Underfloor heating

[James]

We have a smallish two-bed mid-terrace house with underfloor heating in the living room and kitchen/diner.
It works fine, with the only problem being the amount of time it takes to heat up.
But I was wondering if it is worth turning it off at night. There's always one of us at home during the day using the space [and due to an open staircase, it also heats the rest of the house to an extent], so there's only about six or seven hours a night when it is not being used.
Would it add a lot to the gas bill to keep it at a steady state overnight so it is still warm in the morning rather than having to crank it up to 11 in the morning to bring downstairs back up to habitable in the morning?
(This is all hypothetical at the moment as we've not put the heating on yet. But I'm not sure my admonitions to put another sweater on will survive much further into November )

[swill453]

Is it on a timer? Surely all you need is for it to come on at such time that the rooms are the temperature you want when you get up?

Scott.

[AsleepInYorkshire]

We have a smallish two-bed mid-terrace house with underfloor heating in the living room and kitchen/diner.
It works fine, with the only problem being the amount of time it takes to heat up.
But I was wondering if it is worth turning it off at night. There's always one of us at home during the day using the space [and due to an open staircase, it also heats the rest of the house to an extent], so there's only about six or seven hours a night when it is not being used.
Would it add a lot to the gas bill to keep it at a steady state overnight so it is still warm in the morning rather than having to crank it up to 11 in the morning to bring downstairs back up to habitable in the morning?
(This is all hypothetical at the moment as we've not put the heating on yet. But I'm not sure my admonitions to put another sweater on will survive much further into November )

I vaguely recall that there's an argument that UFH should be left on during the night but at a reduced temperature in the winter months. Do you have the manufacturers recommendations?

AiY(D)

[AsleepInYorkshire]

https://besthomeheating.com/do-you-keep ... up%20times.

Kind regards

AiY(D)

[Dod101]

We have a smallish two-bed mid-terrace house with underfloor heating in the living room and kitchen/diner.
It works fine, with the only problem being the amount of time it takes to heat up.
But I was wondering if it is worth turning it off at night. There's always one of us at home during the day using the space [and due to an open staircase, it also heats the rest of the house to an extent], so there's only about six or seven hours a night when it is not being used.
Would it add a lot to the gas bill to keep it at a steady state overnight so it is still warm in the morning rather than having to crank it up to 11 in the morning to bring downstairs back up to habitable in the morning?
(This is all hypothetical at the moment as we've not put the heating on yet. But I'm not sure my admonitions to put another sweater on will survive much further into November )

I vaguely recall that there's an argument that UFH should be left on during the night but at a reduced temperature in the winter months. Do you have the manufacturers recommendations?

AiY(D)

Sorry to be a smarty, but do you mean raise the temperature during the summer months?

Dod

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Sorry to be a smarty, but do you mean raise the temperature during the summer months?

Dod

Hi Dod,

Sorry no I mean that in winter the UFH is on at night at a lower temperature so that the amount it has to be lifted in the day is then much less. I believe that UFH can be left on very low in summer in tiled areas to take the "cold" out of the tiles, but this is more a lifestyle choice than a requirement to stay warm.

Hope that helps

AiY(D)

[Urbandreamer]

Mathematically, heat loss is in proportion to both the insulation and the temperature difference.

Hence in simple cost terms it's cheaper to turn it off (or down) when you don't need it (or are in bed).

OK, now specifics. You say things take time to heat up, that also means that they take time to cool down. Hence turning "it" off early and on early would make good sense.

However note the quotes. Padding across a cold floor in bare feet to go to the loo, might change opinion. Then it becomes a question of subjective values, rather than simple objective costs.

Personally I suspect that all arguments about how it "makes sense" economically to keep heating on, has nothing to do with the facts of thermodynamics and everything to do with subjective comfort. The maths being quite certain.

It's even common sense that when you are not there, and the temperature is above freezing, that heating may not be needed. Strangely the same sort of people are quite willing to turn the heating off (rather than rely on a thermostat) in summer,

[Dod101]

Sorry to be a smarty, but do you mean raise the temperature during the summer months?

Dod

Hi Dod,

Sorry no I mean that in winter the UFH is on at night at a lower temperature so that the amount it has to be lifted in the day is then much less. I believe that UFH can be left on very low in summer in tiled areas to take the "cold" out of the tiles, but this is more a lifestyle choice than a requirement to stay warm.

Hope that helps

AiY(D)

Thanks. My comment was meant to be a modest joke!

Anyway, seriously, I do not have UFH but it is nice to have the benefit of it particularly in tiled bathroom floors.I think, like you, that UFH in general ought to be left on 24 hours in the winter, but at a lower temperature say 9 pm until 6 am or thereabouts depending on individual lifestyle.

Dod

[88V8]

Anyway, seriously, I do not have UFH but it is nice to have the benefit of it particularly in tiled bathroom floors.I think, like you, that UFH in general ought to be left on 24 hours in the winter, but at a lower temperature say 9 pm until 6 am or thereabouts depending on individual lifestyle.

My understanding is that ufh is meant to provide a steady background heat which one tops up with other appliances as required.
It is extremely unresponsive/slow to heat and cool, so at the very most I would turn it down a little at night, early down then early up as Dod says.

As this is LBYM, I would add that if you dislike cold tiles, wear bedsocks.

V8

[James]

Anyway, seriously, I do not have UFH but it is nice to have the benefit of it particularly in tiled bathroom floors.I think, like you, that UFH in general ought to be left on 24 hours in the winter, but at a lower temperature say 9 pm until 6 am or thereabouts depending on individual lifestyle.

My understanding is that ufh is meant to provide a steady background heat which one tops up with other appliances as required.
It is extremely unresponsive/slow to heat and cool, so at the very most I would turn it down a little at night, early down then early up as Dod says.

As this is LBYM, I would add that if you dislike cold tiles, wear bedsocks.

V8

In our case, there is none of this cold tiles nonsense. Sheepskin-lined Austrian clogs deal with that. Also, the underfloor heating is downstairs only, under engineered wood floorboards, not up in the bathroom. It is, however, the only heat source downstairs; the only radiators are upstairs.
I was wondering, when asking the question, whether the energy required to maintain a level of warmth by leaving it on, even at a reduced level, would be less than the energy required to heat it up again from scratch. I don't know the science, but isn't there something about thermal mass?
Anyway, looks like turning it down early but keeping it on tickover, then upping it earlier might work.

[AsleepInYorkshire]

Anyway, looks like turning it down early but keeping it on tickover, then upping it earlier might work.

Yes.

AiY(D)

[88V8]

In our case, there is none of this cold tiles nonsense. ...the underfloor heating is downstairs only, under engineered wood floorboards...

Given that wood is quite a good insulator, I have always thought it bonkers to install ufh beneath a wood floor...

Mind you, I am no lover of tiles even though we have them all over the ground floor of our C17 cottage, so if I had to have ufh I suppose I might opt for wood and close my eyes to the inherent bonkersness.

V8

[servodude]

In our case, there is none of this cold tiles nonsense. ...the underfloor heating is downstairs only, under engineered wood floorboards...

Given that wood is quite a good insulator, I have always thought it bonkers to install ufh beneath a wood floor...

Mind you, I am no lover of tiles even though we have them all over the ground floor of our C17 cottage, so if I had to have ufh I suppose I might opt for wood and close my eyes to the inherent bonkersness.

V8

I would have thought it would warp floorboards.
I guess part of the engineering in the engineered wood helps

[Dod101]

Anyway, seriously, I do not have UFH but it is nice to have the benefit of it particularly in tiled bathroom floors.I think, like you, that UFH in general ought to be left on 24 hours in the winter, but at a lower temperature say 9 pm until 6 am or thereabouts depending on individual lifestyle.

My understanding is that ufh is meant to provide a steady background heat which one tops up with other appliances as required.
It is extremely unresponsive/slow to heat and cool, so at the very most I would turn it down a little at night, early down then early up as Dod says.

As this is LBYM, I would add that if you dislike cold tiles, wear bedsocks.

V8

Does anyone like cold tiles? Old fashioned slippers would be my choice.

Dod