effectively you can heat. MULTIBETON surface heating works with ...

"Underfloor heating by MULTIBETON is still making everything cosy and warm
after 31 years, without any faults!"
An interview with Rosemarie Grüger-Oswald from Berlin
As Chief Editor, I used the opportunity of an interview with
Ms Grüger-Oswald to find out about her long-term experiences
at first hand, and to pass these on as reasons that can
be used for even more successful marketing of our products.
Thomas Marr (TM): Thank you very much for the photos of
your house. The "historical photo" - when was that taken?
Rosemarie Grüger-Oswald (RGO): That was taken in 1980,
when we still had the old 10-cell solar installation. We renewed
that in 2002. Now it's just 2 cells, providing the same
performance.
TM: You had solar heat and underfloor heating from the very
beginning. That must have been pioneering work back in
1980?
RGO: Too right: we had problems with the countryside protection
authorities due to the solar installation; underfloor
heating was not approved at that time, and finally in the
building approval everything was taken apart and meticulously
examined. Neither was it simple with the manufacturer
of the prefabricated house: Okal interrupted work on the
site; the heating surfaces were fitted, and then Okal continued
with work on site.
TM: How did you come across MULTIBETON?
RGO: During the planning phase, my husband got to know a
heating installation company in the Berlin area. They had a
pioneering spirit and were convinced of the superiority of
MULTIBETON surface heating. At that time, my husband´s
company had installed this type of heating in a kindergarten
and had also gained some initial experience of MB wall
heating systems. They inspired my husband, and finally also
convinced me, because for years I had had nightmares about
underfloor heating systems turning into sprinklers. The idea
wasn't very well received by our friends, and you mustn't
forget that we were building in West Berlin: everything had
to be transported from West Germany through the GDR.
TM: Looking back over 31 years of use, what were the main
advantages of your MULTIBETON underfloor heating system?
RGO: First and foremost is the feel-good factor: the pleasant
feeling, the subjective sensation of warmth, the feeling of
being warmer. In my job as a midwife, I've gone into many
different apartments, and I've always found those with underfloor
heating to be the most pleasant.
And I know what I'm talking about at my age and in my job:
you live more healthily with this sort of heating.
And what mustn't be forgotten is that this heating saves an
immense amount of money!
TM: What heat sources have you used?
RGO: Electricity; it's only ever been electricity. Many people
I've mentioned this to have shaken their heads in disbelief:
electricity, the most expensive energy of all. But that's due to
the insular position of West Berlin. During the day, households,
industry and transport used electricity, and at night,
the power-stations couldn't simply switch off, so a lot was
done using night-storage heaters. We have a system by
Stiebel Eltron with six tanks, which are heated up at night as
4
a buffer. Vattenfall call it electric storage-heater current and
it's allocated by radio.
TM: Ideally, you have got records of your heating costs?
RGO: Of course. Let's take last year (2010/11), as the winter
was particularly cold and long: 10,984 kW/h at 12 cents per
kW/h is € 1,318.08 for hot water and heating a home of 140
m², all using technology from 1981.
TM: What was the maximum flow temperature?
RGO: Never above 40 °C. It took some time to get the heating
set up correctly.
TM: Are all your rooms equipped with underfloor heating?
RGO: Yes, almost all. Converted loft, ground floor and basement,
totalling 135 m², and the remaining 5 m² is a hobby
room.
TM: What is the house made of? Did you provide additional
insulation?
RGO: The house is still just as Okal delivered it: timber-frame
walls, rock wool, wall boards, double-glazed windows with
"PARSOL bronze" coating against overheating in summer. No
changes were ever necessary.
TM: What do you find cosiest in particular?
RGO: All the tiled floors, particularly the hall area; shoes for
outdoors are warmed up, and when you get home it is immediately
cosy. The carpeted rooms are also just right.
TM: Would you build again using MULTIBETON, and if so,
why?
RGO: Yes, always. There are no radiators taking up space,
which young children burn themselves on, which you have to
clean and then replace when they leak, and which slowly turn
the wall and ceiling dark. Even our cat is happy. Children can
play on the floor in the winter without us having to put a
blanket down. And don't forget that MB underfloor heating
goes well with heat pumps. Our heating installer confirmed
that, when we asked him about an air-water heat pump.
TM: Yes, you have ideal conditions for a heat pump: a large
heating area and a low flow temperature because of that.
Current photo of the house and Ms Grüger-Oswald