Hello,
I want to renovate my parents' house, which we will move into in 2 years. Currently, there is an oil heating system installed, which was renewed around 2005. However, the radiators are as old as the house itself (1972). I assume the heating system operates as a high-temperature one.
Questions:
1. How can I determine if the system supports both high- and low-temperature operation?
I would like to have the radiators removed and replaced with underfloor heating.
2. I found some systems where underfloor heating can be retrofitted. Can such a system replace a radiator?
3. There are a few rooms where underfloor heating is not possible. Is it simply possible to replace the old radiators with new low-temperature radiators in these rooms? Of course, this assumes that question 1 can be answered with YES.
I want to renovate my parents' house, which we will move into in 2 years. Currently, there is an oil heating system installed, which was renewed around 2005. However, the radiators are as old as the house itself (1972). I assume the heating system operates as a high-temperature one.
Questions:
1. How can I determine if the system supports both high- and low-temperature operation?
I would like to have the radiators removed and replaced with underfloor heating.
2. I found some systems where underfloor heating can be retrofitted. Can such a system replace a radiator?
3. There are a few rooms where underfloor heating is not possible. Is it simply possible to replace the old radiators with new low-temperature radiators in these rooms? Of course, this assumes that question 1 can be answered with YES.
There are no longer concepts like "low-" and "high-temperature" in oil heating systems built in 2005. Heating systems from that year are typically operated with a modulating supply temperature. The supply temperature is adjusted according to the measured outdoor temperature. If there is no outdoor temperature sensor, the temperature in the reference room (usually the living room) is measured, and the supply temperature is regulated based on that.
What you probably have are relatively high supply temperatures (around 70°C at -10°C outdoor temperature, approximately 158°F at 14°F). The more important question is whether you have a condensing oil boiler or not. You can determine this by checking the nameplate and looking up the model online or by the emission measurements from the chimney sweep (exhaust gas temperature).
If you have an unrenovated house from 1972, installing underfloor heating should be the last step you take. Due to the high heat demand per square meter, you would need high supply temperatures for underfloor heating, which would either cause excessively hot floors or the house would not be adequately warmed. Additionally, the floor insulation on the ground floor is likely only around 2cm (1 inch) of mineral wool. Underfloor heating on top of that will lose much of its heat into the ground instead of into the room.
1. Insulate the roof
2. Replace the windows
3. Possibly insulate the walls as well, but this is less critical and depends on their construction
4. Renew the screed with thicker floor insulation, and then install underfloor heating if you like. There are also systems available for low-profile insulation layers.
Radiators and underfloor heating can work together. With an oil boiler, this is not a problem—only with heat pumps. However, you will need two separate heating circuits with individually controlled supply temperatures.
What you probably have are relatively high supply temperatures (around 70°C at -10°C outdoor temperature, approximately 158°F at 14°F). The more important question is whether you have a condensing oil boiler or not. You can determine this by checking the nameplate and looking up the model online or by the emission measurements from the chimney sweep (exhaust gas temperature).
If you have an unrenovated house from 1972, installing underfloor heating should be the last step you take. Due to the high heat demand per square meter, you would need high supply temperatures for underfloor heating, which would either cause excessively hot floors or the house would not be adequately warmed. Additionally, the floor insulation on the ground floor is likely only around 2cm (1 inch) of mineral wool. Underfloor heating on top of that will lose much of its heat into the ground instead of into the room.
1. Insulate the roof
2. Replace the windows
3. Possibly insulate the walls as well, but this is less critical and depends on their construction
4. Renew the screed with thicker floor insulation, and then install underfloor heating if you like. There are also systems available for low-profile insulation layers.
Radiators and underfloor heating can work together. With an oil boiler, this is not a problem—only with heat pumps. However, you will need two separate heating circuits with individually controlled supply temperatures.
dertill schrieb:
If you have an unrenovated house from 1972, installing underfloor heating is the last thing you should do. Due to the high heat demand per square meter, you would need high supply temperatures in an underfloor heating system, which would either give you boiling feet or the house won’t get warm. You can't really generalize like that. My parents’ house is from 1975 and has very comfortable underfloor heating. Of course, it's warmer than modern new builds—but still far from “hot feet.” They had pretty good insulation for that time.
C
Caspar202022 Oct 2018 10:04Kekse schrieb:
You can’t really generalize like that. My childhood home was built in 1975 and has a very comfortable underfloor heating system. Certainly warmer than modern new builds – but still far from having “hot feet.” For its time, the insulation was quite good.But the underfloor heating was planned from the start, right?
Yes (in the living area, the bedrooms have radiators). Because the system was still very new and not well established, there was an additional radiator in the living room as a precaution to ensure that the floor temperature would definitely remain comfortable and within a healthy range. However, it never operated at all and was eventually removed during a renovation.
Thank you for the responses! Regarding the project:
The windows will definitely be replaced—on the north side with blinds (there are none at the moment), and on the south side with blinds and insulated glazing. All windows will have triple glazing. With the upgrade to underfloor heating, the recesses for the radiators should also be removed (thermal bridges!). This should already improve the thermal insulation. I’m not sure yet if the screed needs to be removed. A friend of mine is currently renovating his parents’ house, and the screed was removed in the bathroom (the house was built in 1965, and the screed was about 8 cm (3 inches) thicker; I assume it will be the same in my parents’ house). However, I don’t know how complicated it is to remove the screed. Does anyone have experience with this?
New interior doors and a new front door are also planned.
I don’t need to insulate the roof, as my parents already thoroughly insulated it during the conversion.
I checked today: The heating system is from 1997, and the burner was replaced around 2010. I don’t know if it’s a condensing oil boiler because I forgot to check the flue gas temperature. I found an installation and maintenance manual for this heating system online, which mentions a flue gas temperature of about 180°C (356°F).
The windows will definitely be replaced—on the north side with blinds (there are none at the moment), and on the south side with blinds and insulated glazing. All windows will have triple glazing. With the upgrade to underfloor heating, the recesses for the radiators should also be removed (thermal bridges!). This should already improve the thermal insulation. I’m not sure yet if the screed needs to be removed. A friend of mine is currently renovating his parents’ house, and the screed was removed in the bathroom (the house was built in 1965, and the screed was about 8 cm (3 inches) thicker; I assume it will be the same in my parents’ house). However, I don’t know how complicated it is to remove the screed. Does anyone have experience with this?
New interior doors and a new front door are also planned.
I don’t need to insulate the roof, as my parents already thoroughly insulated it during the conversion.
I checked today: The heating system is from 1997, and the burner was replaced around 2010. I don’t know if it’s a condensing oil boiler because I forgot to check the flue gas temperature. I found an installation and maintenance manual for this heating system online, which mentions a flue gas temperature of about 180°C (356°F).
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