ᐅ Individual Room Control for Air-to-Water Heat Pump and Underfloor Heating
Created on: 31 Jan 2023 20:20
W
Waldbewohner
Hello,
this is more of a general question rather than related to a specific construction project.
I have increasingly heard from acquaintances that heating engineers/general contractors often recommend an electronic radiator thermostat (ERT) when heating with an air-to-water heat pump. We have also already received such an offer.
However, it seems that the whole internet is of the opinion that an ERT is not only pointless but even counterproductive.
I find it hard to judge, but the explanations sound convincing.
1) In solid construction, after a certain time, the entire space within the thermal envelope is heated to roughly the same temperature anyway. So it is pointless to turn off the heating in rarely used rooms because they are heated through the other rooms.
2) The entire masonry, screed, etc., makes the heating behavior very sluggish, and the low flow temperatures do not allow targeted "boosts." Therefore, it is more sensible to simply keep the entire underfloor heating running constantly and operate the heat pump in the "comfort range" at the lowest possible flow temperature.
3) As in point 2: increasing the room temperature at the thermostat by 2°C (3.6°F) takes many hours to become noticeable due to the sluggish system. So if it’s too cold in the evening, adjusting the thermostat doesn’t help anyway.
I am not an expert, but this sounds plausible.
Is an ERT really counterproductive and should it be avoided in solid construction with an air-to-water heat pump?
this is more of a general question rather than related to a specific construction project.
I have increasingly heard from acquaintances that heating engineers/general contractors often recommend an electronic radiator thermostat (ERT) when heating with an air-to-water heat pump. We have also already received such an offer.
However, it seems that the whole internet is of the opinion that an ERT is not only pointless but even counterproductive.
I find it hard to judge, but the explanations sound convincing.
1) In solid construction, after a certain time, the entire space within the thermal envelope is heated to roughly the same temperature anyway. So it is pointless to turn off the heating in rarely used rooms because they are heated through the other rooms.
2) The entire masonry, screed, etc., makes the heating behavior very sluggish, and the low flow temperatures do not allow targeted "boosts." Therefore, it is more sensible to simply keep the entire underfloor heating running constantly and operate the heat pump in the "comfort range" at the lowest possible flow temperature.
3) As in point 2: increasing the room temperature at the thermostat by 2°C (3.6°F) takes many hours to become noticeable due to the sluggish system. So if it’s too cold in the evening, adjusting the thermostat doesn’t help anyway.
I am not an expert, but this sounds plausible.
Is an ERT really counterproductive and should it be avoided in solid construction with an air-to-water heat pump?
In the bedroom, you want to heat very little but cool a lot. In the bathroom, you want to heat a lot but not cool at all. This simply cannot be achieved with hydraulic/thermal balancing without ERR. And the 3°C (5°F) that passive cooling provides can definitely make the difference between uncomfortable and comfortable. Even just a cool floor has a subjective effect on the perception of warmth.
W
WilhelmRo2 Feb 2023 11:49I would definitely install it. In my bedroom, it’s 19°C (66°F) and in the living room, 23°C (73°F) – how do you expect to achieve that otherwise?
(I also thought "dust catcher" was cool... flush-mounted and that’s it. If you install surface-mounted... your own fault)
(I also thought "dust catcher" was cool... flush-mounted and that’s it. If you install surface-mounted... your own fault)
WilhelmRo schrieb:
I would definitely install it. My bedroom is 19°C (66°F) and the living room is 23°C (73°F) – how else would you achieve that?
(I also thought the "dust trap" was cool... flush-mounted and that’s it. If you use surface-mounted... your own fault) It’s possible without that too; I controlled the actuator via the heating circuit distributors. And every room has the temperature I want.
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