Types of heating: underfloor, gas, air heat pump? Experiences?

Hello dear ones,

my boyfriend and I want to soon intensify the planning for a new single-family house in Berlin/Brandenburg. We have already had a few conversations with various construction companies just to gather some experience. In many things we feel wiser now, but we are totally uncertain when it comes to heating technology.

You get the feeling that every company tells you something different. Whenever you think you are sure, the next conversation says that is totaaaally wrong.

Therefore, I wanted to ask the experienced ones among you for advice, since I also did not get any clearer from other posts in the forum.

It is supposed to be a 1 1/2-story with about 140 sqm and a basement. We would like to build Kfw 70 to get the subsidy. We do not want geothermal. There must definitely be underfloor heating. We are currently just two. Eventually, two children are supposed to come...

What we have been told so far: underfloor heating and gas boiler is not sensible... underfloor heating with air/heat pump, on the other hand, very sensible... why? I don’t remember anymore... it would probably result in a better balance... ventilation system with heat recovery and underfloor heating is also not good. There is a constant draft, you can easily get sick, and that wouldn’t be ideal either...

We are totally uncertain. Actually, we would simply take underfloor heating and gas, without much gimmick. But that is supposed to be so bad... what is correct now? Can you help?

Ventilation system with heat recovery and underfloor heating is not good either. There is a constant draft, you can easily get sick

Now that you mention it, I know why I'm always sick :)

No, seriously, I even have geothermal energy on top of that. Do I have to drop dead now? Rarely have I read/heard such nonsense. As long as the system is sensibly planned, you can do whatever you want. Individual sellers either have no clue or simply prefer one system. They earn more from it, whatever.

Hello,

here are the possible reasons for the funny answers:

What we have been told so far: underfloor heating and gas boiler is not sensible

It already requires quite some knowledge to achieve KfW 70 exclusively with gas. Also, an air-to-water heat pump "sells" better – everyone wants to have one (although not everyone knows whether it makes sense for them).

....underfloor heating with air/heat pump, on the other hand, is very sensible... why? I don’t remember anymore

Because it is easiest for the in-house structural engineer to calculate, very easy to achieve KfW 70; at least on paper.

Ventilation system with heat recovery and underfloor heating is also not good. It constantly drafts, you can easily get sick, and that wouldn’t be ideal...

A good ventilation system is very expensive, and most gentlemen/ladies consultants can’t sell values. There are certainly reasons against a central system; the above-mentioned ones – with technically flawless planning and installation – certainly are not among them.

We are totally unsettled. Actually, we would just take underfloor heating and gas, without much fuss. But that’s supposed to be so stupid... so what is true now? Can you help?

Then stick with that and don’t let anyone talk you out of it – whether it works without a ventilation system must be calculated by the structural engineer; in many cases a decentralized system plus additional insulation suffices – if you haven’t just bought a purely northern plot.

I can only keep pointing out – even if you are an absolute layperson, your gut feeling will still protect you from many things... if you listen to it :D

Rhenish greetings

@ perlemann: I didn’t find the explanation convincing either... I just can’t imagine that there is a draft in the house... otherwise no one would do that. I rather understood the added value as meaning that you don’t lose as much heat through ventilation and therefore consume less heating costs... initially it doesn’t matter where the heating energy comes from. That’s why I find this principle basically very interesting because you also have a good indoor climate with it, right?

@ Bauexperte: I will definitely listen to my gut. It’s just all not tangible enough for me. How am I supposed to know what new technology will exist in 10 years that could possibly replace the old gas boiler? Maybe it will also turn out that the maintenance or repairs of all the pumps become very expensive and the advantage thus completely nullified. For me, therefore, the gas boiler is first in line together with underfloor heating and insulation of the house to achieve the KFW 70. We are still considering the ventilation.

We do not have underfloor heating, but we are very satisfied with the gas boiler and the ventilation system in combination.

You can have religious wars about which heating system is the best. We chose the cheapest alternative in a KFW 55 house. In our opinion, an expensive heating system does not make sense with very low heating demand.

We did not want geothermal energy, a split outdoor unit is also out of the question, then the options become very limited. And with radiators as we wanted, even more so :)

We also went by gut feeling. We now have underfloor heating with gas and will have that in the house as well. These drillings for geothermal energy cost a few euros, we didn't want anything in the soil, and we also didn't want such an ugly thing in the front yard that constantly releases water and freezes. The only thing that convinced us is the controlled residential ventilation with heat recovery. Houses are airtight after all and need to be ventilated constantly to prevent mold. We can't guarantee that since we both work. We also don't want to become daily slaves to the house.

So we have solid gas + solar and additional insulation, with the controlled residential ventilation Kfw70 :)