How To Distribute Underfloor Heating Elements On A Balcony

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

• Advantages and disadvantages
• Cable system
• Heating mats
• Infrared floor
• Features of cable installation
• Installation of heating mats and film floors

People think about insulation most often exactly when major repairs are made in an apartment. And this is no coincidence, since it can be used for a winter garden, making a study from it, as well as a recreation area. Everyone should choose the most optimal result, depending on personal preferences. Some people think about whether warm balconies can be combined with an electric floor heating system. There are positive and negative reviews here, features of the installation process.

Advantages and disadvantages

Electric warm floors delight their consumers with a sufficient number of positive qualities, which include:

1. The base of the floor in the room heats up evenly over the entire area, without areas with a cold coating.

   

2. Installation can be carried out independently and without the use of additional special equipment.
3. The temperature level mode can be adjusted without any problem by using the appropriate electric floor heating components.
4. You can easily detect malfunctions of the underfloor heating system, after which they can be repaired and restored to work as soon as possible.
5. Acceptable cost, which is fully consistent with the declared quality.

But these are only the main advantages that a warm floor can boast, regardless of where its device is produced. But any system will have minor drawbacks that should be definitely mentioned so as not to mislead future performers.

The main disadvantage is that, as a result of using the electric underfloor heating system, large electricity bills come.

This distinguishes them significantly from the option of a water-heated floor. In addition, electromagnetic radiation occurs inside the room, where the structure for heating the room is mounted. True, here some experts express the opinion that it does not have any effect on the health of a person and those around him.

It is possible to cite other negative qualities of an electric type of warm floor, but they will already be associated with a violation of the installation technology and the connection of all components to each other. If the instructions are strictly followed, then exceptional positive moments from the use of the heating system will appear.

Despite the large bills for paying for electricity, the electric heating option is most often chosen for balconies. This is due to simple editing, which is of interest to many, especially novice performers. You don't have to spend money on specialists, but do it yourself.

Cable system

All possible options for an electric floor heating should be considered separately in order to ultimately choose the most suitable one.

The most demanded and popular is the cable system. It can be used not only as the main heating system on the balcony, but also as an additional (comfortable) one.

Installation is often carried out using a concrete screed, which is poured into all the components of an underfloor heating system powered by electricity. Usually, the thickness of the fill is chosen in the range of 40-50 mm. The cable here can be single-core or two-core, each of which has its own characteristics, including when laying in a particular room. It must necessarily be located at a depth of 30 mm underfloor heating on the balcony.

It is very important here to arrange a layer of insulation and waterproofing, which allows you to create the necessary level of comfort when you are on the balcony. When choosing a floor covering, one should focus on its excellent thermal conductivity. The most popular flooring material is ceramic tile or porcelain stoneware. After pouring the screed and before turning on the electric floor heating system, time must pass. Usually it is 28 days, during which the screed is gaining the required level of strength and adhesion.

Heating mats

If the choice is on the heating mats of the electric underfloor heating, then they are most often used only for an additional source of heating.

They are suitable in cases where there is no possibility of pouring a concrete screed, which creates an additional load on the balcony slab.

The mats are represented by cables that fit into a special mesh. They have a snake pattern. The veins in this case have a high level of resistance. The cable spacing is about 50 mm.

The peculiarity of heating mats is simple installation, the possibility of laying immediately on an old concrete base. Here, an adhesive composition is most often used that is suitable for laying ceramic tiles. Once the glue is completely dry, you can start the system and enjoy the desired temperature level on the balcony.

Choosing a flooring won't be difficult as almost any option will do. But you should pay attention to the heating mats during their installation, as there is a high probability of their damage and failure. In addition, among the shortcomings, one can single out the significant cost of products and the lack of the possibility of their use as the main source of heating on the balcony. They will not transfer heat to the sub floor once they are disconnected from the mains.

In this case, the total thickness of the warm floor will not be more than 20 mm. And this is all together with the tiles laid on the tile adhesive. The warm floor from heating mats will not create a special load on the balcony slab. With a complex shape of the configuration of the balcony room, the mats are very easily cut into separate fragments. In this case, care should be taken to ensure that the integrity of the cable remains.

Infrared floor

Numerous reviews indicate that the film warm floor has an insignificant thickness of the finished structure, as well as a simple list of work on the device.

It is enough even to follow the instructions from the manufacturer in order to perform a quality installation. Even inexperienced performers will be able to do this.

Infrared floor heating warms up not only the base of the balcony, but also all the pieces of furniture and walls located there. From them, the air itself in the room warms up. Secondary heat also brings the required temperature level.

Despite all this, an infrared heated floor on a balcony or a warm floor on a loggia does not always cope with significant negative temperatures that occur in winter. This indicates the need to use a heating system with foil mats as an additional source.

The base floor on the balcony will be warmed up within 10-20 minutes after the system is turned on. This does not create loads on the floor slabs and maintains the required distance from the ceiling to the base. Electricity costs are slightly lower than other electric floor heating options.

Among the flooring, the most popular are linoleum, carpet and underfloor heating on the balcony under the laminate. But the final choice will entirely depend on the possibilities and conditions for installing a warm floor on the balcony.

Features of cable installation

The implementation of a warm floor on the balcony must follow the installation technology.

There should not be any deviations from this, so as not to repair the components of the entire system in the future. The procedure for the above options is practically the same, but there are still some peculiarities that you should pay attention to.

The most widespread is the cable system. It is with her that the consideration of the issue should begin. The base must be properly leveled and brought to a horizontal position. A layer of thermal insulation is laid on the existing floor slabs or made of cement-sand screed. It is important here to choose the right substrate option. Mounting tape is attached to the substrate to facilitate the fixing of the heating cable. If there is a heated balcony below the floor, penofol or expanded polystyrene is suitable as insulation, each of which has a thickness of 20 to 50 mm. In the absence of a heated balcony, the thickness should be increased to 100 mm. These actions are carried out with one main goal - to reduce heat loss during the operation of the warm floor.

In some cases, a reinforcement mesh is laid on top of the thermal insulation, to which the cable is attached using special plastic clamps. When distributing the cable at the selected pitch, it is important not to damage it. In addition, the layout should be sketched or photographed. You should also connect all other components of the system to the cables, check them for operability.

At the end of all actions, the concrete screed of all components is poured. In this case, there should be no air gaps. Otherwise, the efficiency from the heating system will be reduced. The cement screed must be more than 30 mm thick. All that remains is to produce ceramic tiles or other flooring options. Throughout the installation, the resistance of the underfloor heating cable should be measured in order to detect its malfunction in time.

Installation of heating mats and film floors

The base for the heating mats is an old concrete base or floor covering that is firmly fixed. This will be the substrate for the heating system. Insulation is not used here. They are placed over the entire surface that needs to be heated. If you need to cut off a specific section, be careful not to damage the cable.

After that, a temperature level regulator is connected to the mats together with a temperature sensor. It is necessary to check the connection according to all the rules. At the end of these steps, tile adhesive is applied to the heating mats and ceramic tiles are attached. Other flooring options have their own characteristics, which should be found out about before starting installation work.

Infrared underfloor heating is suitable when choosing a floor covering such as parquet or laminate on a warm floor on the balcony. Previously, the base on the balcony must be properly leveled using a rough screed. This is done in the presence of elevation differences, potholes and other possible defects.

A layer of insulation is laid, after which an infrared film is laid over the entire surface. With the further placement of a cabinet or other bulky items on the balcony, these areas should be eliminated from laying the heating elements. We must not forget about the location of such elements of the warm floor as a thermostat and a temperature sensor.

To insulate the wiring connections to the infrared film, a bituminous compound is used, which can be purchased at a hardware store. On top of the resulting "pie", it remains to make the flooring of the selected flooring option.

Infrared underfloor heating is a modern and economical one. It is characterized by excellent heat transfer, since no energy is wasted on heating the concrete floor screed, as in a cable system. Looking at the reviews that can be found on the relevant forums, it is the film floor that will be most suitable for a balcony or loggia.

Each of the options for heating the base of the floor on the balcony has its own characteristics. Something will be more expensive for the purchased equipment, but something will be easier during installation. In any case, by covering the entire structure with a floor covering, comfortable conditions are created for being on the balcony. The required temperature level can also be changed by raising or lowering degrees.

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