HEATING, VENTILATION & SERVICES 75
HOW TO FUTUREPROOF HOMES’ HEATING
Darren Trivett of OMNIE and the Ridgspear Group counters the tabloid headlines and considers the key factors developers should address when specifying underfl oor heating systems for energy effi ciency on their projects.
I
t is unlikely you will get through a news programme nowadays without hearing a story about energy prices, climate change or the pressures on the UK housing market: be they from the rising population or the effects of Government policy towards both landlords and mortgage borrowers. And of course, all of these factors have a direct or indirect impact on housebuilders. ignifi cantly the latest offi cial report on the UK’s progress towards net zero still shows the UK well down the European league table on the installation of heat pumps in our homes, though it must be noted that properties being built to meet the requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations can all be expected to exceed the insulation standards, which enable the mainstream media to constantly assert that having a heat pump will make people ‘colder and poorer.’ In reality, the vast majority of homeowners who have had an air or ground source heat pump installed by respectable companies (who take the trouble to specify the system correctly with regards to a building’s demand characteristics), enjoy good comfort levels, as well as overall energy savings compared to using conventional heating appliances.
There is a wide choice of outputs available and factors such as compressor performance and the type of refrigerant employed to weigh up, but we do know that heat pumps in general run more effi ciently at lower fl ow temperatures and the best way to achieve this is to use underfl oor heating as the means of delivery. Yet there are very large variations in the effi ciencies of UFH systems themselves, with their confi guration and method of installation typically being dictated by the fl oor construction into which they are being incorporated.
Although pipework clipped to rigid insulation laid under wet screed remains
very popular, particularly for domestic ground fl oor layouts, dry’ systems featuring very accurately produced fl oor panels are increasingly being utilised for upper storeys, in both new build and retrofi t situations. These should also avoid the common problem of ‘thermal striping’ where pipe runs are spaced too far apart leading to poor heat distribution and comfort levels.
The top performing panels have channel profi les and special foil diffuser layers to optimise output from pipe runs, while the latest generation even include a routed overlay board whose top surface indicates where it is safe to position fi xings.
Other types of UFH system and ancillary products have been developed specifi cally to suit situations where the client is seeking to minimise overall build height – perhaps where a habitable roof space formed by attic trusses is being fi tted out or where it is intended to install ceramic tiling as the fl oor fi nish. The pandemic saw supply chains under real pressure, particularly for timber board products with prices reaching unprecedented levels, which may well encourage more national as well as regional housebuilders to embrace the availability of UFH panels, which can take the place of conventional particle board decking to be installed across
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