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Old 11-30-14, 01:21 PM   #9
SDMCF
Apprentice EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by randen View Post
The old cast-iron radiators are the old tech. that require very high temp water to offer any sort of comfort. They will work with a wood fired boiler but you will be kept warm with the constant wood cutting hauling and loading of your boiler. I understand you will have a huge heat battery but you will have issues with trying to keep it at temps around the 80Deg.C plus temps.
It seems common to run radiators at 80+C, but I really don't understand why systems are designed to require that. The temperature at which you run the rads will depend on how well your house is insulated, and how many rads you have compared to the space you need to heat. Our house mainly uses a mixture of cast iron and flat panel radiators, powered by a GSHP. The water coming out of the GSHP never comes anywhere near 80C. Even during the coldest winter it never gets above 55C. Most of the time it is significantly less. For example, today it is -3C outside and the GSHP is pumping out water at around 35-40C to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature. So rads can operate at lower temperatures in a decent situation. If this is possible in our house, which dates from the 1890s, and in our climate, it should be possible most places.

I agree that underfloor heating is a more desirable solution but in a retrofit situation I can certainly understand why radiators would be a more attractive proposition.
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