Controls to provide Heating and Cooling via UFH circuits

Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs)

Last Post by mk1fan 3 years ago

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mk1fan

(@mk1fan)

Active Member Member

Joined: 3 years ago

Posts: 3

Topic starter 02/11/2022 5:00 pm

Hello,

Second post after my intro post.

I am after some advice on controls, that is the wall mounted roomstats and manifold control box, and their availability. Is / Are there control systems available that use roomstats to provide heating or cooling via the underfloor heating circuit? Heat compensation systems aren't going to be suitable unless they have been described incorrctly to me.

I am a Building Surveyor and recently we have completed a conversion of an office block into flats. The [performance] spec called for air source heat pumps to provide hot water, heating and cooling (via a zoned, encapsulated pipe system). The pipes are within a sand cement screed. There are no radiators. Each flat has four zones, a direct hot water cylinder and a single external unit.

Prior to asigning the the contract we were informed by both manufacturers and installers that this was possible. Now the moneys been paid, cooling isn't possible and never was, we are told.

An air conditioning installer believes they can modify a/c controls to provide this. Before going forward with this bespoke solution, is there already something on the market?

We understand that the hot water will need to revert to the immersion heaters during cooling. Also, it would be great if it wasn't a 'smart' system like Nest or similar. Not because there is anything wrong with these types of systems, the flat are rentals and a smart system would require either a communal internet service (which tenants may object to) or for the system to be off until incomming tenants sort out an internet provider.

Thank you in advance. At some point I'll post about my own requirements and PV issues 😀

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Derek M

(@derek-m)

Illustrious Member Member

Joined: 4 years ago

Posts: 4427

02/11/2022 5:37 pm

Hi mk1fan,

Welcome to the forum.

Below are some suggestions that you may wish to consider, but please do your own research and due diligence.

Are you considering a monobloc or a split ASHP system? A split system may allow the use of indoor fan units, as used for AC systems, to be used for cooling. The refrigerant gas from the outdoor unit can be used for heating via a indoor hydro unit, or cooling via a indoor fan unit, a diverter valve directing the refrigerant gas one way or the other as required. Whilst it may in theory be possible to cool using UFH, there is always the risk of condensation forming.

One of the forum members recently posted about a hot water cylinder which has a small inbuilt heat pump positioned on the top, which should prove much more efficient than heating water using an immersion heater. The main requirement is that it needs two (I think 100mm or 150mm) ducts to the outside for air flow to and from the heat pump.

An alternative if you have room would be solar PV panels and a power diverter to help provide hot water.

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mk1fan

(@mk1fan)

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Joined: 3 years ago

Posts: 3

Topic starter 02/11/2022 5:57 pm

Hello, thanks for the reply. To clarify, the installation is already been done. Each flat has a single external unit - monobloc. The floor pipework is installed. The flats are occupied. Cooling isn't a priority at the moment 😀

We are seeking a solution to replace the installed roomstats so that the the UFH can provide heating or cooling.

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