. Unfortunately I do not have a combi boiler, so have to keep the flow at 60c due to the DHW requirement. I didn't see in the video what type of boiler this customer had, but even without changing anything in the system, lowering the flow temp would save them a good amount of money. Weather compensation would save even more, if the boiler supports it.
Hi, I’m not meaning to ‘muddy the waters’ but would it be possible to run the UFH from the radiator return line ?? I realise it limits the UFH to only running when the radiators are on, unless it has a secondary direct feed, and the complications etc. Just putting the thought out there.
The issue that always comes up is the flow rate difference between the radiator circuit at dt20 and the underfloor heating of dt11. Unless a hydronic separation is used then the ufh will pull the water from the radiator circuit and boiler to achieve its design flow rate and both will suffer. I get many, many calls to this with rooms suffering heat losses as the flow to the rads being cut short.
I needed this video 2 months ago. Couple of pointers that would have been really useful. 90 degree blenders at the collector... I'm still gonna do that. People usually criticize me for using multilayer pipe(PEX/Al/PEX) they said I should have used PEX, because it transfers heat better, but I prefer my oxygen isolation to be layer of aluminum rather then sprayed on stuff that is afraid of light and you can scratch it if you are walking on it or mounting it on metal mesh. I'll rather trust a person who does things rather than some podcaster who does lots of simulations and theoretical visualizations. My wife is definitely is a person who doesn't understand thermostats 🤣
Good old Roger, perfectly explained. Roger do have any idea what the concreter floor build up was ? I have about 4.5 inches of concrete and the just backfill ruble ( 50's house, i only know this because i had to dig up the floor to get a new mains in). I was just worried about the floor absorbing the heat ?
With no insulation you are always going to lose heat. This was concrete on rubble. It should have been dug up but there is a limit to what people want to spend.
Informative as ever Roger, always a pleasure to watch your videos. You've misused the wire ferrules though, as you crimped the plastic instead of the metal - You're only meant to crimp the metal. In a screw terminal, it probably wouldn't matter as the screw will do the crimping for you, but in a Wago connector as you've used them it isn't likely to crush the metal of the ferrule. I think these connections will have a high resistance and are a fire risk if you don't go back and re-crimp them.
I will look into that but crimping the metal allows the conductor to pully out. I will check it out and add a comment. Have you a link to a video or instructions?
@@SkillBuilder it could be that the ferrule is too big for the wire or it could be the crimper - I did notice the same with that type of crimper, I ended up switching to a Knipex crimper which is pricy but very reliable. The efixx channel has a few videos on ferrules so I'd suggest checking them out, you'll see from their videos how tight the crimper should be doing them especially the ones with the square dies.
I am not familiar with these connectors but I happened to see James from Plumber Parts using them in a video (th-cam.com/video/5od-dowQKY0/w-d-xo.html ) and he certainly crimped the metal. @SkillBuilder Edited because TH-cam garbled my link and then my comment
Fantastic video, Roger! Suggest you do a full step by step series on this; - desired temperatures - managing humidity - thermostats & types - pipes & types - run lengths - manifolds - pumps - solenoid valves - electrical connections & automation - water supply & of course, - common mistakes & - problems faced by users - how to fix them - There is no video or series on the internet/TH-cam giving comprehensive information - This will be as popular as your bathroom build series
It would be great if you could give a talk about insulation under UFH for retrofits. We know what building regs are but if you absolutely can't rip up the floor, what can you get away with? They always say the first inch of insulation is the most important and if the area is large and square the perimeter losses will be small. Perhaps another collaboration with Heat Geek?
Sorry what were the black floor pieces where you showed the light bulb lay pattern? Can you over the whole floor with tile adhesive or do you need that matting ditra matt? Wunda are another company to consider.
If you have a wood fired boiler without additional accumulative hot water storage can you still use radiators on one floor and underfloor Heating on the other and just rely on mixing valve to have lower temperature than radiators?(if lets say heater produces ~60c temp. hot water)
Good morning. It would be great in these videos if you could give a ballpark total cost of everything. I know prices change over time but if you also state the year of recording that would fix that. Many thanks.
The heat from the pipes will leak into the walls & through those bifold doors to the outside. I know this from my own system, & the simple test is to watch how quickly your patio dries near the doors after it's rained. Make sure there's some kind of insulation under the door sill & around outside walls. Otherwise you'll lose a percentage of your heat to the outside.
Great video! I love the idea of a plastic piping. Is it a good idea to use on installing a hot water tank as well? I am installing a boiler wood stove and thermal store. I would do the expansion tank lines in copper just encase as this could overheat but does anyone have experience with the rest of the system?
Interesting video Roger and quite timely as I'm in the middle of a similar UFH job. Just one issue. The pipe configuration you are using means that the section of the room that receives the flow pipe first will warm up faster than the section of the room closer to the return leg. This will probably lead to unequal warming of the room and dependent as to where you place your room thermostat may lead to control issues. There is a better way of configuring the pipe so that a warm flow section of pipe is always laid parallel to a cool return section of pipe thereby evening up the floor temperature. I would include a diagram to illustrate my point but can't see how to do this in the comments section. Also the lack of proper insulation below the ufh pipes would concern me. Apart from that great job!
The drawings for the pipe runs are provided. I would like to see your idea. I use a snail pattern in castelated trays because that does what you describe. The lack of insulation under the panels is a problem and I would probably have hacked the floor up and got some insulation in there and then pumped a screed over the lot but that is a lot more involved and expensive. If you earn your living at this game you have to bend to the customer's will every now and then.
Did you fit this to an existing floor without lowering it and if so what additional height has been added in total to the finished floor including covering?
Great video as always. Could you put those isolation valves on the flow and return pipes going to the underfloor heating manifold instead? Would make changing the pump easier in the future if need be.
Hi! Could you tell me if karndean/Amtico floor covering will go directly on top or would you need another layer of self levelling first? If so, how thick? Cheers!
Well explained. But when I run the system with a heat pump on low temperature, say max 40°C delivery from the heat pump, I will not need the mixing valve and circulation pump on the UFH manifold?
You don't have to use it but very few systems are set up for heat pumps. This house has radiators and solid walls. It is 200 years old and a listed building so it can't even have double glazing.
Is there any possibility of putting insulation between the concrete spreaders and an existing 1960's concrete slab or do building regs prevent this due to height restrictions?
Can you mount the cement board on top of an insulation medium? (Cellotex or even Elements tile backer)? I'm paranoid about putting heat into the floor below. I am proposing to break the cement screed up on top of a block and beam floor. in view of maybe installing a hybrid air source heat pump. Thanks P
Help, I have a 70 mm max space between the OSB floor and the bottom of the door frame, I need to put another layer of OSB on top of 25mm to strengthen the floor, the top finish floor I need 15mm that leaves me 50cm in the middle is that enough space? Can I lay this system direct onto OSB with a insulation layer? Thanks
Hey Roger, i bought a load of 15mm Hep2o pipe at £200 for 100m, but then i decided to go UFH i got the 100m for £75 for 16mm. Looking at the stats, the UFH pipe is superior. Is this a con? Why arnt we using Pex for dhw / water?
While there certainly are PEX pipes for drinking water, please don't go and use one rated for UFH for this! All plastic pipes leak some chemicals into the water, but the ones rated for potable water have a limit at least. Having said that, there are indications that even "food safe" PEX degrades quicker than expected. Leading to unsafe levels of chemical leaching within the projected lifetime of the system.
@@sigi9669 Thanks for the reply! I wont, I have the Hep2o anyway lol - but interesting about the chemicals. I assume the increased cost is related to the tougher standards, testing and grade of plastic then. Cheers!
Hi Roger, really nice video! just a relevant question, you didn't seem to be laying any insulation material underneath the screed boards (unless I missed it). My question is do you have to? I have a company offering underfloor heating system by putting grooves into the concrete floor. I'm sceptical about the efficiency of such system without any insulation material. Although, as its a new house, there must be some sort of insulation gone in the concrete floor (sandwiched b/w two layers).
If you have insulation under the slab it will act as a thermal store. Sadly this house doesn't have that insulation so the bills will be higher. How much higher is hard to say but it is not an ideal scenario.
The vidio was good, but left me wondering about insulation, in modern floor there should be insulation already, but in old concrete floor there maybe little or none? Will heat be absorbed by floor?
I try the biggest problem is that I can't always film myself and do the job. Even setting up a camera on a tripod slows me down when I am trying to get the job done. Also customers get a bit agitated if they are paying me and I spend half the day monkeying around with lights and cameras, not to mention my makeup.
Roger, this this system with the pump and Hand-adjusted mixing valve in manifold box is for high temp heating source. If you will use HP or condensing boiler on it it could make problems because you cannot use weather adjusted heating curve.
@@tomaszbonkowski1938Well spotted. But it is down to the customer if he had the UF designed properly and specified a lower flow temperature - say 35c at - 2C t hen he could have binned the blender (and maybe the pump) - it would then be future proofed if he ever went heat pump. However he would have also have to review his rad sizes elsewhere and make adjustments where necessary.
We have another video following this where I talk about that. It is always best to put as much insulation in a floor as you can but a lot of people can't have anymore build up and if you don't want to hack up the floor you may accept that you are going to lose some heat downwards. After a few days the mass of concrete warms up and it acts as a heat bank.
Hello Roger. I would be interested to know what percentage of heat is lost through an uninsulated solid floor ? I have spoken with a couple of manufacturers but they become very coy when asked this question ? Thank you
Heat travels to cold and the rate at which it does so is determined by the temperature difference. You also need to know the perimeter to do the calculation. If you can get some insulation in then do it. I have this low build in my cellar and it warms up very quickly and has no insulation under it. I keep it on for less time
bought a house with older floor electrical heating, takes days to heatup, and uses shitloads of electricity a month. at this point just turned it off makes me use triple the amount of electricity. Is it because its an old system ?
Two questions, 1 does the isolation for the manifold isolate the pump if the pump needs changing? 2 deeper question, seems alot of hassle compared to a wood burner, it's not got any colder these last decades, why do we need our houses to be warmer ?
You can change the pump if you power down because the valves on each circuit will close. It helps to release the pressure on the underfloor by taking a little water out of the drain valve. As for the question on warmer homes, you can run underfloor heating cooler and still feel warm because the heat is spread more evenly and it is radiated not convected.
Whats your preferred solution for retrofit? Id like to put a low system on my existing slab through the whole house. The slab has 50mm of polystyrene insulation under the screed. I was hoping to use some sort of foam backed system just to give a little more insulation.
If you have 50mm of insulation under the slab you can use the slab as a thermal store. Yes a foam tray system will do a good job of making more heat travel upwards but if you are putting ceramic tiles on top I would go for the solid cement board. If you are putting luxury vinyl tile on top then you will need a self levelling screed over the trays. If you are putting down carpet some 9mm plywood will be fine.
Underfloor heating is so fascinating to me. I'm helping my friend build a pole bar (for those who don't know it's like a giant empty barn where you can do anything. He wants to install hydraulic lifts and work on cars) and I'm going to suggest underfloor heating for it to keep it warm. It's so big and empty that I feel like traditional heating would take forever to heat it up and we're on the Canadian border so we get 4-6 months of snow a year. Since I have a very rudimentary understanding, who would help us install this? should we call a plumber or an HVAC guy?
Roger, we would like some content from over the pond, maybe you could pop over and give him a hand. Awesome video, I’m trying to decide with low profile systems to use, this system is now at No:1, thanks.
@@SkillBuilder well I’ll let you know. We’re planning on getting it done. Dont want the expense of digging up the old slab and don’t want to lose and height of fitting these types of overlay ones.
Very interesting. It would have been even more interesting if you had included a comprehensive wiring diagram. You show four underfloor circuits being installed but you have eight solenoid valves which equates to eight circuits. Exactly how the the other components fit into the overall scheme is pretty much unexplained e.g how the pump is turned on, how the motorised valve and its associated limit switch is wired in, the controller etc. I'm also wondering if the pump output is completely dead headed (closed off) if all of the solenoid valves are off when these are independently controlled by a thermostat.
Timely video Roger - I’ve got a beam and block floor with ~30mm eps insulation layer then a 70mm concrete screed. If I fit the low profile boards, am I going to loose all my heat to the cold cavity under the beams, or can I add an extra thin insulation layer or do I just stick with radiators - which option would you go for? Looking forward to your floor insulation video!
@geoffc4771 No, you will be fine. You’ve 70mm screed plus 30mm eps. 90% of the heat will rise, leaving about 10% being absorbed by the concrete floor. If you have enough head height in the rooms you can go for a slightly different setup, that uses insulated panels instead. But either way I think you should be ok.
Thanks for the replies - I’ll look a bit closer at the insulated boards - I would like to get 100mm pipe spacing to keep the temperature as low as I can go - not sure if the boards are available with that pitch?
2nd comment Roger. Wouldn't it be nice to have a square meter of a house dedicated to services, a mini plant room, the various techies that modern house do/will need don't have to sit on the floor in a corner ot teter on a ladder with a light bulb in the ear whilst working. Right, dream over.
Hi there Rodger, I will be straight forward with you... Where did you hide the mics in my house. Everytime I'm talking building plans with my wife a video pops up with the exact same topic. This can be something really mundane like a garden path to this underfloor heating. My wife even jokingly asks me all the time if the all hearing all knowing Mr. Roger can guide us to the path of diy. You're kind of a saint in our house haha! Keep up the amazing work. Greetings from the Netherlands!
you do know that your phone and other devices are listening all the time. We often play games with it. in my house. Mention holiday in Thailand and the adverts pop up.
Good Joke: My wife asked why I always whisper in the house? I said that MI5 were listening in on our conversations...!! I laughed, the wife laughed and Alexa laughed.... 😮
Because it is on a boiler that is not running on open therm and they have radiators in the rest of the house. You are wasting your time playing 2024 games. You need to know what applies where. That is the whole heat pump debate right there.
Hi Great video! Few questions- 1. Why do you need a pump? Is the boiler pump not sufficient? Is this always the case or if it was a smaller area would it change? 2. Is there a need to zone it? I am thinking of an upstairs bathroom, and i already have an upstairs zone. 3. If you have floor boards would you still need to screed? Is it to ensure a level floor overall or just support each board so they don't crack? Would sanding the floor flat work?
Not a plumber but diy installing atm. 1. Correct, and a pump per ufh manifold, per floor. 2. No, but as per rogers damp vids, heat finds the cold, so just ufh in one room wouldn’t be sufficient to heat it if other rooms are off. Im not zoning at all (combi) and letting room thermostat control the valves for each loop. But all ufh and all rads have an ‘open’ system (in my design). 3. You can get foam alternatives to these cement boards, also between joist solutions, talk to ufh provider for best solution for you.
Got all my kit from the store but it would appear that my WiFi won't work with the stat 😔 Worked fine with my Sky but when I switched to Virgin it stopped taking to the app 😔 I've even got my kids to have a fiddle with it but to no avail 😔 Anyone got a how to fix please? Thanks
Did you change routers when you switched internet provider (from Sky to Virgin)? If so, this is the likely cause. I'd buy a new decent router, which should get it connected again. As a side benefit, your WiFi signal will probably get much better!
@@tommotube yes, we did The virgin WiFi is so much better in our house than the sky one so I'm not sure what the issue is, same phone worked fine before and then just stopped connecting
Sorry I didn't say because there are different options. This one is 15mm but on the Underfloor Heating Store website there are also 20mm kits. www.theunderfloorheatingstore.com/collections/low-profile-water-underfloor-heating
I gather there is no furniture going into that room afterwards, as we know that there are certain furniture you just don’t want to be putting over underfloor pipes. For instance if that was a kitchen you wouldn’t be putting it under the fridge kitchen units etc. It’s the one thing that puts me off installing underfloor, and thats that once its in, you cannot change your floor plan really.
Everyone I know who gets underfloor heating is obsessed with telling everyone how they walk around barefoot on it, 4 weeks later they are all back wearing nice big soft fluffy slippers. Alternatively just plug an electric heater into a socket, if it breaks change it within 30seconds save yourself £1000's and never have to worry about expensive leaks, maintenance or blockages.
My system needs updating and a good service. Wish you could come to Potters Bar in Hertfordshire Roger. The mixer has seized and the pressures not working properly and the floor has cold spots.
That Wago box is much better, I don’t think we were ever allowed to use those old screw terminals where I am from. Btw, the uk house electricity system sucks, plugs are way too big, there’s no need for fuses in every goddamned plug or outlet. Nope, I am not a yankee, that’s on very other level, minimum stupidity but that’s an understatement.
You seem to be angry about it. The U.K system allows for the protection of appliances at the point of use. A circuit fuse is adaptable according to the total load but not an individual overload.
How about Wall Heating? I understood efficiency is quite increased with it, but what about the effort, cost and installation? I got my info from this rather dry number crunching video : th-cam.com/video/FWhbcNpD-UQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=f4nyI9upnEp_LUtB
"Turning it down from 23 to 21 or even lower in the kitchen" - why are Brits always setting their thermostats so low? I'm freezing when its below 23 :X
Great explanation except those are actuators and not solenoids. They are heat motors not magnetic based like a solenoid would be. Keep looking at the spur that says fountain and wondering if they’ve used you before 😂😂
How bad this is so many heat disepating in undervloor and walls energie lost This is wasting energy Under floor heating is comfort heating and mostly don wrong if you use the distributed use a bypass. Regulated so There is directly hot water so the vloor is better heat more consistent
Very good, now please do one on thermostats so even my wife can understand the bloody things!
😀
Just give her own thermostat but do not connect it to anything. Job done.
Roger, nice to meet you the other day. We need to have a talk about the UFH design, manifolds, and pumping and mixing on them. The way you did this in the video is a high-temperature setup - this is not the way UFH should be done in the 21st century. I would love to explain the modern way of doing those systems to you.
Hi Simon
I understand the concept of leaving out the mixing valve and circulation pump but this house has six bedrooms with radiators and a dining room and music room that will never be changed to low temperature. Like it or not, the customer's wishes must be respected. I am concerened that you and the other Heat Geeks are putting the environmental issues before the customer's best interests. It will erode trust and undermine your good work.
@@SkillBuilderRoger - running UFH in this manner is less efficient on fuel and less comfortable for the customer. You need 40C to that UFH at -2 but not at +10. There is also no need to send 60-70C to the manifold just to be blended down to 40C again.
Please, let me take you on some of my projects and show you the modern way of installing UFH - everyone wins here - the client has lower bills and higher comfort, the boiler cycles less, and has much less wear and tear. I am talking about WC and electronic blending valves here.
I heard all that but you didn't answer my point about the rest of the house needing a flow temperature of 60 deg. The mixing valve works to solve this.
@@SkillBuilderDoes the rest of the house actually need 60 deg, though? Have they tried turning the boiler down to 45/50 deg on a cold day to see if the house is still heated effectively? Does it have weather compensation? Personally, I can run my boiler flow at 45c and the house still gets warm on a cold day. Unfortunately I do not have a combi boiler, so have to keep the flow at 60c due to the DHW requirement. I didn't see in the video what type of boiler this customer had, but even without changing anything in the system, lowering the flow temp would save them a good amount of money. Weather compensation would save even more, if the boiler supports it.
Hi, I’m not meaning to ‘muddy the waters’ but would it be possible to run the UFH from the radiator return line ??
I realise it limits the UFH to only running when the radiators are on, unless it has a secondary direct feed, and the complications etc.
Just putting the thought out there.
Very comprehensive, each aspect really well explained, feel I could have a go now. Cheers Roger
works great with air source heat pumps
The issue that always comes up is the flow rate difference between the radiator circuit at dt20 and the underfloor heating of dt11. Unless a hydronic separation is used then the ufh will pull the water from the radiator circuit and boiler to achieve its design flow rate and both will suffer. I get many, many calls to this with rooms suffering heat losses as the flow to the rads being cut short.
I needed this video 2 months ago. Couple of pointers that would have been really useful. 90 degree blenders at the collector... I'm still gonna do that. People usually criticize me for using multilayer pipe(PEX/Al/PEX) they said I should have used PEX, because it transfers heat better, but I prefer my oxygen isolation to be layer of aluminum rather then sprayed on stuff that is afraid of light and you can scratch it if you are walking on it or mounting it on metal mesh. I'll rather trust a person who does things rather than some podcaster who does lots of simulations and theoretical visualizations. My wife is definitely is a person who doesn't understand thermostats 🤣
Good old Roger, perfectly explained. Roger do have any idea what the concreter floor build up was ?
I have about 4.5 inches of concrete and the just backfill ruble ( 50's house, i only know this because i had to dig up the floor to get a new mains in).
I was just worried about the floor absorbing the heat ?
With no insulation you are always going to lose heat. This was concrete on rubble. It should have been dug up but there is a limit to what people want to spend.
Really good video, especially with the focus on EPC ratings and the desire for households to install these systems.
Informative as ever Roger, always a pleasure to watch your videos.
You've misused the wire ferrules though, as you crimped the plastic instead of the metal - You're only meant to crimp the metal. In a screw terminal, it probably wouldn't matter as the screw will do the crimping for you, but in a Wago connector as you've used them it isn't likely to crush the metal of the ferrule. I think these connections will have a high resistance and are a fire risk if you don't go back and re-crimp them.
I will look into that but crimping the metal allows the conductor to pully out. I will check it out and add a comment. Have you a link to a video or instructions?
@@SkillBuilder it could be that the ferrule is too big for the wire or it could be the crimper - I did notice the same with that type of crimper, I ended up switching to a Knipex crimper which is pricy but very reliable. The efixx channel has a few videos on ferrules so I'd suggest checking them out, you'll see from their videos how tight the crimper should be doing them especially the ones with the square dies.
I am not familiar with these connectors but I happened to see James from Plumber Parts using them in a video (th-cam.com/video/5od-dowQKY0/w-d-xo.html ) and he certainly crimped the metal. @SkillBuilder Edited because TH-cam garbled my link and then my comment
What a resource you are Roger. Love from Ireland.
Tidy job and well explained, something I would aspire to have done at home on the ground floor.
excellent Roger..back to great content!
Fantastic video, Roger! Suggest you do a full step by step series on this;
- desired temperatures
- managing humidity
- thermostats & types
- pipes & types
- run lengths
- manifolds
- pumps
- solenoid valves
- electrical connections & automation
- water supply & of course,
- common mistakes &
- problems faced by users
- how to fix them
- There is no video or series on the internet/TH-cam giving comprehensive information
- This will be as popular as your bathroom build series
This would be brilliant.
It would be great if you could give a talk about insulation under UFH for retrofits. We know what building regs are but if you absolutely can't rip up the floor, what can you get away with? They always say the first inch of insulation is the most important and if the area is large and square the perimeter losses will be small. Perhaps another collaboration with Heat Geek?
We have a follow up on this video where I talk about those issues. It was just too long with that bit in but we will put it out next week.
Compared with a similar system like gas central heater and radiators, how much power consumes to do the job at the same room temperature ?
Sorry what were the black floor pieces where you showed the light bulb lay pattern? Can you over the whole floor with tile adhesive or do you need that matting ditra matt? Wunda are another company to consider.
If you have a wood fired boiler without additional accumulative hot water storage can you still use radiators on one floor and underfloor Heating on the other and just rely on mixing valve to have lower temperature than radiators?(if lets say heater produces ~60c temp. hot water)
Thanks for this valuable information, please can you show the correct way for soldering the copper pipe with my regards
Good morning. It would be great in these videos if you could give a ballpark total cost of everything. I know prices change over time but if you also state the year of recording that would fix that. Many thanks.
The heat from the pipes will leak into the walls & through those bifold doors to the outside.
I know this from my own system, & the simple test is to watch how quickly your patio dries near the doors after it's rained.
Make sure there's some kind of insulation under the door sill & around outside walls. Otherwise you'll lose a percentage of your heat to the outside.
This is called heat loss get it in every building with whatever heating system it has?
@@benwatton1832 I'm explaining how to limit heat loss in underfloor systems particularly.
Great video! I love the idea of a plastic piping. Is it a good idea to use on installing a hot water tank as well? I am installing a boiler wood stove and thermal store. I would do the expansion tank lines in copper just encase as this could overheat but does anyone have experience with the rest of the system?
@15:18 Flow value is 0.70 L/min for 70.5m pipe . Isn't it calculated by length of pipe divided by 40? so Flow should be 70.5/ 40 = 1.76 L/min
Interesting video Roger and quite timely as I'm in the middle of a similar UFH job. Just one issue. The pipe configuration you are using means that the section of the room that receives the flow pipe first will warm up faster than the section of the room closer to the return leg. This will probably lead to unequal warming of the room and dependent as to where you place your room thermostat may lead to control issues. There is a better way of configuring the pipe so that a warm flow section of pipe is always laid parallel to a cool return section of pipe thereby evening up the floor temperature. I would include a diagram to illustrate my point but can't see how to do this in the comments section. Also the lack of proper insulation below the ufh pipes would concern me. Apart from that great job!
The drawings for the pipe runs are provided. I would like to see your idea. I use a snail pattern in castelated trays because that does what you describe.
The lack of insulation under the panels is a problem and I would probably have hacked the floor up and got some insulation in there and then pumped a screed over the lot but that is a lot more involved and expensive.
If you earn your living at this game you have to bend to the customer's will every now and then.
Did you fit this to an existing floor without lowering it and if so what additional height has been added in total to the finished floor including covering?
And presumably there is a step up into the part of the house that has had this system installed.
Great video as always. Could you put those isolation valves on the flow and return pipes going to the underfloor heating manifold instead? Would make changing the pump easier in the future if need be.
Hi! Could you tell me if karndean/Amtico floor covering will go directly on top or would you need another layer of self levelling first? If so, how thick? Cheers!
Did the myson version about 5 years ago 189m2
Tip to line boards up use 2 bits of off cut stop them moving around when glueing and screwing
Yes I also do that with the pipes
Hi
Should I fit a bypass value on my logic plus boiler when converting to heating and UFH
Thanks Steve
Well explained. But when I run the system with a heat pump on low temperature, say max 40°C delivery from the heat pump, I will not need the mixing valve and circulation pump on the UFH manifold?
You don't have to use it but very few systems are set up for heat pumps. This house has radiators and solid walls. It is 200 years old and a listed building so it can't even have double glazing.
Great video, Roger.
Many thanks
Good video Roger, jusr wondering if connected to a combi with radiators i take it an S plan would be needed?
Is there any possibility of putting insulation between the concrete spreaders and an existing 1960's concrete slab or do building regs prevent this due to height restrictions?
I need to know this
Can you mount the cement board on top of an insulation medium? (Cellotex or even Elements tile backer)? I'm paranoid about putting heat into the floor below. I am proposing to break the cement screed up on top of a block and beam floor. in view of maybe installing a hybrid air source heat pump. Thanks P
Any thoughts? Keen to know what you think?! 👍
Help, I have a 70 mm max space between the OSB floor and the bottom of the door frame, I need to put another layer of OSB on top of 25mm to strengthen the floor, the top finish floor I need 15mm that leaves me 50cm in the middle is that enough space? Can I lay this system direct onto OSB with a insulation layer? Thanks
Hey Roger, i bought a load of 15mm Hep2o pipe at £200 for 100m, but then i decided to go UFH i got the 100m for £75 for 16mm. Looking at the stats, the UFH pipe is superior. Is this a con? Why arnt we using Pex for dhw / water?
While there certainly are PEX pipes for drinking water, please don't go and use one rated for UFH for this!
All plastic pipes leak some chemicals into the water, but the ones rated for potable water have a limit at least.
Having said that, there are indications that even "food safe" PEX degrades quicker than expected. Leading to unsafe levels of chemical leaching within the projected lifetime of the system.
@@sigi9669 Thanks for the reply! I wont, I have the Hep2o anyway lol - but interesting about the chemicals. I assume the increased cost is related to the tougher standards, testing and grade of plastic then. Cheers!
Hi Roger, really nice video! just a relevant question, you didn't seem to be laying any insulation material underneath the screed boards (unless I missed it). My question is do you have to? I have a company offering underfloor heating system by putting grooves into the concrete floor. I'm sceptical about the efficiency of such system without any insulation material. Although, as its a new house, there must be some sort of insulation gone in the concrete floor (sandwiched b/w two layers).
If you have insulation under the slab it will act as a thermal store. Sadly this house doesn't have that insulation so the bills will be higher. How much higher is hard to say but it is not an ideal scenario.
The vidio was good, but left me wondering about insulation, in modern floor there should be insulation already, but in old concrete floor there maybe little or none? Will heat be absorbed by floor?
Yes you will lose heat for sure
Nice to see you working :)
I try the biggest problem is that I can't always film myself and do the job. Even setting up a camera on a tripod slows me down when I am trying to get the job done. Also customers get a bit agitated if they are paying me and I spend half the day monkeying around with lights and cameras, not to mention my makeup.
How do you check the temperature of the flow after the mixing valve? You suggested 40deg? But how is this verified? Great video!
The mixing valve has the temperature on it. I just trust it and if it is a bit too hot or cold I adjust it. You can use an infra red thermomter.
Roger, this this system with the pump and Hand-adjusted mixing valve in manifold box is for high temp heating source. If you will use HP or condensing boiler on it it could make problems because you cannot use weather adjusted heating curve.
@@tomaszbonkowski1938Well spotted. But it is down to the customer if he had the UF designed properly and specified a lower flow temperature - say 35c at - 2C t hen he could have binned the blender (and maybe the pump) - it would then be future proofed if he ever went heat pump. However he would have also have to review his rad sizes elsewhere and make adjustments where necessary.
Hi thank you and well explained! What kind of screed and thickness was used on top? Cheers
The tiles go straight on top.
@@SkillBuilder hi perfect and thanks
Great vid.
The flow and return to the manifold. Are they the primarys, or secondary flow and return,?
I do them as separate primaries teed off the heating flow and return
@@SkillBuilder that's great. Thanks.
Hello @SkillBuilder , thank you for the video, did you use any insulation for the floor or it is not required for this setup? thanks!
We have another video following this where I talk about that. It is always best to put as much insulation in a floor as you can but a lot of people can't have anymore build up and if you don't want to hack up the floor you may accept that you are going to lose some heat downwards. After a few days the mass of concrete warms up and it acts as a heat bank.
Hello Roger. I would be interested to know what percentage of heat is lost through an uninsulated solid floor ? I have spoken with a couple of manufacturers but they become very coy when asked this question ?
Thank you
Heat travels to cold and the rate at which it does so is determined by the temperature difference. You also need to know the perimeter to do the calculation. If you can get some insulation in then do it. I have this low build in my cellar and it warms up very quickly and has no insulation under it. I keep it on for less time
bought a house with older floor electrical heating, takes days to heatup, and uses shitloads of electricity a month. at this point just turned it off makes me use triple the amount of electricity.
Is it because its an old system ?
One question you didn’t cover on the commissioning of the manifold, at what point you screed the floor?
Probably once you're sure the pipes are not leaky!
mikehealy
Yes leave them on test at 3 bar and lay the screed
Very detailed vid Roger and team. 👌🏼😉
Thanks 👍
Two questions, 1 does the isolation for the manifold isolate the pump if the pump needs changing? 2 deeper question, seems alot of hassle compared to a wood burner, it's not got any colder these last decades, why do we need our houses to be warmer ?
You can change the pump if you power down because the valves on each circuit will close. It helps to release the pressure on the underfloor by taking a little water out of the drain valve.
As for the question on warmer homes, you can run underfloor heating cooler and still feel warm because the heat is spread more evenly and it is radiated not convected.
Intresting, thanks, another question, that 90 degree plastic angle used to bend the water pipe, will it bend 10mm copper plastic coated?
Whats your preferred solution for retrofit? Id like to put a low system on my existing slab through the whole house. The slab has 50mm of polystyrene insulation under the screed. I was hoping to use some sort of foam backed system just to give a little more insulation.
If you have 50mm of insulation under the slab you can use the slab as a thermal store. Yes a foam tray system will do a good job of making more heat travel upwards but if you are putting ceramic tiles on top I would go for the solid cement board. If you are putting luxury vinyl tile on top then you will need a self levelling screed over the trays. If you are putting down carpet some 9mm plywood will be fine.
@@SkillBuilder fantastic, thank you! What about for an engineered wood floor? I quite fancy oak parquet.
No CC tee's or low loss header? I would not tie UFH into an existing system without these (unless it was direct into a thermal store)
That is your choice. It works well enough. Yes the pumps can work against eachother but we can keep things simple.
I'm assuming the floor is insulated?
Underfloor heating is so fascinating to me. I'm helping my friend build a pole bar (for those who don't know it's like a giant empty barn where you can do anything. He wants to install hydraulic lifts and work on cars) and I'm going to suggest underfloor heating for it to keep it warm. It's so big and empty that I feel like traditional heating would take forever to heat it up and we're on the Canadian border so we get 4-6 months of snow a year.
Since I have a very rudimentary understanding, who would help us install this? should we call a plumber or an HVAC guy?
You can do most of it yourself. You are right to say that underfloor heating is best for high ceilings.The next video in this series explains why.
Roger, we would like some content from over the pond, maybe you could pop over and give him a hand.
Awesome video, I’m trying to decide with low profile systems to use, this system is now at No:1, thanks.
Great video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Have you ever had any experience with the retrofit in slab system such as the JK in-ground system?
Not yet! I have heard of it but never seen it done
@@SkillBuilder well I’ll let you know. We’re planning on getting it done. Dont want the expense of digging up the old slab and don’t want to lose and height of fitting these types of overlay ones.
Very interesting. It would have been even more interesting if you had included a comprehensive wiring diagram. You show four underfloor circuits being installed but you have eight solenoid valves which equates to eight circuits. Exactly how the the other components fit into the overall scheme is pretty much unexplained e.g how the pump is turned on, how the motorised valve and its associated limit switch is wired in, the controller etc. I'm also wondering if the pump output is completely dead headed (closed off) if all of the solenoid valves are off when these are independently controlled by a thermostat.
There is a wiring diagram. We can look at the electrics as a separate video but we don't like to overload the video. People switch off.
Hi as I understand you just laid the pipe up and down why not counter loope thanks joe
To achieve a snail pattern you need castelated trays.
Timely video Roger - I’ve got a beam and block floor with ~30mm eps insulation layer then a 70mm concrete screed. If I fit the low profile boards, am I going to loose all my heat to the cold cavity under the beams, or can I add an extra thin insulation layer or do I just stick with radiators - which option would you go for? Looking forward to your floor insulation video!
Always go for underfloor heating it is way better. You just need a pipe in screed system.
40mm insulation and 60mm screed with fibres is good.
@geoffc4771 No, you will be fine. You’ve 70mm screed plus 30mm eps. 90% of the heat will rise, leaving about 10% being absorbed by the concrete floor.
If you have enough head height in the rooms you can go for a slightly different setup, that uses insulated panels instead.
But either way I think you should be ok.
Thanks for the replies - I’ll look a bit closer at the insulated boards - I would like to get 100mm pipe spacing to keep the temperature as low as I can go - not sure if the boards are available with that pitch?
@@geoffc4771 I have a Nuheat lopro 10 system. (10mm pipe) at 150mm spacing and run most of the year at 35°c flow
Hi, is there a sub floor under the timber flooring? Also is the heat coming from a system or combi boiler?
It is a combi but it is wired up to operate as a system boiler through a DHW cylinder. The combi hot water didn't deliver enough flow
2nd comment Roger. Wouldn't it be nice to have a square meter of a house dedicated to services, a mini plant room, the various techies that modern house do/will need don't have to sit on the floor in a corner ot teter on a ladder with a light bulb in the ear whilst working. Right, dream over.
Hi there Rodger,
I will be straight forward with you... Where did you hide the mics in my house. Everytime I'm talking building plans with my wife a video pops up with the exact same topic. This can be something really mundane like a garden path to this underfloor heating. My wife even jokingly asks me all the time if the all hearing all knowing Mr. Roger can guide us to the path of diy. You're kind of a saint in our house haha! Keep up the amazing work.
Greetings from the Netherlands!
you do know that your phone and other devices are listening all the time. We often play games with it. in my house. Mention holiday in Thailand and the adverts pop up.
So it's you who listens! Haha love it. Keep up the good work!
Good Joke: My wife asked why I always whisper in the house? I said that MI5 were listening in on our conversations...!! I laughed, the wife laughed and Alexa laughed.... 😮
Brill vid, fascinating. Thanks 👍
Get yourself some rothenberger adjustable spanner’s mate. Top man btw
I have some, I have way too many spanners and wrenches of all makes. Those plastic jaws make them too wide for that nut.
would you ever use electric under floor heating? and if so what brand would you use?
I have but only as tile warm up. It is a poor choice for heating a room. It costs a fortune to run
thanks for repling. I just saw you video on that. one look at at that long heating element and thought "nope" .cheers@@SkillBuilder
what would you say is the minimum depth for underfloor heating?@@SkillBuilder
It’s 2024, why is this dt11 and not a weather adjustive flow temp curve. Silly.
Because it is on a boiler that is not running on open therm and they have radiators in the rest of the house. You are wasting your time playing 2024 games. You need to know what applies where. That is the whole heat pump debate right there.
@@SkillBuilder what a shame.
Fantastic info. Thanks.
What's the depth of the UFH system Roger?
it can be as low as 15mm. Have a look at the underfloor heating website.
Good video
Hi
Great video! Few questions-
1. Why do you need a pump? Is the boiler pump not sufficient? Is this always the case or if it was a smaller area would it change?
2. Is there a need to zone it? I am thinking of an upstairs bathroom, and i already have an upstairs zone.
3. If you have floor boards would you still need to screed? Is it to ensure a level floor overall or just support each board so they don't crack? Would sanding the floor flat work?
Not a plumber but diy installing atm.
1. Correct, and a pump per ufh manifold, per floor.
2. No, but as per rogers damp vids, heat finds the cold, so just ufh in one room wouldn’t be sufficient to heat it if other rooms are off. Im not zoning at all (combi) and letting room thermostat control the valves for each loop. But all ufh and all rads have an ‘open’ system (in my design).
3. You can get foam alternatives to these cement boards, also between joist solutions, talk to ufh provider for best solution for you.
Fantastic !
Got all my kit from the store but it would appear that my WiFi won't work with the stat 😔
Worked fine with my Sky but when I switched to Virgin it stopped taking to the app 😔
I've even got my kids to have a fiddle with it but to no avail 😔
Anyone got a how to fix please?
Thanks
Did you change routers when you switched internet provider (from Sky to Virgin)? If so, this is the likely cause. I'd buy a new decent router, which should get it connected again. As a side benefit, your WiFi signal will probably get much better!
@@tommotube yes, we did
The virgin WiFi is so much better in our house than the sky one so I'm not sure what the issue is, same phone worked fine before and then just stopped connecting
Unfortunately some of the free routers just don't play nicely with internet connected devices
Listened twice Rog, still can't get how low, the low-profile is, it's probably me zoning out with my man cold, cheers.
Sorry
I didn't say because there are different options. This one is 15mm but on the Underfloor Heating Store website there are also 20mm kits. www.theunderfloorheatingstore.com/collections/low-profile-water-underfloor-heating
I gather there is no furniture going into that room afterwards, as we know that there are certain furniture you just don’t want to be putting over underfloor pipes. For instance if that was a kitchen you wouldn’t be putting it under the fridge kitchen units etc. It’s the one thing that puts me off installing underfloor, and thats that once its in, you cannot change your floor plan really.
And use a electric valve on the system it zelf
Who's idea was the tossy "music"?
Everyone I know who gets underfloor heating is obsessed with telling everyone how they walk around barefoot on it, 4 weeks later they are all back wearing nice big soft fluffy slippers. Alternatively just plug an electric heater into a socket, if it breaks change it within 30seconds save yourself £1000's and never have to worry about expensive leaks, maintenance or blockages.
I have never had a leak on an underfloor heating system. It is way more effective than a radiator. I would not be without it.
My system needs updating and a good service. Wish you could come to Potters Bar in Hertfordshire Roger. The mixer has seized and the pressures not working properly and the floor has cold spots.
That switch said fountain....you just know theses people are minted
That fountain is for champagne.
There are 2 kinds of people when it comes to thermostats… the gene for understanding them is on the Y chromosome.
Low expanding construction foam is miles easier to lay the boards
There is a chance of movement on foam and the tiles will crack if you get more than 2mm deflection
That Wago box is much better, I don’t think we were ever allowed to use those old screw terminals where I am from.
Btw, the uk house electricity system sucks, plugs are way too big, there’s no need for fuses in every goddamned plug or outlet.
Nope, I am not a yankee, that’s on very other level, minimum stupidity but that’s an understatement.
You seem to be angry about it. The U.K system allows for the protection of appliances at the point of use. A circuit fuse is adaptable according to the total load but not an individual overload.
My husband’s brother and his wife have their thermostat set to 16C 🥶🐧🐧
Is that too cold. I am guessing they wear big jumpers.
@@SkillBuilder we wear thermals and jumpers when we go to their house
IntersI
How about Wall Heating? I understood efficiency is quite increased with it, but what about the effort, cost and installation? I got my info from this rather dry number crunching video : th-cam.com/video/FWhbcNpD-UQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=f4nyI9upnEp_LUtB
In this day and age we should call them personifolds. Come on, Roger, get with the times.
What makes it low profile lol
"Turning it down from 23 to 21 or even lower in the kitchen" - why are Brits always setting their thermostats so low? I'm freezing when its below 23 :X
In a kitchen you are often moving around and cooking. If you can't stand the heat........turn it down.
Great explanation except those are actuators and not solenoids. They are heat motors not magnetic based like a solenoid would be.
Keep looking at the spur that says fountain and wondering if they’ve used you before 😂😂
You are correct
Tidy job. Maybe not to the heat geek stanards but not all customers can spend 10k on their system.
£10k, my quote from them was £24k (including grant) And without the new tiles etc needed to actually have a floor 😂
Brilliant breakdown, loads of detail, like a 🧽 Soaking up all the Information 😉
Great to hear!
How bad this is so many heat disepating in undervloor and walls energie lost This is wasting energy Under floor heating is comfort heating and mostly don wrong if you use the distributed use a bypass. Regulated so There is directly hot water so the vloor is better heat more consistent