Bilberry Farm

This underfloor heating project was an existing building set in a stunning isolated location. The client decided to strip the interior bare, reducing the residence to a shell. The project was taken back to four walls and a roof, giving the interior designers room to let their imaginations run wild. A fresh start with a modern look was called for, and an energy efficient, underfloor heating solution to match it.

Working with the consultants' exacting requirements, we found the ideal solution by using a high density underfloor heating system with energy supplied from two ground source, Siebel Eltron heat pumps using an open loop system. The heat pumps extracted the energy required to heat the underfloor heating, by pumping ground water out of 2 boreholes, extracting the energy from the water, then recycling the used water down a third borehole. This system proved to be very efficient, when used with the underfloor heating system.

Installing the underfloor heating equipment proved to be more difficult than anticipated, due to floor high variations from one end of the building to the other. There appeared to be a 75mm floor height differential caused by a couple of large extensions to the property in the past, making the installation of the underfloor heating equipment more challenging. The problem with having such a large variation in floor height is the effects the extra mass of screed has on the performance of the underfloor heating system. This extra mass of screed can result in a slower response time for the underfloor heating system, as well as impairing its performance. This can be particularly bad if the situation occurs within a single underfloor heating pipe circuit, or within the same room.

The issue was resolved by careful adjustment of the underfloor heating insulation. The insulation thickness was increased to compensate for the floor height differential, and in some areas the thickness of underfloor heating insulation was doubled. This was not by any means the cheapest were to solve the problem, but from a performance perspective, the underfloor heating system would not be impaired.

Good project management and client liaison was essential with this underfloor heating design and installation project, as changes were occurring on an almost daily basis. UFH Supply was always on hand to provide assistance from the initial consultation and provide support for the other traders, through to the final installation to help finish this project on time.