Residential hydronic floor heating project

O'Connor, Australian Capital Territory

Project in progress

This older home in O’Connor, in Canberra’s inner north, is being renovated with HOYA Ondol hydronic floor heating across about 150 m² of the house. The owners chose a solid timber floor finish, with a heat pump as the heat source.

HOYA Ondol B and C panels are laid directly over the particleboard subfloor. The heating pipe sits in the channels moulded into the panels and cover panels go over the top, so no concrete screed is poured. In a renovation, that keeps the added floor height low and avoids the drying time a screed needs.

Project at a glance

LocationO'Connor ACT 2602
Type of jobRenovation
Area heatedAbout 150 m²
HOYA Ondol panelsB and C panels
Floor finishSolid timber
Heat sourceHeat pump
BuilderEight Building Group
Fyshwick ACT
Hydronic plumberBlue Planet Plumbing
St Ives NSW

Laying the panels

The first panels went down beside the manifold position, working out across the rooms from there.

First HOYA Ondol panels laid over the particleboard subfloor beside the new manifold, in a timber-framed renovation in O'Connor, ACT
First panels over the particleboard subfloor, beside the manifold.
HOYA Ondol panels laid out in front of the manifold before the heating pipe is fitted
Panels laid out in front of the manifold before the pipe goes in.

The manifold and pipe circuits

Hydronic floor heating manifold with flow and return valves mounted on a board above the HOYA Ondol panels

Products used

  • HOYA Ondol B and C panels laid over the particleboard subfloor, with cover panels over the pipe
  • Hydronic manifold with flow and return valves for each circuit
  • Heat pump as the heat source

Pipe circuits run from the manifold out through the panel channels to each area of the house. The manifold and heat pump connections are made by a licensed plumber.

Hydronic pipe circuits running from a wall-mounted manifold across black HOYA Ondol panels into the surrounding rooms in the O'Connor ACT renovation
Pipe circuits leaving the manifold and fanning out through the panels.
Close-up of the pressure gauge and temperature gauge on the hydronic manifold in the O'Connor ACT renovation
Pressure and temperature gauges on the manifold.

Pipe laid through the rooms

Heating pipe laid in serpentine loops through HOYA Ondol panels across an open-plan area
Pipe loops across an open-plan area.
Large room in the O'Connor ACT renovation with white hydronic pipe loops laid in black HOYA Ondol panels and a coil of pipe on a dispenser
Pipe loops laid across a large room, with the next coil of pipe ready to go.
Bedroom in the O'Connor ACT renovation with white hydronic pipe laid in a loop around the room in black HOYA Ondol panels
A bedroom with the pipe laid in a loop around the room.
Bedroom in the O'Connor ACT renovation with white hydronic pipe laid in a serpentine loop pattern across black HOYA Ondol panels
A second bedroom with the full loop pattern laid.

Cover panels over the pipe

Once the pipe is in, cover panels go over the top to give a flat, solid base for the timber floor. These two photos show the same living room before and after the cover panels went down.

Living room with a brick fireplace and HOYA Ondol panels across the floor, with white heating pipe running through the panel channels
Before: the pipe laid through the living room panels.
Living room with a brick fireplace in the O'Connor ACT renovation, with cover panels laid over the heating pipe ready for the solid timber floor
After: the cover panels laid over the pipe, ready for the solid timber floor.

Project in progress. We will add photos of the finished solid timber floors when the work is complete.

Who is involved

Installation note: The panels can be laid by a builder, carpenter or flooring installer, following HOYA Ondol’s installation instructions and the panel and pipe layout designed for your floor, working with your hydronic installer. Manifold, heat pump or boiler connections must be made by a licensed plumber, and electrical work by a licensed electrician. In some states, laying the heating pipe itself is also licensed plumbing work, so check with your installer. Warranty requires licensed connections. This does not limit your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. Read the warranty conditions.

Where to next

HOYA Ondol B-Panel, a 500 by 500 mm dry hydronic heating panel with straight and curved channels, shown with its cover panel lifted above it

HOYA Ondol panels

A, B and C panels for timber, tile and renovation floors.

Timber frame of a new two-storey house under construction

Send us your plans

A heating layout and quote prepared from your house plans.

Illustration of two miniature installer figures in orange high-visibility vests standing on a black HOYA Ondol floor heating panel, one checking a tablet and one pointing at the white heating pipe in its channel

Support

Installation guides, panel specifications and videos.

Renovated room with newly finished timber floorboards and a floor vent

Register your warranty

Record your installation and the licensed trades who did it.