ᐅ Infrared heating throughout the entire house?

kati1337 schrieb:

I wouldn’t call them problems; I would definitely choose to build with an air-to-water heat pump again. It just needs a bit more fine-tuning. But that’s a personal preference—I’d like it a little warmer in the bathroom.

Didn’t you recently say that you already have 23°C (73°F) in the bathroom anyway?

Schimi1791 schrieb:

I have also heard of cases like that. However, I also hear it from some "daring" people who use pellet heating as their main heating system. Some have been satisfied for years, while others constantly have problems. Of course, the "problems" cannot be generalized,

Exactly. For every use case or idea, there is also a corresponding horror story, and usually everyone defends their own model.

Joedreck schrieb:

With a heat pump, success depends heavily on the skills of the heating installer and, unfortunately, also on the building owner.

That’s how I understood it as well. However, when building a house with a general contractor, I usually have very limited opportunities to influence this directly. In my case, the building owner has absolutely no interest in deeply dealing with how the heating system works; it just has to work. I remember from earlier times people liked to engage with and optimize their heating systems — today, thinking about that gives me a rash.

Joedreck schrieb:

Gas and oil heating systems with poorly designed underfloor heating were also inefficient, but this did not result in such high costs — at least not directly.

In our temporary home, a new underfloor heating system was installed by a reputable specialist company. It was laid with a spacing that felt like 30cm (12 inches), with many cold spots, and the towel radiator was connected directly to the underfloor heating, which means it never warms up properly, among other issues. We have monitored the gas consumption over several months. While it is significantly less than what the owner liked to claim, it is still well above the amounts mentioned here in some cases. Additionally, hot and cold were swapped in the piping, etc. In my opinion, the whole system is a mess, and that’s solely the heating installer’s fault.

Joedreck schrieb:

For a heat pump, a room-by-room heating load calculation including appropriate underfloor heating design must be carried out.

I learned that here as well... in hindsight, I get the impression the heating installer didn’t know this. Each room has a thermostat, and the idea is to turn the temperature up or down as needed. Since I have never had underfloor heating before, this seemed plausible... what an idiot I was.

Joedreck schrieb:

Then the heat pump must be properly configured and the user instructed.

This was completely missing here... I also believe the installer would interpret the word "properly" differently.

Joedreck schrieb:

Unfortunately, many heating installers simply are not capable of this. But they don’t admit it.

This was presented to us in our absence; luckily we will be moving out soon. The installer here didn’t really want to engage, and based on what I read here, he probably couldn’t have done it better anyway.
I am honestly shocked at what was installed here as "professional" work by a specialist company, which is already described as a clear failure by this layman forum.

Joedreck schrieb:

If the prerequisites are met, you usually have a low-maintenance, comfortable, and affordable heating system.

If I knew a heating installer or tradesperson who met these requirements, I would do exactly what they recommend. That, however, seems to be the biggest challenge when building with a general contractor. Fortunately, we are currently able to take out some services and contract them ourselves to people we at least believe will do a good job. We’ll see... 😀
Based on what I’ve read here, poorly adjusted heat pump heating installations are not an isolated case.

Wandervogel85 schrieb:

That’s all great.

It’s only great if it has been installed well and makes sense.
What good are the best data sheets and calculation values if the heating installer does not properly implement the technology? In my opinion, that’s the core of the problem.

Schimi1791 schrieb:

Maybe it could be managed with an infrared heater.

Yes, that could be an option. But I guess you would need a power outlet for that? There isn’t really space for one in our bathroom layout.

Bookstar schrieb:

Didn’t you mention recently that you already have 23 degrees in the bathroom?

Yes, actually it’s 23-24°C (73-75°F) throughout the whole house. And I assume the bathroom is even a bit warmer. According to the room-specific heat load calculation, the bathroom is designed for 24°C (75°F), while the other rooms are planned for 20°C (68°F). However, there is a 49 W deficit in the bathroom (whatever that means), probably because more heating coils didn’t fit in the available area.

There are also infrared heaters integrated into mirrors. This means your face will be directly heated, which not everyone likes.

Then there are ceiling panels. You can probably run a branch from the heat source to them (but I’m not sure about that).

Tolentino schrieb:

And then there are ceiling panels. You can probably run a branch line from the fire source there as well (but I'm not sure).

Not from the fire source itself, since it would turn on and off with the light 😀 But maybe from the attic, provided there isn't a concrete ceiling above or finished living space?

If you have electricity at least in the area where the infrared heater is planned to be installed, there are many options available. You should check that first. I wouldn’t prefer a mirror heater either.