How do i block heat from UFH in a small area?

[jtothelo]

So I have had UFH installed, and unfortunately because of the layout of the room, the pipes go into a store cupboard where the manifold is.  The thing is, I want to use the rest of this store cupboard to store foodstuff, so I don't want it to get hot in there.  It is only a small area, about 1m x 1.5m.   Can I use some kind of heat reflecting material to keep the heat out of this space?

 

[Radian]

Can you make a false floor using some PIR board? The trouble is, no matter how much insulation you add, after time with no air movement thermal equilibrium will set in through conduction raising the temperature in the enclosed space. If it was possible to leave an air gap between floor level and the base of the cupboard and have it open to the room with some sort of ventilation holes then that would greatly help. I'd still use some PIR between this air gap and the cupboard base.

[AliG]

The manifolds in my house put out so much heat that the rooms where they sit have never had the heating on.

 

Considering it is a very small space, it won't take much to warm it up, I don't think there is a realistic way to cool it down. The heat would have to go somewhere, unless you want to cut a hole in the wall and put a vent in, but then your heating efficiency will be reduced.

 

In winter when the heating is running that cupboard will be toasty warm, maybe you can make it into a drying cupboard.

[JohnMo]

A lot will depend on you temperature at the inlet to mixer and the UFH flow temp.  You can insulate the pipes as they leave manifold and enter the floor until clear of cupboard, then box in and insulate the manifold.