Do-it-yourself Infrared Floor Heating Installation: Photo, Video

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

• System features
• Selection of power underfloor heating
• Self-installation of a warm floor
• Preparing to install an IR floor
• DIY floor installation
• Conclusion

A good solution to arranging comfort and warmth in an apartment and a house has recently become the installation of an infrared heated floor with your own hands. This type of heating attracts with its ease of installation and good performance. And in reality, it will take a little knowledge and time to independently install a warm floor, but for this you need to know a number of nuances of work.

System features

This type of underfloor heating (IR) is a film in combination with carbon paste, which heats the floor and the room using infrared radiation. And this type quickly gained popularity due to its advantages, including:

1. Ease of installation.
2. The possibility of arranging under any surface.
3. Durability.
4. Safety for humans.
5. Fire safety.

And these are far from all the advantages of the system. And among the shortcomings, I usually single out only the relatively high cost, as well as little harm from radiation (in case of incorrect selection).

Also, when buying, you should take into account some of the nuances:

1. Infrared film does not fit in places where furniture or decor items are placed.
2. The layout of the film and wiring is outlined in advance.
3. It is also taken into account that there should be no drafts and other factors that locally change the temperature in the place of the proposed location of the temperature sensor.

Selection of power underfloor heating

As with any electric underfloor heating, it is necessary to select the required power for infrared, which is done depending on the coverage area. And it's pretty simple to do it like this:

1. You should calculate the required area before purchasing this type of floor. In particular, the calculation is based on the space on which there will be no furniture or small interior items.
2. With an active area of 20 square meters, a system with a power of 220 W per meter is selected.
3. For large areas, a less powerful system should be taken.

4. It is recommended to trust the consultants who will help you with the choice of the system.

   

Also, when buying, you should pay a little attention to the wiring, and take into account the following factors:

1. The wires for connecting the film should be at least 1.5 millimeters thick, preferably 2-2.5 mm thick.
2. It is recommended to use stranded copper wire, taking into account that the heating ducts are also made of copper.

Self-installation of a warm floor

Now it's time to consider how to properly install the infrared warm floor yourself. And here it is worth highlighting two stages of work, in particular:

1. Preparation of the base.
2. Film installation.

And let's take a look at each of them.

Preparing to install an IR floor

As part of the preparation, only a few processes are carried out, but in total it is carried out following the instructions below:

1. The floor should be thoroughly cleaned before starting installation. Completely dismantle the flooring, if necessary, level the floor (screed or self-leveling floor, if there are deviations of more than 3 millimeters). Read how to do this in our other materials.
2. The next step is to equip a niche for a thermostat. In particular, starting from the installation site, using a puncher or gating equipment, it is necessary to close the gates to the installation site of the thermostat. And also make a hole for its installation.
3. It is very important to do this first in order to remove debris and dust upon completion of the work.
4. Next, about the nearest wiring point, you need to conduct power supply to the place (do not forget to disconnect the system first).
5. Then the floor is lined with a heat-insulating coating. You can pick up reflective material or not. The main factor here is the thickness of the insulation 3-5 millimeters. In this layer, in the future, holes will be equipped for laying the wiring. When settling sheets of thermal insulation, they are fastened with ordinary tape. If you decide to purchase reflective sheets, do not use foil as this is a poor quality material.

6. Basically, the choice of thermal insulation depends on what will lie on top of the infrared film. If there is a laminate, linoleum or carpet - you should underlay penotherm or isolon, if a tile - sheets of technical cork are suitable.

   

This completes the preparation, and you can proceed to the installation of the system.

DIY floor installation

Now we start laying the infrared film itself. What is done in accordance with the following technology:

1. Laying begins from the far end of the wall in which the thermostat will be installed. Thus, it will be possible to significantly save wire consumption.
2. We retreat 10-20 centimeters from the walls, in the case of the presence of heating elements (heaters, fireplaces), we make a meter indent from them.
3. The length of the strips of the film can be adjusted by simply cutting it along the special dividing strips marked by the manufacturer, or between individual heating strips. It is important to take into account that you can only cut along the light areas that go between the black stripes of the heaters.

4. The cut sides need to be insulated. For this, a conventional assembly tape is used. If the film has been cut at the locations specified by the manufacturer, only the collectors are insulated (copper strips on the sides). If the cut passes between the individual heating strips, the edge is insulated across the entire width. The strips of the film must not intersect or overlap.

   

5. The film is laid end-to-end, after which it is fixed together with adhesive tape. At the moment, the places for fastening the wires remain open.
6. The installation itself is carried out downward with copper heaters.
7. It is also worth noting that the segments have open sections of copper, in the places of the cut, which must also be insulated, otherwise the floor may burn out if a leak occurs. A bituminous film is well suited for insulation, with which it is easy to paste over these areas.
8. Then fix the film to the thermal insulation with tape. It is important to leave open the connection areas for now.

9. The next step is to install the wire clamps. They are connected to non-insulated areas on the film. An important factor is that the clips need to be inserted between the strip and the film, and not pinched the contact. This is due to the fact that there is a high risk of damage to the film, respectively, a malfunction of the floor.

   

10. After the clamps are inserted, it is time to connect the wiring. It is better to lay it in specially made grooves. Or you can do with external wiring. It is preferable to use copper wire with a diameter of 2 - 4 mm. We fix the wires in the contact clamps, and the clamps themselves are installed on the copper collector strips.

    

11. The infrared film strips must be connected in a strictly parallel circuit. Those. all the left sides of the film are connected with one wire, the right ones with another. It is recommended to use two different colored wires to avoid tangles. To fix it, remove the insulation from the cable, then twist it and insert the end into the hole on the clamp. The installation sites of the infrared film underfloor heating should be insulated with bitumen-based tape.

    

12. The cables themselves are led along the floor to the wall, and then led under the baseboard to the power source. To lay them, you need to make holes for drowning in the thermal insulation. Thus, we lay the wire into the holes, and fix it with tape. In this way, we draw the wires first from the film to the film, and at the end to the wall.

    

13. Now we connect the temperature sensor and isolate it. For this, the sensor is installed under the film, its location is approximately in the center of the second section. For the sensor itself, a hole is also cut out in the thermal insulation, if necessary, a recess is made in the base. It is also worth equipping the channels for the wire, make a smooth bend at all turns so that the wire does not break over time.

    

14. We connect the thermostat, its connection is carried out in the same way as for all other types of floor. Namely, two power supply wires are connected to the main contacts, from the thermostat itself, a connection is made via two wire contacts to the underfloor heating film itself. It is also worth considering the installation of residual current devices in case of a short circuit. In this case, the ground is connected by a terminal, but it is not connected to the contacts.

    

15. To test the system, turn it on at 30 degrees - there should be no sparking and overheating anywhere in the joints.
16. We measure the total resistance of the system with a tester. It must be a multiple of the resistance of the film itself (check in the instructions) divided by the footage of the laid film. If it is much larger, you need to double-check the correctness of the connection.
17. On top, lay sheets of polyethylene film for waterproofing. The edges of the sheets should overlap by about 20 cm. We glue them with tape. The base floor can now be installed.

This completes the installation process, and the last stage is the installation of the final floor covering.

Conclusion

Thus, you saw that the connection and installation of the IR floor can be easily done independently, without the help of professionals. This type of heating is gaining more and more popularity among consumers, so watch the video on installing an infrared floor with your own hands from Caleo and perhaps you will also like their technology and ease of installation.