We want to install electric underfloor heating to our newly built south facing conservatory. We have been quoted £800  to install a 'warm up' electric system. The reason we are considering this route is having looked into the installation costs of the gas option at cost of  £3k plus it seems the cheaper way to go, but we are concerned about the running costs for a 35 sq mtr area, we are considering using three different thermostates for the 3 different open plan areas, (conservatory, dinning room and kitchen) and also gas radiators as a top up source of heating, we like the idea of having warm feet on a tiled floor. Our current energy supplier is Scottish Power for both gas and electricity, we currently pay approx £940 per year.

I doubt that it makes any difference which supplier you use, gas is going to cost less in the long run than using electricity for heating. Consider looking at "wet" undefloor heating using the return water from your existing central heating system. Generally electric heating appliances are much easier to install than gas ones but the running costs are much higher.

Conservatories are not meant to be lived in the winter months  no- way could you afford the cost of electricity   and even with gas you would require a large monthly amount Conservatories in the past used for plants and in the warmer spells for sitting in   and one facing south in the Summer would be unbearable for sitting in. Heat loss is too great through the double glazing walls and the roof structure to maintain a reasonable indoor temperature unless a lot of money is used to provide this necessary heat required, for all that is lost, through this greenhouse structure. Goodluck

I just thought that I would play with the buttons at the top as well.

george1939:Conservatories are not meant to be lived in the winter months  no- way could you afford the cost of electricity   and even with gas you would require a large monthly amount Conservatories in the past used for plants and in the warmer spells for sitting in   and one facing south in the Summer would be unbearable for sitting in. Heat loss is too great through the double glazing walls and the roof structure to maintain a reasonable indoor temperature unless a lot of money is used to provide this necessary heat required, for all that is lost, through this greenhouse structure. Goodluck

Total rubbish - my home office is in a conservatory and has been for years. Built properly it uses no more/less power/resources than the rest of the house. I have to use an air-conditioner in the summer due to its location, but spend the money on blinds and you'll find it completely usable 365 days of the year.

SHARK!

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Greetings let me put a spanner in the works,

how about installing under floor heating for about £50 ?

 Interested.

Being in the building trade all my working life and specializing in kitchen and bathroom refurbs, ive learnt a bit.

i worked abroad 20 years ago most houses had under floor heating, similar to the central heating types they have hear now. typical england always behind.

i have done many kitchen floors. it is so easy and i have never had any comebacks, you need a good heating engineer

or you can do it yourself but must do correctley, from your sub lay a damp proof membrane as you would with laminate the better the insulation the better the saving ,floor fix treated slate battens at 300 centres then lay 10 mm plastic heating piping in a zig zag pattern from a pair of heating valves at a wall or somewhere accesable,

then it runs off the central heating and no need for radiators, you can over board the floor as you like,finnish floor or ply and tile,  imagine where your pipes are now , under floor boards no doubt you can feel the heat rise but properly done and insulated its better.

i hope you can understand this or have an idea what i am woffling about.

 

Running costs are quite hard to work out, because of serveral factors such as insulation levels, age of property, etc. 

What you can do is take the bare facts and try to put some cost to it like that, so for example take your floor area 35m² - 10% for the kit size = 31.50m² x 150w per m² = 4725w (4.72Kw), most systems run on full power until it reaches the temperature you set it to, then once it has warmed up they run on about 40% of power there after (because most electric UFH stats have a variable output), 4.72Kw x 0.09p (or what ever you pay for a Kw of electric) = 0.42p per hour on full power, then 0.42p x 40% = 0.17p per hour therafter, this is never going to be an exact calculation, but it goes some way to helpin you work it out.

Of course though the above is based on all your three stats been operative at the same time and at the same settings, it may be in real life that you dont always have all three stats on at the same time and therefore the costs will come down.

Hope this helps

Hi SMjay

I want to put it in ground floor, but it is all with floor boards and joists, would I have to notch all the joists to run the piping or just run it over the top and batten as you suggested and then ply board and tile, or perhaps just put down floorboards again?

I always thought there must be a simpler way

regards from

Jamie

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