SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

I have been trailing through the net looking for info on electric under floor heating. But not really found much info. We are due to move into a house in Gipton which as the above mentioned heating. The house was built in the mid to late 60's. Could any one supply me with any info on this type of heating. i.e is it expensive, does it supply adequate heat & can you lay carpet over the floor??????

In my early teens (late 70's) I lived in a maisonnette in Moortown with underfloor heating. Probably sixties or late fifties build.My experience second hand via my mother and possibly distorted by time was it was inefficient and prohibitively expensive even then. I also got the impression that having carpeting was deflecting the heat to the maisonette below

I have lived in multi storey flats which had been built with electric underfloor heating. By then it had been disconnected and sealed off, and replaced by electric storage heaters (Mark 1 version which were abominable - bulky, ugly and expensive).    Not too sure about the characteristics of underfloor heating, but it has definitely been superceded in many dwellings, and I think it is notoriously expensive to run and not recommended with foam back carpets, although I think the latter have virtually disappeared also these days. However all this is only hearsay for me oersonally so perhaps someone with actual experience can advise you better.

If there's a flat upstairs, check if they have under-floor heating, and foam-backed carpets. That way, you get over-ceiling heating. And it's free!!!

Part of the pronbem with the maisonnettes built in Gipton and Seacroft is that the rooms were large, for anyone moving from the slum clearance housing these would have seemed like ballrooms.The next problem was the large amounts of glazing - so all the heat just went straight out.The other problem is the construction of those houses, they were prefabricated and didn't retain heat at all well.Most of them had originally been intedned for a lifespan of 25 years, and were in place quite some time later.Some had a hot air system fitted, but again, not very effective.To cap it all, they were also all electric, so you didn't have any choice, and for many many years, electric heating has been far more expensive than the alternatives.

At points I've lived in both a flat, a maisonette and now a house with underfloor heating. Turn it up high enough and it's a very effective form of heating, but it isn't cheap. I'd imagine that now most places have double glazing, etc rather than the rotten wooden window frames we had that heat will be retained much better and maybe the awful condensation won't be as bad either?As far as I know, if the underfloor heating ever develops a fault it's just sealed off and storage heaters are put in mainly due to the effort involved taking up the floor to put it right. The house I live in now had underfloor heating which worked fine, but has now simply been disconnected as part of refurbishment work and storage heaters fitted even though they aren't really warranted. This was to meet govermnet targets as apparently not having some form of central heating isn't allowed anymore...

raveydavey wrote: At points I've lived in both a flat, a maisonette and now a house with underfloor heating. Turn it up high enough and it's a very effective form of heating, but it isn't cheap. I'd imagine that now most places have double glazing, etc rather than the rotten wooden window frames we had that heat will be retained much better and maybe the awful condensation won't be as bad either?As far as I know, if the underfloor heating ever develops a fault it's just sealed off and storage heaters are put in mainly due to the effort involved taking up the floor to put it right. The house I live in now had underfloor heating which worked fine, but has now simply been disconnected as part of refurbishment work and storage heaters fitted even though they aren't really warranted. This was to meet govermnet targets as apparently not having some form of central heating isn't allowed anymore... Hi raveydavey. We dont even know if the underfloor heating works as the council wont give us a key until the day we are due to move in. I know the living room floor as vinyl tiles down & i think this is due to underfloor heating. We had a talk to one of the council workers today & he said that storage heaters would be fitted in the hall & upstairs. Are these heaters expensive to run & do they give out enough heat. We are just a bit concerned as we have a 17 month old boy. The house we live in now as instant hot water & full gas central heating but the house is too small for us now. So it will be a step backwards.

Si wrote: If there's a flat upstairs, check if they have under-floor heating, and foam-backed carpets. That way, you get over-ceiling heating. And it's free!!! Hi Si,Its an house!

magic wrote: Si wrote: If there's a flat upstairs, check if they have under-floor heating, and foam-backed carpets. That way, you get over-ceiling heating. And it's free!!! Hi Si,Its an house! Oooops!!!

HiI live in a multistorey block and we have storage heaters, there are a couple of schools of thought regarding these and I guess each case has to be assessed on its individual merits. Personally I do not use the storage heaters. They store up the heat using 'cheap' electricity at night (off peak time) and then let the stored heat out during the day. Ironically tho this means the heaters are generally at their optimum temperature from the early hours of the morning until around mid-afternoon. This is great for waking up to t toasty warm house, but I dont like it too warm when I am in bed as its not conducive for waking up / getting out of bed, i.e, the warmth tends to make you feel sleepy. Also generally if you are in bed underneath thick duvets / blankets etc you hardly need the heating on! The heat from mid-afternoon onwards starts diminishing although you can stil feel the warmth in the background, albeit not as warm as earlier. Unless you are a pensioner and at home all day you are more or less paying to heat the house while you are not there. The heaters are very costly to keep running and when I have used them I have really only use the one in my living room. Its virtually pointless heating up your hallway. Even using just the one heater can be expensive, especially considering the cost of energy these days. As an alternative I normally use a halogen heater that provides instant heat wherever I want it. Another problem with the storage heaters is that they do not provide instant heat, if you wanted to heat your home you would have to turn the heaters on the day before you wanted the warmth, and with the British weather been like it is you may find that when the heat finally arrives its no longer needed because the sun is shining again and the temperature has gone up. I think its ridiculous that Leeds city council is still encouraging the use of these heaters, I know in some areas they are implementing their 'Heat' scheme where they are modernising peoples heating systems but in high rise flats they have just completed removing gas supplies for people that once had them. The council are providing some bizarre options for installing 'alternative' energy heating which includes solar and 'back-ground' heating energy sources but this isnt been rolled out city-wide - and probably wont be. Anyway good luck with your storage heaters - personally I think you would be better off investing in some good quality oil-filled radiators where you have more control over what heat you get / when.