heated skirting boards

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Neehallow

Registered User
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Hi all

I've been reading every post I could find on heating systems for a new build and still can't make up my mind. One possibility that does interest me, and which there seems to be very little discussion about is that of skirting boards that incorporate heating in some way.

A number of reasons I like this (as a concept if nothing else)

1. no ugly rads
2. heat source close to ground
3. heat not affected by different types of flooring in different rooms
4. I'm a big fan of carpet (not ideal for UFH)
5. possibility of offering some of the flexibility of rads - ie: when you just want a blast of heating for a couple of hours (as opposed to constant temp)
6. cheaper than underfloor to install (??) while offering equivalent aesthetic benefit

ok - thing is - they're just my assumptions, and if they're true then why aren't more people using a system like this in their houses.

Anyone got any experience of this sort of thing - even recommended suppliers that I could contact?

Thanks.
 
We have skirting rads downstairs in our house.They were in when we bought the house 20 odd years ago andI have to say that I would never change them for conventionsl radiators. In the sitting room they are the full length of three walls so we have all round heating rather than heating zones.
Given the age, ours are fairly industrial looking but I have seen modern versions which look just like ordinary skirting.

In the unlikely event that we were to move to another house I would install the system in the new place.
 
Hi

I looked into these about a year ago, but decided against them in the end. The main reasons for deciding against them were the additional cost and the plasticey look of them. Both myself and my wife like timber skirting boards (not painted), but find the woodgrain effect skirting not very realistic. We ended up going with the alurad aluminium radiators in the end.
 
There's some info in these previous threads:
Skirting board radiators... Good or bad?
Thermaskirt- any one using it?

The main brands seem to be [broken link removed], [broken link removed], [broken link removed], [broken link removed], .

The company doing the Gabotherm skirting boards that I'd not seen as a concept before now. Very tidy looking, but I'd be worried about having to access it if something went wrong.

If the main thing you have against standard rads is their ugliness, there are also loads of 'designer' rads available from various manufacturers that are more attractive. Some (high output) examples in this thread, but there are loads more manufacturers. Not cheap though.
 
thanks for that damson - just had a look at those old posts there and comments seem to be generally positive - will do some further research now on the brands you suggested.
 
I remember as a child we used to have skirting radiators, but in hindsight they didn't look great. Most wouldn't go for them now.

I remember a fella on Dragon's Den selling them, but they just looked like normal skirting boards, but had 2 pipes built-in to them. I thought it was a great idea but the dragon's didn't go for it :rolleyes:
 
Neehallow,

You just read my mind! We are starting off with our self-build and are looking the different heating systems available. Really don't want radiators but not gone on UFH either. Really don't think its suitable for our climate where we need a quick response and also if something goes wrong, up comes your floor!

Seen a skirting board heating system at a self build show (can't remember which supplier). The concept seems excellent and none of this issues with UFH. Have to say wasn't impressed from a visual perspective with the product we saw but the stand didn't seem very well organised and there maybe better suppliers/products out there.

My question and worry is if the system is so good (not considering the visual aspect for the minute) why especially with all the houses that have been built in the last few years) are there not more people using is?

Has anyone costed the product as opposed UFH?
 
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