ᐅ Pump noise from underfloor heating, pump located in living area, noise disturbance

Hello,

we need advice regarding the following issue:

We are planning to buy a turnkey townhouse. As an additional feature, we would like underfloor heating on the ground floor (about 43 sqm (460 sq ft) of heated area). Since the house has no basement, the pump will be installed in the living/dining area. Has anyone had experience with this? How loud is such a pump, and how often does it turn on?

Pros and cons of underfloor heating? 😕

Thanks and best regards,
Marico

Hello,

Marico schrieb:

... Since the house does not have a basement, the pump will be installed in the living/dining area.
Has anyone had experience with this? How loud is such a pump and how often does it activate?

You probably mean the distribution box. Why don’t you have it installed in the utility room or at least in the hallway?

Kind regards from the Rhineland

Hello,

Marico schrieb:
...We are planning to purchase a turnkey terraced house.

Are you actually buying (developer project) or having it built (general contractor / construction management project)?

Marico schrieb:
...As an additional feature, we want underfloor heating on the ground floor (approx. 43m² (460 sq ft) heating area). Since the house has no basement, the pump will be installed in the living/dining area.

How did you come up with that idea? Is there no utility room? ;-) Also, regardless of the type of heating surface, the heating circuit(s) always require a pump for heat transport and distribution if heated water is used as the medium.

Marico schrieb:
...Pros or cons of underfloor heating 😕

I could write a whole book on that alone ;-) There is no simple “pro/con” because the number of factors to consider is just too large. The individual circumstances, necessities, requirements, and personal preferences are always decisive!
For example, if the heat generator is a heat pump, large heating surfaces (underfloor heating, radiators) are practically essential.
There are many aspects to consider for or against underfloor heating, such as:

- Operating costs
- Initial investment
- Heating regime
- Flexibility
- Aesthetics
- Comfort expectations
- Cleaning possibilities... etc.

Best regards.

Thank you for the quick reply.

The townhouse is being purchased from a developer. In total, 56 townhouses are being built there, all supplied with heating energy from a central technical unit.

Inside the house, there is a service shaft where the heating pipes run up to the top floor and then branch into the individual rooms. The pump and control unit for the underfloor heating are additionally installed next to the service shaft in the living/dining area. This is also where the heating water is “tapped off.”

We are now wondering whether the noise produced by the underfloor heating pump might be perceived as very disturbing. The developer does mention in the additional brochure that noise development does occur.

Perhaps someone has experience with this situation and can provide some clarity?

Marico

Hello,

Marico schrieb:

The terraced house is being purchased from a developer. In total, 56 terraced houses are being built there, which are supplied with heating energy from a central technical unit, among other things.

So the terraced house is supplied with district heating (DH)?

Marico schrieb:

Inside the house there is a service shaft where the heating pipes run up to the top floor and then into the individual rooms. The pump and control unit for the underfloor heating are additionally installed next to the service shaft in the living/dining area. Of course, the heating water is also “tapped” here.

Sorry, but I would stay away from this project; just my personal opinion. I wouldn’t want the technical equipment (even if with district heating only the distribution needs to be organized) to be basically on the living room table. Where do the connections enter the house? Is a storage tank for domestic hot water needed? Even with small terraced houses, there are ways and possibilities to house the equipment in a separate room... or will you also wash and iron in the living room in the future? How small or large are the dimensions of the terraced house?

Marico schrieb:

We are now wondering whether the noise made by the underfloor heating pump might be perceived as very disturbing. The developer already points out in the additional brochure that there will be some noise.

Is the price including the land so tempting?

Best regards from the Rhineland

Marico schrieb:
...The townhouse is being purchased from a developer.

Oh dear, are you sure this is a good decision? It’s not uncommon for such "affordable" offers to turn into money pits later on!

Marico schrieb:
..In total, 56 townhouses are being built there, which are supplied with heating energy from a central technical unit, among other things.

So it’s a district heating system.

Marico schrieb:
...The pump and control unit for the underfloor heating are installed next to the service shaft in the living/dining area as an additional unit. The heating water is, of course, also “tapped” here.

Did they skip the utility room? Who would want to buy something like this nonsense?
Regardless, with such “setups,” the delivered energy is billed, not the energy actually used ;-)

Best regards.