Underfloor Heating - Conservatory

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 Chopper 21 Oct 2020

We've got a fairly bog standard conservatory with a tiled solid floor. Inevitably it never gets used in the winter due to being cold. On the occasional crisp sunny winter day if it was warm it would actually be quite pleasant sitting out there. I've sought the advice of tech bods and the installation of a radiator linked to the CH system appears to be a No No.

Another option I'm considering is underfloor heating. Based on internet searches this seems to be feasible and, as a retrofit, it seems an electric system would be the easiest to install..

Has anyone else had underfloor heating installed in a conservatory? Any comments or advice would be much appreciated.

 bouldery bits 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Chopper:

I lived in a house with conservatory underfloor heating. It was an expensive way to heat up the garden. 

Ofcourse, that was a while a go and old tech! Things will likely have improved  

 deacondeacon 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Chopper:

I design Underfloor Heating systems for a living. 

Low profile systems have changed significantly. 

Firstly you'll want wet Underfloor Heating in a conservatory. If it's the primary heating for the room electric Underfloor Heating will cost too much to run in a conservatory and you'll cringe every time you turn it on. 

Wet overlay systems can be as thin as 15mm thick now, and still have great heat outputs. Also due to the lower input temperatures required for Underfloor Heating it is significantly more cost effective to run compared to radiators.

Drop me an email or a pm if you want to go through anything or you've got any questions 😁

andy@ukunderfloorheating.co.uk 

 Sealwife 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Chopper:

We converted an integral garage into a room a few years back and added a retrofit wet underfloor system to the room (rest of house has radiators).

It came as a kit, insulated floor tiles with a chanel cut for the piping.  Was like doing a big jigsaw.  There was also a manifold and a control system to hook it up to the existing system.

It works really well.  Would love the rest of my house to be as warm.

OP Chopper 21 Oct 2020
In reply to deacondeacon:

Thanks for that. Does it still work from the CH boiler?

 deacondeacon 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Chopper:

Yeah, if you're familiar with an 'S' plan system this is the standard method, giving the Underfloor Heating system a dedicated Two Port Zone Valve. 

 Toerag 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Chopper:

> I've sought the advice of tech bods and the installation of a radiator linked to the CH system appears to be a No No.

I would suspect this also precludes wet underfloor heating - underfloor heating is just a big radiator, so if you can't fit a normal one you're not likely to be able to fit an even bigger one under the floor.

I suspect wearing slippers would be the most sensible thing to do.  If you do have to go underfloor then it would be sensible to rip up the floor slab and cast a new insulated one - you're going to have to rip up the tiles anyway.

For what it's worth, I have 'warmup' brand electric underfloor heating in my tiled kitchen. We fitted it because the lack of wall space meant it was technically under-radiatored for the size of the room.  We only ever intended to use it to take the chill off the floor, but don't even turn it on as we all wear slippers and the room never gets too cold anyway. The wire is so thin it fits in the bed of tile adhesive. It's easy enough to fit yourself (and is time consuming to do so, so saves lots of fitting expense), but you need to be super careful you don't damage it by dropping a tile on it - we covered it in sheets of cardboard whilst we were working.  You need to thoroughly butter the tiles with adhesive to eliminate insulating air pockets under them otherwise they don't really heat up.  It takes about 5-10 minutes to notice the heat coming through once it's turned on. The controller has a timer so you can set it to use cheap rate power. I think our 3.5m2 kitchen needed two wires (600&800watts) to cover the area where there were no cupboards (no point in heating under those).  Estate agent saw it as a positive asset.  We could have fitted it in our conservatory when we replaced the laminate with tiles, but felt it wasn't worth it as it doesn't get cold enough to warrant it here and we didn't want to replace the slab with an insulated one.

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 Dave Garnett 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Toerag:

>   If you do have to go underfloor then it would be sensible to rip up the floor slab and cast a new insulated one - you're going to have to rip up the tiles anyway.

Yes.  We demolished a leaky old conservatory and a nice oak one built on a new slab.  The floor is super insulated from the slab, the roof is insulated and there is high spec double glazing.  The result is an extra room we can use year round, even if we haven't had the heating on, and is toasty if we have.

 nikoid 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Chopper:

We had it fitted when we did up the kitchen. Our kitchen fitter insisted on laying insulation slabs on top of the concrete floor before installing the heating mats. The idea being you want to be heating the tiles not the concrete. Of course I don't know how much difference this makes but it sounds like good practice and I don't think the insulation is expensive. 

 jimtitt 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Chopper:

> Thanks for that. Does it still work from the CH boiler?


You should be aware that if you connect into the normal CH you are then subject to Building Regs and need planning permission. You need an independent system. Your planning guys can advise you.

1
 summo 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Chopper:

Running them is cheap if they are fitted at the outset as without 200 or 300mm of insulation under, you are heating the ground up too. Presuming you have double glazing walls and fairly thick polycarbonate roof. 

Retro fit you can buy boards that are 10mm thick and offer some insulation, then place your new flooring on top. 

 The New NickB 21 Oct 2020
In reply to jimtitt:

> You should be aware that if you connect into the normal CH you are then subject to Building Regs and need planning permission. You need an independent system. Your planning guys can advise you.

Are you sure about that?

Removed User 21 Oct 2020
In reply to The New NickB:

My planning guy told me the same re my planed extension

 jimtitt 21 Oct 2020
In reply to The New NickB:

> Are you sure about that?


Well it's 35 years since I was building conservatories but I'd guess the heating engineer was up to date. 30secs with Google gives you, courtesy of Planning Portal;

"However, conservatories are normally exempt from building regulations when:

They are built at ground level and are less than 30 square metres in floor area.

The conservatory is separated from the house by external quality walls, doors or windows.

There should be an independent heating system with separate temperature and on/off controls."

As I wrote, contact the local planners.

 profitofdoom 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Chopper:

> Has anyone else had underfloor heating installed in a conservatory? Any comments or advice would be much appreciated.

We just put a plug-in electric oil heater in ours, cost 55 quid (didn't want to spend on underfloor or other heating). Works a treat

Edit, a portable heater

Post edited at 16:23
 The New NickB 21 Oct 2020
In reply to jimtitt:

I wouldn't speak to planners about building regs. I'd speak to a building inspector, however it was more about the requirement for planning permission.

 The New NickB 21 Oct 2020
In reply to Removed Usercapoap:

> My planning guy told me the same re my planed extension

The OP isn't planning an extension.

 jimtitt 21 Oct 2020
In reply to The New NickB:

Err you need retrospective planning permission, it would no longer be a permitted extension but become part of the main building. Read it up BEFORE  quibbling.

2
 The New NickB 21 Oct 2020
In reply to jimtitt:

> Err you need retrospective planning permission, it would no longer be a permitted extension but become part of the main building. Read it up BEFORE  quibbling.

You don't necessarily need planning permission at all. The last couple of updates of permitted development rights have covered this. As long as the conservatory or other extensions do not exceed the properties permitted development allowance.

 Philip 21 Oct 2020

The reason you can heat extensions and not conservatories from the main CH is to prevent wasting energy. Conservatories don't have to meet energy insulation requirements of extension.

Planning permission or not, you still have to meet building regulations for either.

 jkarran 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Chopper:

Check with BC what they'll accept CH wise, the 'independence' requirement is madness, effective control is what matters given the objective is energy saving.

That said I'd be tempted to hang a couple of electric convection heaters on the wall. Costlier to run than gas but they heat quickly and they're cheap to buy and install so for occasional use it'll be years before getting CH pulled in with any additional paperwork headaches pays off.

Worth also thinking about improving the passive solar gains, low winter sun if it gets any will tend to heat the wall(s) more than the floor so a dark colour on the wall could be worthwhile.

jk


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