SK Services
The Countries Leaders in UFH
& Geothermal Heating Systems

16, Dublin Rd.
Kilkenny.
TEL 056~7723324
FAX 056~7723809

Frequent Questions

Underfloor Heating  Heat Pumps .    Tubs, Showers .    E-mail Us

These are the questions most often asked by our customers. We hope the answers help you. Simply left click the question to get the answer.

  1. How do I get a price?
  2. Does Underfloor Heating take long to heat up?
  3. What about leaks?
  4. What happens if we want to change our floor covering?
  5. How will you work with my builder?
  6. What guarantee have I with your system?
  7. How is the heat controlled?
  8. What can I use to heat the system?
  9. Is it a pressurised or open system?
  10. Will the system airlock?
  11. Can I connect to an existing heating System?
  12. What about Lime in our water supply?
  13. Who does the work of laying the pipe and fitting the system up?
  14. Your question not here? E-mail it to us.
 

How do I get a price... ?

You can use the table on the Prices page to compare your building size with those given. As a rough guide line Underfloor heating costs £20 per m² or £1.97 per sq/foot. 
We need to get a copy of your building plans to give you an exact quotation & to plan your system.
 You may use Fax,  attach plans to an E-mail or ordinary postal delivery.

 

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Does Underfloor Heating take long to heat up?

The first time the system is turned on after the summer it  requires 1 hour per inch of concrete to reach full heat. That would be 3 hours in most normal floor build ups(see Floor Build-ups). 
Warm up time in normal running situation is between 20-30 minutes. Because of the full thermostatic control this is usually invisible to the user. Heat will of course be felt in the room before full warm-up is achieved.

 

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What about leaks?

 The pipe we use (see pipe on system page) is tested extensively during and after production & laid joint-free under your floors. Although the pipe is of extremely high standard and very robust it is not indestructable! Electric drills, kango hammers, nail guns can and have punched holes through pipe work.

The leaking loop of pipe is shut off at the manifold . The concrete is removed to expose the damaged pipe, which is then joined using high quality brass joiners. We never leave a customer in trouble.

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 What happens if we want to change our floor coverings?

Feel free! We lay  the pipe in every room so that you can use whatever floor covering you decide. After all we expect our system to see out your life-time so it has to allow you to change your house a little in that period!

We pipe every room as if for wood flooring. This is the maximum density of pipe and means you can lay any covering you choose on your floors.

 

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Will the system airlock?

No the system cannot airlock as the pipe loops are all siuated lower than the manifold from which any drainage water is bled.

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How will you work with my builder?

We will consult your builder once you give us the go-ahead so that he knows the required floor build -up & at what point in the schedule he needs to bring us in. 

Builders need to be sure that Underfloor Heating will not obstruct or hinder their work. Heat-Tech Solutions is the countries leading specialist installer of Underfloor Heating. Our operators are highly professional & vastly expirienced.

Pipe is laid only when the builder is ready to pour the finished floor. We will lay the pipe & pressure test the system for an  200m² bugalow inabout 4-6 hours, so your builder won't even notice that Underfloor Heating is being used!

 

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What Guarentee have I with your system?

There is a 50 year guarantee on  the pipe & a .

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How is the heat controlled?

With our system you have full thermostic control ofthe entire premises. Each separate room (except bathroom/ensuite) is individually piped & has its own thermostat. This is the ultimate in zone control.

 Because of safety concerns bathrooms are controlled with a suitable adjoining area as mains switching thermostats cannot be installed in a potentially wet area. Radio signalling low voltage thermostats can be installed in bathrooms /ensuites though these are more expensive.

The Logic Control Panel is answerable to the thermostats, opening the manifold valves & signalling the heat source on their signal. Progammable Logic Control is installed where BTU requirement demands multi-unit heat source.

You can judge the quality of a heating system from the quality of controls offered.

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What can I use to heat the system?

Underfloor heating allows you to use all conventional boilers & all the leading manufacturers are glad to endorse our system (see the heat source page in this site). 
Because of its low operating temperatures Underfloor Heating allows you to use new green technologies such as Heat Pumps & solar power. 
Underfloor heating future proofs your house by opening up these possibilities.

Heat Pumps use refrigeration technology to take the heat from a coil of pipe outside to heat the house. Because free heat is collected rather than fuel burned a heat pump can run at an astounding 400% fuel efficiency. In effect for every €1 spent powering the heat pump €4 worth of heat is recieved.
We believe heat pumps to be the future of heating. See our comprehensive website at www.heatpumpsireland.com

 

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Is it a pressurised or open system?

Our Underfloor Heating can be installled as a pressurised or open system. A pressurised system carries less oxygen to corrode the boiler.

A 5 litre presure vessel is adequete for a 200m² house.

 

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What about lime in our water supply?

Since the temperatures used in Underfloor Heating are low ( typically between 39°c & 50°c ) lime is not precipitated out of even the hardest water. The water supply in your underfloor pipes remains relatively unchanged, with little or no "new" water entering your system. Lime is not a problem!

 

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Who does the work of laying the pipe & fitting the system up?

Our trained & experienced operators will lay the pipe. later we will fit the manifold , fill and commission the system. We use nosub-contractors or agents.

Your elecrician fits the thermostats & relay panel we supply. We will, of course, supply full detailed instructions ( see Cabling/Wiring to for a look at the wiring requirements ).

Your plumber will supply a 1" flow & return to the manifold(s) from the boiler (if you arer using a conventional boiler: see Heat Source and our heat pumps site at Heat Pumps for all the information)

 

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Copyright © 2001 Heat-Tech Solutions Ltd. All rights reserved.
Revised:July 20th, 2003.

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