Electric underfloor heating for a church?

[snowhead]

Sorted;

Pair each of these, to be returned upon exiting of Church,

 

[Simon47]

Hmm, all electric heating in that sort of building - I can't help thinking it might be just as cost effective as getting a load of fivers from the bank and burning them in a brazier
We have a wet system that's been cobbled together over time - starting with the old cast pipes down both sides, and most recently with some fan coils added. It takes the boiler half an hour just to get the (guestimate) 100 gallons of water in the system up to the point where the pipe stats in the fan coils come on.
As they were installed, the fans were far too noisy, so at the start of the service they'd be switched off. At this point, the water in the pipes isn't hot enough for them to do all that much, and the cold draughts coming down off the windows made everyone cold rather quickly. We've done some experimenting, and by changing the stats for a higher temperature, and fitting resistors to give an extra-slow speed we've just about got it to the point where they can stay on and the place isn't too bad now. But it's still expensive to run (oil - no mains gas) and I'd hate to think how much it would cost to heat by electric.

UFH is definitely the way to go in terms of heating, but direct electric would probably be the last choice for running costs. Mains gas & condensing boiler would probably top the list, followed by a heat pump - both wet systems. Oil or tank gas probably still come higher on the list than direct lecky.
BTW - one advantage of wet system is that they are limited in temperature to the temperature of the water going round. If someone puts a rug or carpet down on part fo the floor then that bit of floor can't overheat. Electric is constant energy - if you insulate part of the floor with carpet or furniture, then that part will get hotter (potentially a lot hotter) unless you have self-regulating elements.

 

[7029 dave]

Thanks guys. I should have pointed out that there are no pews there, just plastic chairs.

Methodists then

 

[nicebutdim]

Methodists then

It was in a Methodist church, as a kid, that I first saw under-pew tube heaters

 

[Timbo]

Overhead radiant heaters.
Infra red black heat.

 

[brianmoooore]

Overhead radiant heaters.
Infra red black heat.

Equals warm heads and freezing feet.
There's no perfect solution at a reasonable cost, but under pew tubular heaters do at least warm the seat, and allow congregation members to tuck their feet back and warm them as well.

 

[Simon47]

Equals warm heads and freezing feet.

Yeah, nothing quite like that "I'm sat under the grill" feeling

 

[Last plumber]

Wet system, pipework and rads sited correctly is the best thing for a church in my opinion.
Maybe a couple of Myson low line fan convectors on a separate zone (drop out prior to service).
Infrared wall heater in transepts or other small rooms/areas that might be used on occasion or for small gatherings etc.

 

[Simon47]

I agree, that's probably about the best option for retrofit. If the opportunity arises, UFH (wet), possibly in combination with rads if needed for total heat output gives the advantage of not leaving the feet as cold.
But whatever goes in, churches are usually a p.i.t.a. (and expensive) to heat.

 

[Pretty Mouth]

Thanks for all your comments on this, I'll pass on the info to the church representative.

This might be a better idea than UFH for a church: I recall seeing these at a Christmas market in Berlin years ago, you paid a euro and got 10 minutes or so in them to warm up. (not my photo, stolen from the web)