Modern Underfloor Heating Systems, How To Choose A Warm Floor For Tiles

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

Underfloor heating system - technology or new philosophy
The main types of equipment for underfloor heating
Features of the device and installation of the heating system
And once again to the question of saving

The ability to significantly save money in the process of building or renovating a house is a topic that does not raise questions or bewilderment. Constant walking through construction supermarkets, viewing specialized publications do their job in many ways, but the practical result, as practice shows, turns out to be not immediately visible. Although this statement practically does not apply to such a system as underfloor heating under tiles, which allows you to save money from the first days of work.

Underfloor heating system - technology or new philosophy

The development of various heating systems for a private house, cottage or a separate room in an apartment building today is most often based on questions of the effectiveness of its work. At the same time, one of the factors influencing the choice of the system remains the issue of installation, maintenance and guaranteed service life. And if for traditional heating systems the question is most often raised in the installation of modern heating boilers, then for electric underfloor heating under tiles this problem is largely solved in a comprehensive manner.

To understand the issue of the effectiveness of a heating system in the form of underfloor heating under a tile, it will help to consider how this technology works with a specific example. For traditional heating radiators, the room is heated due to air convection, when cold air rises from the bottom, warms up from the radiator and rises further. In such a room, the distribution of thermal zones goes from bottom to top, as well as the air temperature - at the floor it is about 17-18 degrees, at a height of 1 meter about 22-23 degrees, but under the ceiling it is already about 26-27. Underfloor heating technology allows not only to significantly change the heating process, but also to improve the heating performance of the room. So, a warm floor under the tiles distributes heat from below, from the floor level, if the tiles are always cold with the use of radiators,then electric underfloor heating under the tiles makes the room heating from the very floor covering, heating the tiles to a comfortable 22-23 degrees. And then, having such a heating element the size of the entire floor, the heat is evenly distributed throughout the entire volume, warming the entire room to a comfortable 23 degrees.

The main types of equipment for underfloor heating

Unlike bulky equipment for a traditional heating system with boilers, expansion tanks, pipelines and pumping stations, underfloor heating equipment can fit into one bag, including wires, electronic sensors and a control system. Progress has indeed stepped very far and extended its technologies even to such premises as the kitchen, bathroom, toilet room, because the installation of underfloor heating equipment under the tiles is possible today in any premises, from open terraces and winter gardens to garages and bathrooms.

The basis of the equipment is a heating element, in fact, this is the basis of the technology - a film or cable heating element is laid on the floor and then connected to the control and monitoring system.

Today, for the installation of a warm floor under the tiles, two main technologies are used - cable, using a heating cable and film, in which a heating element in the form of thin plates is inside the film coating. Each of these two technologies has its own characteristics, but at the same time, both allow laying underfloor heating under the tiles.

Finnish underfloor heating under the tiles, and we must pay tribute to the Finns really understand a lot about a heating system of this type, consisting of two-core heating mats ENSTO Finland, today are considered one of the favorites in the technology of using heating cable systems. Moreover, ENSTO offers not just heating elements, but solves the problem in a complex way - a warm floor under the tiles, the installation of which consists not only in laying mats, but also in installing the control system that comes with the kit. In addition to the Finnish manufacturer, the cable heating elements Nexans (Norway), Devi (Denmark), ProfiTherm (Poland-Germany) have proven themselves quite well.

Film heat-insulated floors under tiles are gaining more and more popularity today due to even greater efficiency and ease of installation. Film heaters using the principle of infrared radiation have proven themselves well not only due to their versatility - they can be installed both under tiles and under other types of coverings, including laminate, parquet, linoleum. At the same time, the film floor for tiles has not yet received such wide distribution due to its high cost. But given the fact that Korean and Chinese companies are gradually being squeezed out of the market of infrared heating systems by Russian and Ukrainian manufacturers, the warm film floor under the tiles will become even more affordable in the near future.

For both types of heating elements, special control systems have been developed, which constitute the intellectual component of the underfloor heating system. It primarily includes temperature sensors that determine the temperature of the floor, cable systems, temperature controllers, programmers and protection equipment. Together, this equipment allows for the autonomous operation of the entire system, taking into account the requirements for each specific object.

Features of the device and installation of the heating system

Warm floors for tiles, the installation of which is planned in the house, like any other floor covering, initially requires a reliable concrete screed. The base is necessary for even and correct laying of the heating elements. And for heating cable mats and for a film underfloor heating under a tile, after connecting and checking the functionality, it will be necessary to pour a screed layer, because under the tile, above all, a base with a thickness of at least 20 mm is required. It is recommended to arrange a special thermal gap around the perimeter of the room, because with such a thickness of the screed, the expansion process will necessarily occur when heated and, as a result, the deformation of the coating.

Another difference in the order of placement and installation is that the film underfloor heating under the tiles is laid over the entire area of the room, and cable heating mats do not fit in places where furniture, stationary racks, partitions and other equipment will be placed.

The film under the tiles is laid over the entire area of the room, while it can be cut to the required size, because the connection of all elements into one whole is carried out using mounting clips into conductive buses. But heating mats require the ability to cut the cable here when laying, therefore, to change the direction of laying, the mesh base is cut, and the cable must remain intact.

In both cases, all conductive cables, sensors and connecting lines must be installed before the screed is cast. An electric underfloor heating under a tile can be installed not only in residential premises, it can also be installed in other rooms, because all cables and film elements have good insulation, and the joints are additionally insulated with special adhesives.

When self-installing heating such as underfloor heating, the tiles are laid with a mandatory thermal gap of at least 2 mm, and the screed is additionally reinforced with a synthetic mesh. When installing, it is strictly forbidden to put heating mats and strips of film on top of each other, but the moisture-insulating plastic film must be laid with an overlap of 20-25 cm.

And once again to the question of saving

Considering all the options for laying underfloor heating under tiles, the price will largely determine the methods and locations for installing the equipment. Today, the average price range of cable products for the system of domestic manufacturers is from $ 2.3 to $ 3.5 per meter. For heated floors under a tile, electrical cables from a European manufacturer will cost between $ 4-6. Film materials will cost from $ 6 to $ 10 per 1 running meter. At the same time, the control equipment, which is domestic, that of a foreign manufacturer, starts at a price of $ 20, and a complete set will cost $ 250-400.

However, as calculations show, in comparison with conventional gas heating, the savings will be from 20% to 45%, depending on the availability of thermal insulation in the premises.