Electric Underfloor heating (economy 7) operating?

[airhead]

Good morning

I have recently moved into a retirement flat which has underfloor electric heating installed throughout. Having downsized from a gas centrally home, this new abode is all electric with economy 7 and it’s taking time to get used to!


In my meter cupboard is a Pactrol Weather Watcher and Sensor wired into one side of a dual (switched Economy 7) tariff consumer meter – see attached images.



In the flat is a manual room heating thermostat


There are no instructions to operate the underfloor central heating other than the installation/commissioning downloads available from Pactrol which don’t assist to fine tune the central heating.


This technology has been around for a while, this central heating installation in my flat was done as new build in the mid 90’s .


Can anyone shed light how to operate this system economically and efficiently please.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I have a horrible feeling that there might not be a way.

 

[Alec_t]

This article explains storage heating in general, with some advice on thermostat setting.

 

[ericmark]

I have seen one set of council houses with good off peak heating, each house had a central well insulated heat store, i.e. central heating, and there were thermostatically controlled fans to distribute the heat to each room as and when required, and if not required the central store would keep hot for a week.

I have read about a similar idea using hot water storage tanks, again the central store will stay hot for a week if not used. This is of course true central heating where the heat is distributed from a central point.

However most so called electrician central heating systems are not in fact central heating there is nothing central about it. Concrete and stone due however store heat, that is the whole idea of the Rocket wood burning stove, you run it, it warms a lump of concrete which slowly releases the heat. So heating a large lump of concrete in the floor will do the same. However weather forecast is important today 20°C outside don't need any heating unusual for October and the only way is to use the forecast to control how much heat goes in.

Mother has gas central heating with Energenie MiHome heads on the thermostatic radiator valves and I note these use a system called IFTTT (if this then that) which can be used to control heating according to local weather, I have looked at the collection of apps as they are now called, but not tried using them. As well as eTRV they also do relays which can be programmed to work according to weather conditions. There is nothing on the switches, 13A sockets and only a name on the eTRV and although I know what they are, some one renting the house would likely have no idea unless I told them.

I think yours is a much simpler system

it measures outside temperature and assumes you will get the same the next day, so adjusts how much heat is stored according to how cold it was outside when storing the energy. Rather hit and miss, but better than nothing.

I think most storage heating systems should fall fowl of trades description as the heating is not central so can't be called central heating, however if there is an alternative heater for when it goes wrong, it can still work to an extent. I turn the heating completely off every night but at 6 am when it switches on house has only lost two degrees, so it could work reasonably with a home occupied 24/7. About the best and cheapest way to improve is go from economy 7 to 10, then you get an afternoon boost.

 

[airhead]

I am now thinking about do away with the Weather Watcher altogether, and linking the underfloor heating with a Smart App platform. Also install electric smart rads similar to Haverland. Both heating these heating elements on opposite tariffs Underfloor= night/cheap tariff.
I work shifts so no two days are the same when leaving/returning work!

If I were at home most of the day then maybe keep the Weather Watcher, but it is 1970's technology!

Thanks to ban-all-sheds, Alec_t & ericmark

 

[ban-all-sheds]

If I were at home most of the day then maybe keep the Weather Watcher, but it is 1970's technology!

So is the heating.

 

[stillp]

So is the heating.

I thought the Romans had left by the 1970s!

 

[flameport]

and linking the underfloor heating with a Smart App platform.

That will not work.
Electric UFH takes a long time to heat up (hours typically), and the entire point of it is that you heat the building all day, every day.
It simply isn't suitable for heating a few hours here and there. Neither are storage heaters.

Also install electric smart rads similar to Haverland.

Grossly overpriced efforts which are neither smart or economical.

There are two choices:
Use the UFH as intended, powered on cheaper electricity overnight and heat the place all the time.
Or switch it off and buy some other electric heaters, switching them on when heat is required.

There are two main types of electric heaters, convectors having instant heat output, which stops the moment it is turned off.
Oil filled and similar take a moderate length of time to heat up, and the same time to cool after switching off. This includes the 'smart' radiators from various manufacturers.
UFH and storage heaters take that concept to extremes, by taking all night to heat up, but also taking all day to release the stored heat.

For any given heat output, the energy used and the cost of operation is the same.
There are manufacturers of heaters which will claim otherwise, usually by virtue of their devices being made with aluminium from Italy, special ceramic and clay cores, thermo gels and having devices which only switch on for 15 minutes every hour - it's all lies.