ᐅ Underfloor heating despite the 2009 energy-saving regulations; replacing standard radiators

Hello everyone,

A quick (hopefully not silly) question:
We are currently having an end-unit row house built according to the 2009 Energy Saving Ordinance.
The house will be heated with a gas condensing boiler and standard radiators by default.
We are now considering replacing the "standard" radiators with underfloor heating (throughout the entire house).

Our thoughts on this:
1) The gas condensing boiler will probably be more efficient.
2) We could possibly integrate a solar thermal system with the underfloor heating at a later date.
3) We would be prepared for more modern heating concepts in the future (heat pump or similar).

Main concerns:
1) The costs: an extra 10,000 euros is not a small amount.
2) The house does not have a KFW-XY rating. So we wonder if the house is energetically "too old" for the idea of a modern heating concept to fail for reasons other than just the underfloor heating.

Does anyone have any helpful advice on this?

Best regards and thanks,

Perouse2012
PS: There is also a wood-burning fireplace (not connected to the heating system).

Hello,

An additional cost of €10,000 for upgrading from standard radiators to underfloor heating would be quite a steep increase. That really shouldn’t be the case.
And if so, keep in mind that the underfloor heating should be installed with closely spaced pipes, for example, to allow efficient use of a different heat source later on, such as a heat pump.
If the house is properly insulated, it might even be worth considering a heat pump right from the start.

Best regards...

Hello Cascada,
thanks for the reply! Unfortunately, the additional cost is no joke: $5,000 for the ground floor, $2,500 for the upper floor, and $2,500 for the attic. A mixed system (conventional heating and underfloor heating) doesn’t make sense, so that adds up to $10,000 total. We have also considered a heat pump, but that will be difficult since the heating system is currently planned for the attic...

At the moment, we will probably leave it as is—$10,000 is simply an outrageously high extra cost.

Hello,

perouse2012 schrieb:
...
Our thoughts on this:...
2) We could possibly integrate the solar thermal system with the underfloor heating at a later stage
3) We are prepared for a later stage and more modern heating concepts (heat pump or similar).

Point 2) does not make economic sense for a single-family house. For domestic hot water with a gas condensing boiler, a solar thermal system is essentially mandatory to be included. However, this could also be avoided with better insulation. This makes sense anyway when using a conventional heat generator.
Point 3) Completely correct, this should not be ignored.

perouse2012 schrieb:
...Key issues:
1) The costs: an additional 10,000 Euros is not a small amount

This is outrageous. 😡
I would cancel the contractor!

Best regards

Hi €ruo,

thank you for your reply! Gas condensing boiler and solar thermal system?
Regarding cancellation: This is no longer possible due to an oversight (not previously informed about the price of optional extras) as the contract has already been signed.

Good luck..

perouse2012 schrieb:
.... Gas condensing boiler and solar thermal system?

- Gas condensing boiler
- Solar thermal system

perouse2012 schrieb:
...
Is .... no longer possible (contract already signed).

I suspected that. Still, good luck with the building project.

Best regards