ᐅ Recommendation for Digital Heating Thermostat

motorradsilke schrieb:

I’m still a beginner in this area.
But how do I solve the "problem" that I want 25°C (77°F) in the living room and bathroom, but only 18°C (64°F) in the bedroom? And the 25°C (77°F) in the living room not all day, only when I’m home, and not at night?

In a new build, basically not at all. Period.

A 7°C (13°F) difference in a new build simply won’t be achievable on a permanent basis (apart from that, 25°C (77°F) in the living room is quite unusual). The issue with new builds is that everything is thickly insulated and well sealed, so temperatures tend to equalize.
Just imagine putting hot coffee and ice cream together in a thermal container. The temperature outside the container hardly affects the temperature inside. But the coffee and ice cream inside adjust to each other—the temperature balances out. That’s how it works in a new build as well.
You can have the underfloor heating set to different temperatures in each room (often around 22°C (72°F) in living areas, 24°C (75°F) in the bathroom, and sometimes only 20°C (68°F) in the bedroom). But you won’t notice large differences. That’s why additional (usually electric) heaters are often installed in bathrooms to quickly increase temperature as needed.

motorradsilke schrieb:

I understand that underfloor heating is slow to respond. So my idea was to set each room to the desired temperature a few hours earlier, but then also let it cool down earlier.

Sure, you can do that. Then the underfloor heating runs full power starting at noon to be hot by 6 pm. But adjacent rooms will also be heated (for example, the bedroom next door, which you then open the window in to keep cooler!?). After that, it’s switched off until the next morning. This isn’t good for the heating system or your energy consumption.

Underfloor heating in a new build is usually set and then runs without adjustments.

Thank you for your explanation. So, with underfloor heating, you don’t lower the temperature at night like you do with radiators? Isn’t that inefficient? The best solution would be to have two heating circuits—one for the underfloor heating and one for radiators—that can be quickly switched on as needed. But that would probably be too expensive, right?

And what should I do during the transitional period, when I have so far only been heating the living room and hallway with the fireplace (which is why we are used to 25°C (77°F))? I guess I would have to turn the living room heating down to a minimum then, since I would only want warm feet.

motorradsilke schrieb:

So, does that mean the floor heating doesn’t reduce the temperature at night like radiators do? Isn’t that inefficient?

Actually, that is effective. It provides a more consistent heating load. Here’s a simple example: If you constantly accelerate hard with your car and then brake sharply, your fuel consumption and wear will be much higher than if you drive steadily at a moderate speed.

motorradsilke schrieb:

The best solution would be two separate heating circuits, one for the floor heating and one for radiators, which can be quickly switched on when needed? But that must be too expensive, right?

Not necessarily more expensive, but unnecessary and inefficient. Radiators usually require a higher supply temperature than floor heating (unless you are willing to pay around 600-800€ each for radiators that can operate at very low supply temperatures). So the heating system, for example a heat pump that becomes less efficient at higher temperatures, first heats the water up to the radiator’s required temperature. Then, for the floor heating, the hot water is mixed with cold water again to achieve the lower supply temperature.

motorradsilke schrieb:

What about during transitional seasons, when I usually only heat the living room and hallway with the fireplace (that’s why we are used to 25 degrees)? I’d have to turn the heating in the living room down to minimum, as I only want warm feet then.

You should let go of the idea that your feet will be really warm. That’s no longer the case in new buildings. During transitional periods, the supply temperature might be around 27°C (81°F), which you won’t really notice in your feet anymore.
But of course, nothing prevents you from having a fireplace in the house. It’s a great feature and a good supplement during transitional seasons.

nordanney schrieb:


Let go of the idea that you will actually have warm feet. This is no longer the case in new buildings today. During the transition period, you might have 27°C (81°F) supply temperature, but you won’t feel it warming your feet anymore.

Honestly? That would be one reason for me to build new in the first place. I want to be able to walk through the house in socks without needing warm slippers all the time.

Has this changed significantly in the last 10 years or so? I always have warm feet in a friend’s house that’s about 10 years old, which feels very comfortable to me.

We will have a gas heating system, though.

motorradsilke schrieb:

Has this changed significantly in the last approximately 10 years? In a friend’s house that is about 10 years old, my feet always feel warm, which is very comfortable for me.

No, it hasn’t changed. However, if you don’t specifically design for efficiency and therefore require a high supply temperature, you can still have really warm feet. With tiles, the feet even feel warmer compared to, for example, wood flooring.

Gas heating is considerably more robust in terms of system design than a heat pump. Which KfW level are you aiming for anyway? And why choose gas at all?

Even if you use gas, the heating system should be designed for a heat pump so it can be easily replaced in the future. A heat pump relies on a low supply temperature.