Just stumbled across "thermaskirt"
I have dropped them a line but thought I would see if anyone here has dabbled with this product.
Cheers Pete
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Its like the Mira stuff.. you don't want a big drop in temp, if you do you need a lot more skirting as half of it will be cold(er) and half hot, the same as radiators need to be bigger for a system with a condensing boiler.
To make it work with a 20C differential I think you will need to feed in at one end and out at the other and not have a flow and return in the skirting.
Condensing boilers make heating choices somewhat restricted due to the lower operating temps.
Apologies, forgot to say it's a download of their .pdf brochure as if gave most info.
Pete
That was my initial thought and mailed the manufacturer the temp. the technical answer came back as..
"If you work on around 1degC/m with the room at 21 at a flow rate of
56gm/sec you wont be far wrong."I'll do a bit more delving and if I go with it, no doubt will post my findings in due course.
Our boiler is weather compensated so flow temp is usually below 60 degres anyway, and our UFH in the living area only achieves a 10 degree temp. drop at it's best so trying to acheive a 20 degree differencial is more a case of the ultimate goal rather than a practical reallity.
:¬) Pete
Looks interesting. How does it compare cost wise with rads ignoring installation cost?
On a par with UFH but with a fraction of the install costs or disruption.
I have been given a rough figure of £35/metre with an average bedroom going in at around £400 or so.
Don't know if it's inc. or exc. VAT just waiting for an answer back.
I'll let you know.
Pete
No need if the temp is below 60C anyway, it just has to be cool enough that the exhaust gases can condense on the coolest part of the heat exchanger. You do need a lot more rad surface at 60C though, about double what you need at 90C to get the same heat out.
I've worked in offices with skirting level heating, and everyone complained about their feet aching. The combination of underfloor heating and a solid floor I don't find comfortable either, so maybe it's just me. I don't know how it differs in principle from the system used in some
60s council flats where the pipes ran all round the room and were covered by a clip-on skirting with an open vent at the top
We'd be alright on that score then as our bedrooms are downstairs and pretty much under ground. Even in that really cold winter a couple of years back we didn't have any heating in the downstairs bedrooms and they never dropped to less than 10 degrees, so it's not got to achieve a
21 degree room temp in a typical "cold" house.I think, judging by the good woman's reaction we will almost certainly be giving Thermaskirt a go in 3 of the 4 bedrooms and the hallway.
Time will tell as to how well it performs. :¬)
Cheers Pete
We have UFH and wood floor in the living part of the house and it's definatelybetter than the original set-up of 2 huge radiators and really thick carpet that was here when we bought the house.# There rads seemed to create a _lot_ of convection draughts. I think it my just be you. :¬)
Difference is that the skirting _is_ the radiator relying on radiated heat and virtually no convected heat and the material allegedly conducts heat 5x more efficiently than steel. So the info. says. I would have thought the pipes behing clip-on skirting was no more than a quick way of running pipes without lifting boards etc, with the added advantage of a bit of heat out the top. As a guess.
Cheers Pete
But maybe a reasonable solution for solid floors. I can't remember whether it was the only heat source or whether they had rads as well.
Maybe it would be cheaper to run copper pipes and cover them with an equivalent alloy skirting (if such a thing exists).
Fimnrad, quite an effective solution. you didn't need any extra radiators. It was quite deep, 2" IIRC, so furniture couldn't easily go up to the wall. This new narrow stuff at 150W/M may be considerably better in that respect.
This looks like the latest version of skirting heating. The costs don't seem favourable. It will work better in smaller rooms where there is a better wall:floor ratio. There is something to be said about having a specific source of heat even if the total heat transfer is the same.
In what way, Ed? I don't sit close enough to any rad in any room to get radiant heat from it.
Doh! I should check before I send, it should be Finrad.
You always need something to hang your wet clothes/towels/shoes on, and I remember sitting with my back against the radiator as a kid. :¬)
I don't think these really rely on radiant heat, at 60deg flow they're just a big convector with the surface area spread about the room a bit. Ok radiant heat a bit more than a finned rad but still 60% convection?
Cost and maintainability worry me, much as surface mounted trunking, straight lines are no problem but it gets a bit complex at corners where precise cutting and corner pieces (kits) are required. I see that joints and corners use double O-ring seals but they are on oval surfaces and so are going to be proprietary and so subject to long term cost and availability problems.
In summary I'd say great in principle but be aware of the system and cost shortfalls before installing.
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A number of makers have tried this over the years. They appear OK, but those I saw looked naff on the skirting corners. These may be better at that. Depending on price a viable alternative to UFH, but big upheaval in the house as all skirtings are removed and the decorations too.
I know of a guy who was a good woodworker. He used very think MDF, about an inch thick if I recall, and made his own 6 inch high skirtings, cutting channels in it longways with a router and installed 12mm plastic pipe in it. There were no joints behind skirtings. I suggested all the pipes go back to a central point manifold - just like UFH. He used the non-barrier plastic pipe as it was more flexible. I again suggested getting all the ferrous out of the system if he is doing this. He installed a bronze pump and brass towel rail and filled with X-100.
Behind the skirtings he installed some insulation. It worked well. Slow to heat up but worked well. It was a very cheap installation and not that time consuming as he had a proper saw/router table. He had to replace most of the skirtings anyhow so killed a few birds with one stone. The joints at corner were perfect and you would never know that the skirting heated up. His house was triple glazed and well insulated too with cavity wall insulation and over a foot in the loft.
You're probably right but from a customer relations POV having something hot and nearly untouchable in each room is a plus.
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