Underfloor heating cannot be called an achievement of modern technology, such systems were equipped in ancient Roman times. This has been repeatedly confirmed by excavations. Russia is a country where the climate is quite severe, which is why the heating of housing plays a rather important role. Recently, underfloor heating has become popular, which is especially true for the field of individual housing construction. Their use gives the premises a unique comfort and coziness. If you also decide to use this method of creating a warmer climate inside your house or apartment, you can choose water or electric floors.
Modern solution
Heated floors powered by heating are more widespread today, this is due to the fact that they are environmentally friendly, have low cost and are durable. Such a system can be present not only in an apartment, but also in an office, as well as a warehouse or productionroom. The technology allows to heat sufficiently large areas, due to this, optimal circulation of heated air is guaranteed, the temperature at different points of the room remains the same.
Pros of using
Floor heating eliminates drafts, and if it is equipped in a room where the ceiling height varies from 3.5 to 5 meters, then such a system will have no alternative, this is especially important for warehouses where maintain the set temperature. It is noteworthy that to all the advantages of such a floor, you can add the possibility of arranging it under any type of finish coating.
Heated floor heating device
Floor heating built in this way is a system made of plastic pipes. They should have a small diameter; metal-plastic or cross-linked polyethylene can be used as a material. These materials have high thermal conductivity, low resistance and impressive flexibility. The length of the pipeline can vary from 40 to 500 meters. Such pipelines are manufactured as a whole, which is why the possibility of leakage at the joints is completely excluded.
Floor heating created according to this scheme must maintain a certain temperature, for this a coolant mixing unit is introduced into the system, it can include a thermostatic mixer, a pump, a collector, and a temperature sensor controller.
Main sources
The above system can be operated from two sources, namely individual gas equipment or central heating system. It is important to remember that connection to the central system in a multi-storey building is prohibited, because then there will be a high load, a water hammer may occur. This can be done after agreement with the experts in your field, this is relevant only for houses of new series, where there is a separate riser for pumping out the coolant in the event of a breakthrough in the heating system. At the same time, heat meters are installed. Alternative methods are preferred, when water parameters are set individually, in this case they will not depend on central heating.
Operating principle
Floor heating works according to a certain principle, it is quite simple and lies in the fact that through the collector a coolant under slight pressure is pumped along the length of the laid pipeline. The top coat, which has a high thermal conductivity, heats up and gives off heat to the interior of the room. In this case, the air temperature at the floor surface will be higher than at the height of human growth. Through the return pipe, chilled water enters the riser of the central heating system, it can also be gas equipment for heating.
Installation diagrams
Floor heating systems are usually installed according to one of the existing schemes, these can bethin, light or concrete floors. In the latter case, we are talking about the main system, which is covered with reinforced concrete floors, while a concrete-based screed is used as a warm distribution layer. It will provide the maximum possible heat transfer. This system is also called jellied or wet, it is as efficient and reliable as possible. This method provides maximum heat transfer, which covers the heat loss of the room. Such a floor has high strength, is cheap, comfortable to use, environmentally friendly and hygienic.
Floor heating systems can be installed in rooms where there are no reliable reinforced concrete floors. In this case, it is better to use a dry screed, it can be a polystyrene or wooden floor. Chipboard or polystyrene boards are used as the basis, they are stacked with plates and have special grooves for the pipeline. The next layer is a gypsum fiber sheet, the main advantages in this case are the high speed of work, small thickness and the absence of costs that are usually associated with concreting.
If you use the dry technique, you won't have to wait about a month for the screed to harden, and besides, its thickness will be equal to the limit of 35 to 60 mm. The disadvantage of such a scheme for arranging the floor is its low heat dissipation, it can reach a maximum of 60 W / m 2, one cannot fail to mention the high cost, which depends on the installation price. These systems are usually used during reconstruction, the need to carry out workin a short time, with a low height of the room, as well as in buildings with wooden floors.
Alternative solution
The thin scheme is used when arranging the floor in small rooms, the area of \u200b\u200bwhich does not exceed 7 m22, this includes kitchens, toilets and bathrooms. In this case, a woven substrate is laid, on which a pipeline of small diameter, up to 8 millimeters, is mounted. The top cover is usually a copper mesh.
The limitation of the use of this scheme is due to the high hydraulic resistance, because the pipes will have a small diameter, which means that the heating system will be under high load.
Surface preparation tips
You can independently implement the heating of a private house, warm floors sometimes become the only right solution. However, before installing them, it is necessary to dismantle the old screed, reaching the base. Waterproofing is laid on the cleaned surface, the damper tape is laid not only around the perimeter, but also between the contours, if there are several of them. The method of insulation should be chosen depending on the target orientation of the system. If it is an addition to the main one, then polyethylene foam is enough, one side of which is covered with foil. If we are talking about an apartment, from the bottom of which there are heated rooms, then sheets of expanded polystyrene or extruded polystyrene foam will be enough, their thickness can vary from 20 to 50 mm.
Floor for room withcold overcoat
It is possible to make heating in the floor of a private house, when there is a basement or soil below, using a heater in the form of an expanded clay or expanded polystyrene mound, the thickness of the latter can reach 100 mm, while the minimum value is 50 mm. A reinforcing mesh must be placed on top of the insulation, it will not be fixed into the screed layer, among other things, it will be possible to fix the floor heating pipe on the mesh. Sometimes special clips or fastening strips are used.
Selection of materials and devices
The floor heating of a private house can be realized from the heating system. However, you may additionally need:
- water heating boiler;
- ball valves;
- manifold with tuning system;
- various fittings;
- pipes;
- charge pump.
The latter may be present in the boiler, but as for the collector, it must be equipped with a system for adjusting underfloor heating. Fittings will be needed to lay the main route, they will allow you to equip the system from the collector to the boiler. It is important to take seriously the choice of material for pipes. If you decide to prefer polypropylene products, then it is best to choose fiberglass reinforced ones, since polypropylene has a high linear expansion when heated. Polyethylene does not expand as much, which is why it has recently become widespread.
Additional about pipes
You can beself-implemented such heating. It is best to install a warm water floor using pipes whose diameter varies from 16 to 20 mm. The pipe must withstand temperatures up to 95 degrees Celsius, while the maximum possible pressure must be 10 bar. It is not at all necessary to purchase expensive options with additional layers and oxygen protection. This applies to those people whose main task is to reduce the cost of installing underfloor heating.
Work technology
If you decide to equip floor heating in a private house, you must adhere to a certain methodology, it provides for preparatory work, laying a damper tape, a heat-insulating layer and a pipeline. Preparation involves cleaning surfaces from dirt and debris, cracks and crevices must be sealed with concrete mortar. It is important to make sure that the irregularities do not exceed 5 mm, otherwise air will occur during the operation of the system, heat transfer will decrease.
If the subfloors are not even, they must be filled with a rough screed. The next step is to lay the damper tape, it will compensate for the thermal expansion of the screed. In order for the heat not to go to the neighbors, a layer of insulation should be laid. These can be foam or polystyrene mats, on the surface of which there should be clamps for pipes. The thickness of the material will depend on the thermal load: the more impressive it is, the thicker it shouldbe an insulating layer. The minimum value is 30 mm. Next, heating pipes are laid in the floor. They should be fixed in the grooves of the insulation using one of the three mounting schemes. It can be styling:
- snake;
- double helix;
- regular wash.
The last option is the simplest and most reliable. The system should be pressure tested or subjected to hydraulic tests, this will make sure of the strength and tightness, and it is necessary to carry out these works after installing the distribution manifold and connecting the heating circuit. Water must be supplied under positive pressure.
The warm floor from heating should be filled with concrete screed, for this you should prepare cement, the grade of which is M-300 or higher. It is important to add a plasticizer, per square meter there will be a sufficient volume of 0.6-1 liters. The concrete screed should close the pipeline, the thickness should not be more than 15 cm. It is important to pour the solution onto warm pipes so that they do not tear the concrete when they expand. After 28 days, the system can be started, the water temperature should rise gradually, the maximum level can be reached only on the third day of heating. After completing all the above works, you should proceed with the installation of decorative flooring, it can be laminate, linoleum, ceramic tiles, and carpet.
Conclusion
Heating in the floor in the house is inert, but this characteristic can serve well. If for some reason the boiler equipment is not capable for some timeheat water, the system will give off heat to the premises. But you need to be prepared for the fact that after the first inclusion, warming up may take several days. That is why those people who have been using such heating systems for several years are advised to turn on underfloor heating at the first frost, this will help prepare for the cold.
