Now, while dozens of years ago people put on an extra jumper and just dealt with it, we require a different comfort from our home these days:

We don´t want to dread the winter inside.
We want to feel comfortable and warm.
We want to feel HOME.

How to get there?

There’s the proven and sustainable way to do this.

And the wasteful and uncomfortable way.

Let me explain…

The problem with these beautiful old houses is that they’re not airtight (they allow for ventilation at high level) and they usually have very solid thick walls (for thermal mass). So this means they’re great during summer. The warm air in the rooms is ventilated out. And the solid walls with thermal mass keep cool.

But living in these houses during winter can be challenging.

If you try to heat them up with reverse cycle air-con, you run into the following problem:

These magnificent old buildings have beautiful high ceilings. And we all know what warm air likes rise! So the warm air rises, leaving cold air at floor level… and then your “built-in” house ventilation system lets this warm air escape to outside.

So it’s clear… you’re fighting a losing battle with aircon in such a house.

Now in Europe, where it’s sub-zero in winter, they keep their houses air-tight, so they don’t have problems with warmth escaping. But they do traditionally build their houses with super-thick walls – We’re talking up to half a metre thick of solid stone walls. And they know that they have no chance of heating these houses with such high thermal mass (from the walls) with aircon.

That’s why they traditionally used radiator panels (and more recently floor heating).

Imagine this: First, think of standing in the warm sunshine on a clear winter’s day. The air around you is cold… yet you feel nice and warm.

Next, picture yourself in the shade on a cold day, with a hairdryer pointed at your face blowing hot air at you.

You guessed it: The first scenario is with ‘radiant’ heat, equivalent to that of radiators and floor heating, and is very pleasant.

The second scenario is comparable to aircon – technically you’re being warmed up by the hot air, but your skin and eyes feel dry, and your feet still feel cold.

Why is there such a difference?

Well what happens is that the radiators (or floor heating) don’t concentrate on heating the air in the house. They emit heat radiation. And this heat radiation does not need to pass the energy to you or the rest of your family via the air… it does it invisibly, comfortably, and directly.

It’s like standing outside in the sunlight on a chilly spring day. Even though the air is cold, you feel warm from the sun’s heat radiation.

There are no dry eyes, or hot ears and faces from hot air-conditioning. Just pleasant and natural warmth that you don’t even notice.

So it’s not surprise that many people choose to have radiators retro-fitted into their homes: they not only provide luxurious comfort, but when installed right, provide energy efficiency and low running costs.

And you don’t have to choose either a radiator or floor heating system: Radiators can be combined with floor heating systems where new additions are built onto existing homes – radiators in the existing part of the house, and floor heating to the new addition. All running automatically and flawlessly as one combined system.

If you would like to make your house super comfortable during winter too, Euroheat would love to be the ones to help you:

• Hydronic Radiator/Floor Heating System: We’ll meet up with you, and look at your existing house (and your renovation/addition plans if any) – taking measurements and notes. From this we can establish how best to warm your home, and provide you with a detailed quotation. If you choose to proceed, our installers will cleanly and efficiently install high quality insulated piping, European made radiators and heat sources. All piping and equipment will be tested to make sure it’s working at it’s best, and then we’ll walk you through how to run the system.

• Fresh Air Ventilation: Keeping the air quality in your house high is super easy. We will monitor the CO2 levels (so we know precisely when fresh air is needed). And we can mix in this fresh air either with your aircon, or supply it direct. Even a dedicated heat exchange ventilator can be used to exhaust the stale indoor air and supply fresh outdoor air (without losing much thermal energy). All you’ll see is some good-looking grilles that we install in the ceiling, and you’ll feel the benefit of fresh air.

• Integrated Hydronic HVAC: You don’t need to have 10 separate pieces of equipment for the services in your house – we’ll combine them all into one for you e.g. combined floor heating, aircon, pool, hot water system). Why? Because this way you not only save space, but you dramatically increase the efficiency of your services by having them work together (and not against each other).

• Thermal Insulation: Did you know that even if you install thermal insulation to your house, your energy bills can still be sky-high? That’s because of two reasons – the first is that if the insulation is installed poorly (gaps, airflow between, compressed or dusty) it can effectively null the performance. The second is, not all insulation products are as good as they’re touted (e.g. foil and blanket insulations). Due to technicalities, they are allowed to state their performance as higher than it actually is in any real-life application. But we’ll only recommend to you what we know works.

If you’d like to create a totally natural feel and comfortable climate in your home in winter too, give us a call and we can have a quick introductory 15 min. consultation over the phone with you about your plans. To help you understand the process. To help you select the right building products or HVAC systems. And to answer any questions. We promise no salesy pitching, just info on physics, energy flows, thermal efficiencies and how to use it all in seamlessly heating/cooling your house… 08 6468 8895

If you´d like to get our detailed expert opinion and guidance, please see our expert consultation option here.