ᐅ Ceiling heating in a top-floor apartment

Hello everyone,

we are currently buying a top-floor apartment, and I am considering installing a heating and cooling ceiling system that would eventually be operated with a heat pump for heating and cooling. In the meantime, it would only use the existing gas boiler for heating...

There seem to be dozens of systems and manufacturers out there—has anyone here had good or bad experiences with any particular brand and can share their insights? Also regarding assistance with planning and whether a ceiling heating system makes sense at all? Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we cannot contribute much labor ourselves at the moment.

Thanks for any tips!

Hello Alchemist, we installed the Uponor Renovis system in our ground floor. Since the house is still under construction, we have only gathered initial experience and so far find the warmth very comfortable and evenly distributed. However, we can only make a direct comparison to underfloor heating after the next winter.

We installed our ceiling heating without the cooling option, even though it was theoretically possible. Since we do not need cooling, we saved the extra cost.

Generally, lowering the ceiling requires about 10cm (4 inches). Even then, the distance between the floor and the ceiling heating should be greater than 2.30 meters (7 feet 7 inches), as otherwise the heat can become too intense at head level. Because the floor area under sloped roofs is often significantly larger than the ceiling itself, it may be necessary to cover the sloped ceiling sections with panels as well. These are usually a bit narrower, but the distance to the head is reduced again, which is why we did not install them in our attic. Of course, this depends entirely on your building conditions.

Otherwise, hydronic ceiling heating tends to be more expensive, but since you can save on the (costly) screed, in our case the overall price was roughly the same.

Best regards

Alchemist schrieb:

Thanks for any tips!

Welcome. You’ve found the right place—and already received a reply from another user.

I would especially pay attention to the ceiling height. If you already have sloped ceilings in the attic, adding 10cm (4 inches) of build-up can quickly become an issue, especially if the height is below 2.30m (7 ft 7 in). It can then become quite uncomfortable because the heat comes almost directly from above.

Regarding cooling: If you want to use a heat pump, the system definitely needs to be designed for that. Some manufacturers support passive cooling well, others do not – so it’s worth taking a close look at the technical specifications. It’s best to plan with someone who really understands the interaction between heat pumps and underfloor heating.