Kim Sear: Underfloor Heating Linked to Solar Thermal
Key Components: Rayomax System, Electric Underfloor Heating, Solar Panels and Solar Thermal Stores.
Kim's project involved a self-build that started in 1990. Over a number of years, various alterations were made on the build and decided that underfloor heating linked to solar thermal was the next step forward to heating the property and gaining from renewable energy.
Kim explained to us that his property had no central heating and they relied on other sources to heat the property. When first considering other heat sources, underfloor heating was the last thing on his mind – he thought the project would be too much of an upheaval and that the cost would be too high. However, in a moment of weakness, mixed with the power of his wife, they went ahead and contacted Rayotec for a quotation and purchased soon after!
Their project involved an area of 105m2 with which the Rayomax system was to be laid within a screed.
The UFH was installed by the two of them within a few days and employed a professional plumber to install the solar panels and solar thermalstore.
We asked them how they found living with underfloor heating and they responded:
So far the underfloor heating has been a joy, particularly as we were not used to having such a warm place. It seems to produce enough heat and warms up at a reasonable rate. We are still experimenting with the thermostat settings for each zone, but this with sort itself out with time.
Having a solar linked to underfloor heating system we also asked their views and performance on our solar thermalstore we supplied them with:
The thermalstore has been excellent, no problems and plenty of hot water. It will be fascinating to see how much hot water it will produce on a hot summer day, as it has been doing an excellent job with cold sunny winter days. Some days it needs a boost from the boiler, but many days we are self sufficient with hot water. We have installed a 1000 litre water cold water tank because the property is in the countryside and water pressure is variable (there are times when we have no water because the local farmer has all his taps on). Therefore we have a pump to deliver water from this tank so pressure is excellent and not an issue.
As a final comment:
I don't know much about other companies offering similar products, but I know we have had excellent support, advice and customer care from Rayotec. I have recommended the company to others and will continue to do so.
Thank you Kim and Isobel!
Back to Case Studies
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- Kim Sear: Underfloor Heating Linked to Solar Thermal