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for the lounge
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for the bathroom
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for the kitchen
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underfloor heating – the benefits;
underfloor heating is ideally suited to renewable heating technologies;
underfloor heating is a more pleasant form of heating for the building
occupants;
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As
the whole floor achieves a uniform temperature far closer to the
desired air temperature of the room, there is far less thermal
movement of the air within the room due to convection currents, so
fewer draughts and a more even spread of temperature is achieved from floor to
ceiling. You never have cold feet in a room heated with underfloor
heating! Also no hot panels to attract and trap dust, pet hairs, etc.
underfloor heating is generally more controllable than other systems;
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As
the pipes in each room create independently controlled zones, this
then allows that room to be heated to any desired temperature to any
timed patten to suit the occupiers. Each zone is controlled by a
programmable thermostat. Generally the temperature fluctuations over a
24 hour period are less extreme in buildings fitted with underfloor
heating.
underfloor heating operates at a lower temperature than more traditional
systems;
underfloor heating is quieter than other forms of heating;
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The lower temperatures mean that there is less movement in the pipes,
and if the pipes are buried in a concrete floor, then they are totally
silent. Low flow rates of the circulation water means there is very
little noise from the flow of water through the pipes.
underfloor heating is ideal in rooms and spaces with high ceilings;
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Because the floor temperature in an underfloor heating system is
always much lower than radiators, and the spread of heat is uniform
across the whole floor, there are far fewer convection currents than
with radiators and the spread of heat from floor to ceiling is far
more uniform. Also because cold air sinks due to gravity, the heat is
put into the room at the coldest area.
underfloor heating can be fitted into most types of floor construction;
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There are wet underfloor heating systems to suit concrete or solid
floors, suspended timber floors for installation both below or above
the floor boards, and for floating floors. Also all types of ceramic,
porcelain and stone finish are ideal to lay over the top of wet
underfloor heating, many real wood floors and laminates can also be used or
even carpets.
underfloor heating can be used for passive cooling of the property;
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If
the system is capable, the underfloor pipe work can be cooled
slightly in the summer to provide passive cooling, this is not as
powerful as air conditioning, but it is far cheaper to run and is
generally sufficient for maintaining comfort conditions for most
summers in the UK.
underfloor heating frees wall space that would otherwise be taken by radiators;
When we
talk about underfloor heating, we mean pipes incorporated in the floor
structure which are heated by warm water flowing through them. There are
several differing systems to accommodate various types of floor
construction. Because of the low operating temperature of underfloor
heating, it is particularly well suited for use in conjunction with both
heat pumps and solar heating. If used with the right type of heat pump,
the water in the underfloor circuit can also be cooled in warm weather to
offer passive cooling to the property. This is far cheaper to use than
active air conditioning, but is usually sufficiently effective in an
average UK summer!
It is
possible to fit electrically heated ‘under tile’ heating, we do not
consider this to be true underfloor heating. Although it is cheaper to
fit than wet underfloor heating, it is far more costly to run. It can be
a good option for relatively small floor areas, particularly those with
hard floor finishes, tiles, stone, etc, mainly bathrooms or kitchens.
Please see our bathroom page for more information
Screed
Floors.
This is
the best system of underfloor heating, when the pipes are fitted in a
solid cement based floor construction. In this form, the pipes are fitted
in the top layer of screed on a concrete floor, and there is a thick layer
of insulation below the main, structural layer of concrete in the floor.
Because the whole section of the floor with the pipes embedded, usually at
least 80mm thick, becomes the heat emitter for the room or space, the
surface temperature does not need to be very high since the thermal mass
of the floor is so high. Because there is a large amount of concrete at a
relatively low temperature, this heats the room really well, rather than
using a far smaller amount of radiators at a relatively high temperature.
This type of construction is really only viable in new build situations,
but can be applied to just a single room extension, if the floor is
constructed correctly.
Suspended timber floors.
In this,
the most traditional type of floor construction, one option is to fit the
heating pipes below the floor boards, with aluminium heat spreader plates
to help transfer the heat to the underside of the boards, and with a layer
of rigid insulation below the pipes. A really good alternative, is to fit
an ‘overlay’ system, which puts the pipes mounted in a dense thermal board
made of Fermacel, or some similar product, on top of the floor boards,
this has the benefit of improving the heat transfer rate from te pipes, as
the floor boards are not between the heating pipes and the air of the
room.
Floating floors.
This is a
viable alternative to a screed floor, and utilises a thick, rigid
insulation panel with the heating pipes fitted into grooves in the top.
The timber or laminated floor finish is then laid over the top.
Control mechanism.
One of
the benefits of underfloor heating is that it allows independent control
of each room or zone. In large rooms or spaces, this allows different
sections of the space to be heated to different temperatures. Each room or
zone is controlled by a programmable room thermostat which allows the user
to select what temperature is required in the room at what time. For
example, bedrooms can be heated to lower temperatures than living rooms or
bathrooms, and the time of day that any particular room is heated, can be
different for each room on the system. The system is set up in such a way,
that any zone on the system can operate independently of all the others.
The control mechanism then causes the pump and boiler to operate to heat
whichever zone is calling for heat. The individual room controllers can be
managed by an overall controller, which can manage the total demands on
the heat source and take into account the weather and outside temperature
variations.
