> (turns out most countries don't pump hot water around their houses!)
At the risk of sounding ignorant, what's the alternative that other countries use? Simply electricity?
At the risk of sounding ignorant, what's the alternative that other countries use? Simply electricity?
New technologies such as Passivhaus, ground source and air source heat pumps are also changing the heat landscape quite a bit (if on a small scale at the moment).
It astounds me that new developments still get white steel atrocities strapped to the walls, among other things like white plastic UX-disaster thermostats.
You can do electric underfloor upstairs but water is a no go upstairs unless you are concreting. The best balance is water based underfloor downstairs, underfloor electric in upstairs bathrooms + a heated towel rail (water or electric) and then water filled radiators upstairs that either run off a traditional boiler or an air source heat pump. You could use a ground source heat pump but, depending on how far north one is this can land up freezing the ground and creating a kind of localised permafrost unless you run the system backward in the summer. You could also use solr thermal if happy with balck panels on the roof.
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/retrofitting-radiant-heat...
I guess more so in areas where cooling is less needed.