ᐅ Is an additional heater recommended in a bathroom with underfloor heating?
Created on: 30 Jul 2013 13:22
D
Doc.Schnaggls
Hello everyone,
We are currently planning our new house and have reached the point where we need to decide on an additional fast heating option for our bathroom, one that responds more quickly than the rather slow underfloor heating.
We are considering either a wall-mounted fan heater or an electric towel warmer. We understand that both options have their advantages and disadvantages, but this supplementary heater will only be used during transitional seasons when the underfloor heating is not yet running or has already been turned off.
The bathroom has a floor area of about 18 square meters (living area around 16 square meters (172 square feet) due to the sloping ceiling). The built-in heating system will be an air-to-water heat pump with a controlled ventilation system.
Personally, I’m leaning toward the towel warmer, mostly for aesthetic reasons.
What would you recommend?
Best regards,
Dirk
We are currently planning our new house and have reached the point where we need to decide on an additional fast heating option for our bathroom, one that responds more quickly than the rather slow underfloor heating.
We are considering either a wall-mounted fan heater or an electric towel warmer. We understand that both options have their advantages and disadvantages, but this supplementary heater will only be used during transitional seasons when the underfloor heating is not yet running or has already been turned off.
The bathroom has a floor area of about 18 square meters (living area around 16 square meters (172 square feet) due to the sloping ceiling). The built-in heating system will be an air-to-water heat pump with a controlled ventilation system.
Personally, I’m leaning toward the towel warmer, mostly for aesthetic reasons.
What would you recommend?
Best regards,
Dirk
S
Sebastian7926 May 2015 02:26Yes, that is usually the case...
I think Lexmaul is right in this case. With heat pumps, you really need to focus on keeping the supply temperature as low as possible, and the design and spacing of the pipes in each room have to be planned more precisely. Any incorrect planning or even one degree higher increases electricity consumption and unnecessarily raises heating costs.
With gas or pellet systems, it’s not as critical because the water can be heated to higher temperatures more easily and with less effort than with a heat pump. So if, for example, the bathroom is too cold, you don’t pay as much extra for heating costs when you simply increase the supply temperature slightly, compared to a heat pump.
But after reading the discussion here, I’m still not sure what the best option is? Infrared heating isn’t very effective, or only good for briefly providing some warmth. Towel radiators connected only to underfloor heating just collect dust and supposedly don’t add much benefit...
Though I find it strange why underfloor heating is effective, but the towel radiator wouldn’t be? It runs at the same temperature all day, so wouldn’t it simply add 2 square meters more of heating surface if it measures 1 m x 2 m (3.3 ft x 6.6 ft)?
So, what would be the alternative with a heat pump and underfloor heating?
With gas or pellet systems, it’s not as critical because the water can be heated to higher temperatures more easily and with less effort than with a heat pump. So if, for example, the bathroom is too cold, you don’t pay as much extra for heating costs when you simply increase the supply temperature slightly, compared to a heat pump.
But after reading the discussion here, I’m still not sure what the best option is? Infrared heating isn’t very effective, or only good for briefly providing some warmth. Towel radiators connected only to underfloor heating just collect dust and supposedly don’t add much benefit...
Though I find it strange why underfloor heating is effective, but the towel radiator wouldn’t be? It runs at the same temperature all day, so wouldn’t it simply add 2 square meters more of heating surface if it measures 1 m x 2 m (3.3 ft x 6.6 ft)?
So, what would be the alternative with a heat pump and underfloor heating?
BeHaElJa schrieb:
Yes, Lex is right – to use our bathroom on the ground floor as an example:
Heat loss at -12°C (10°F) [W]: 140
Design temperature [°C]: 24 (75°F)
Heatable area [m²]: 3.7 (40 sq ft)
Theoretically required W/m²: 37.84
Pipe spacing at 30°/26° (86°F/79°F) [cm]: 5 cm (2 inches) → results in 13 W/m² (can’t go higher)
Notes: Heatable area → 4.7 m² (51 sq ft) minus shower area
One should keep in mind that 30°/26° (86°F/79°F) is extremely low for the calculation and -12°C (10°F) only occurs about once every 10 years. Furthermore, the 13 W assumes there is a carpet on top and the air cannot circulate freely.
Here, the area simply isn’t enough – even with 5 cm (2 inches) pipe spacing.@BeHaElJa If you also included the towel radiator here, would that count as "underfloor heating" and make a difference?
But the required 37.84 W/m² compared to the existing underfloor heating output of 13 W/m² is already very extreme....
D
Doc.Schnaggls26 May 2015 11:35Hello,
our bathroom has a floor area of just over 18 sqm (about 194 sq ft) – of which around 4 sqm (about 43 sq ft) (the shower and bathtub area) are not equipped with underfloor heating.
The underfloor heating in the bathroom is installed more densely than in the other rooms, but at a supply temperature of 29°C (84°F), it easily heats the bathroom to 24°C (75°F).
Our heated towel rail (with an electric heating element and a surface area of about 1.6 sqm (0.90 m x 1.80 m) / (3 ft x 6 ft)) is used only to pre-warm towels – purely as a comfort feature.
However, we once forgot to turn it off after showering in the evening (right after moving in – when it wasn't yet programmed), and the next morning the bathroom temperature was a sweltering 32°C (90°F), despite having a ventilation outlet for the controlled residential ventilation system.
With the right heating element, such a unit can certainly be used as an additional heater – though I’d rather not see the electricity bill for that...
Regards,
Dirk
our bathroom has a floor area of just over 18 sqm (about 194 sq ft) – of which around 4 sqm (about 43 sq ft) (the shower and bathtub area) are not equipped with underfloor heating.
The underfloor heating in the bathroom is installed more densely than in the other rooms, but at a supply temperature of 29°C (84°F), it easily heats the bathroom to 24°C (75°F).
Our heated towel rail (with an electric heating element and a surface area of about 1.6 sqm (0.90 m x 1.80 m) / (3 ft x 6 ft)) is used only to pre-warm towels – purely as a comfort feature.
However, we once forgot to turn it off after showering in the evening (right after moving in – when it wasn't yet programmed), and the next morning the bathroom temperature was a sweltering 32°C (90°F), despite having a ventilation outlet for the controlled residential ventilation system.
With the right heating element, such a unit can certainly be used as an additional heater – though I’d rather not see the electricity bill for that...
Regards,
Dirk
S
Sebastian7926 May 2015 11:52However, it also has a bathroom size that is very unusual – so there is no issue with insufficient heating surface.
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