Are there any downsides to water UFH?

[Norcon]

And if these valves resolve the issue of slow response time then why doesn"t everybody fit them and avoid the problem?

Alec is referring to thermostatic valves and implying that nothing else is available in the UK and anything that is, will be German or from some other european country and only he will be able to understand what they do and how they are fitted.

The better system will provide a boosted flow temp on start up. Coupled to a tiled floor, and correctly installed ufh loops the response time is about 1 hour.
Not suited for small homes or one off single room jobbies imo.
UFH is the best form of heating out there and probably the oldest.

Many tribesmen of the world still light their fires on top of rocks and stones. They cook their meal and when finished they brush the fire aside after a short while and the bed is then made on top of the hot stones.
That means when its -10 all around you and you're looking up at the stars, you'll be cooking for the rest of the night and not complaining.

 

[Onetap]

It's probably particularly cold because I have a suspended floor with about four foot high space underneath which has no insulation. I didn't think of insulation when I had the floor originally tiled about 7 years ago. When I redo the tiles I could also use the chicken wire thing to insulate it.

Thanks

Couldn't you install staple up UFH & insulation from inside the floor void?

 

[indus]

Thanks Norcon. How does one provide a boosted flow temp on start up?

Thanks again

 

[ALEC1]

I was reverring to the Esbe valves used with vaillant zone control..and the brass bodied viessmann valves..

They can boost the flow temp on start up but why bother...most of europe have cottoned in to the fact that swithching things on and off in regularly used spaces is not the most efficient precisely because of the boost..

The programmers allow you to cycle between two room temperatures..say 21 and 17c...which allows the heat generators operate at as low a temperature as possible this saving energy...

 

[indus]

Onetap, yes the plan is to instal whatever is the best kind of insulation via the void. But the tiles need replacing anyway and so they need to come up.