In recent years, underfloor heating systems have become very popular. Moreover, electric ones faded into the background due to their high cost. Not only do they have a high cost, but also have to throw a lot of money on electricity. Liquid underfloor heating allows you to warm up the house with a boiler.
It is enough to connect the pipe system to the heating circuit. That's just the adjustment of the water-heated floor must be done correctly, otherwise it will be able to work in two modes - "very hot" and "cold". Let's look at the design features of the system, as well as ways to adjust the temperature of the coolant.
Typical connection options
As a rule, in homes, liquid floor heating is just a nice "bonus" to the main heating system. But in some cases, a warm floor is more than enough to fully heat the premises. This, however, in a mild climate. Or in rooms with a large area. And provided that they take heatwill not be limited to interior items, furniture or extremely low thermal conductivity of the floor covering.
In most cases, heating boilers, radiators, underfloor heating circuits and devices for preparing hot water are combined into one system. The most technologically advanced and easily customizable option is a typical scheme with the connection of underfloor heating elements and radiators. This is a combined scheme, for its implementation will have to spend a lot of money and effort. But it's worth it.
Main system components
And now let's talk about adjusting the warm water floor. "V altek" is a company that produces various devices for the implementation of heating systems of any type and complexity. The design of the warm floor consists of the following elements:
- Heating boiler.
- Circulation pump, safety group, expansion tank.
- In order to make a separate connection with two pipes of radiators, the "star" scheme is used. A collector is also used in the design.
- Heating radiators.
- Directly the collector of the underfloor heating system, which consists of: bypass; three-way valve; thermostatic head; circulation pump; comb, which connects the gearboxes and heating circuits, flow meters.
- Contours of the warm liquid floor system.
Variations of the typical scheme
There are a large number of options for the execution of boiler piping. In each particularuse the basic principles of hydraulic systems.
But in the event that specific options are not taken into account, five ways to coordinate the operation of heating devices can be distinguished:
- Tying the collector of the underfloor heating system in a parallel way. The tie-in is made into the line before the radiators are connected. A circulation type pump is used to supply fluid to the floor piping system.
- Unification by type of secondary and primary rings. In that highway, which is wrapped in a ring, there are several tie-ins in the supply part at once. The decrease in coolant flow occurs when moving away from the heat source. Due to the correct selection of the feed pumps and the limitation of the flow capacity by the regulators, it is possible to balance the coolant flow.
- Connection of a warm floor to the extreme point of a coplanar collector. At the same time, the coolant moves along the floor loops due to a common circulation pump, which is installed on the generator section. The system is balanced according to the flow priority principle. When adjusting the temperature of a warm water floor, it is most reasonable to use the method of limiting the flow of liquid into the pipeline.
- Connection with low loss header. This option is ideal if you need to connect a large number of heating elements. It can also be used in cases where the flow in the circuits is very different, or the loops are long. The need for a hydraulic gunoccurs if it is necessary to eliminate pressure drops that can interfere with the normal functioning of the circulation pumps.
- Parallel local connection via unibox. This option is suitable for turning on a small loop of a warm floor. This is usually done if you need to do floor heating in only one small room - a bathroom or toilet. Adjusting the temperature of the warm water floor will be as accurate as possible due to the low length of the loops.
Simple connection
The simplest option for connecting a warm floor implies the presence of the following components:
- High temperature supply and return lines.
- Contour directly to the underfloor heating system.
- Unibox. When adjusting the collector of a water-heated floor, it is he who is most often used as the main element of an automatic system.
Remember that the mode of operation of the underfloor heating system can change, it all depends on how the coil is laid. The best option is a snail-type scheme.
In this case, the pipes are laid in pairs, therefore, it is possible to achieve the most uniform heating of the surface. In the event that pipes are laid in a “maze” or “snake”, then the appearance of cold and warm areas is inevitable. Such shortcomings can be eliminated, but you will have to work on setting up the system.
Temperature conditions of the radiator system
Beforeto start setting up the operation of the underfloor heating system, you need to decide for what purpose this is being done. It should be noted right away that the design of a warm floor differs radically from battery systems. For example, when heating with radiators, the liquid must be heated to a high temperature - about 80 degrees. Everything, of course, depends on the time of year, the temperature outside, the size of the house. It is possible that it is enough to heat the liquid to 50-60 degrees.
How should underfloor heating work?
As for the floor heating coils, it is necessary to supply liquid with a temperature of 40-42 degrees. Only in this case you can ensure maximum comfort and safety. Let's talk about the adjustment of warm water floors with flow meters. In this case, the normal operating mode will provide heating of the floor surface up to 25 degrees. If you make the temperature higher, it will not be very pleasant to walk on the floor.
First adjustment method
Adjusting the underfloor heating of water heating is somewhat easier than electric. In the latter, electricity is supplied to achieve the required temperature, and in the water one, a liquid (coolant) is supplied. There are two ways in which the temperature is controlled. The first is carried out by mixing the cooled liquid coming from the return.
For this purpose, a three-way valve with a thermostatic pressure head is installed. This head differs from the radiator head in that it does not respond to the ambient temperature, but directly to the liquid in the system. Duethis design can provide a constant flow in the loops, a slight change in fluid temperature is possible.
Second adjustment method
The next method is to limit the flow of hot liquid in the coil. It is also necessary to install a thermostatic head, but on a two-way valve. When adjusting the warm water floor, the thermal head allows the supply of hot and cold coolant to the pipes. And most importantly - the valve allows you to interrupt the circuit of the reverse flow of fluid. In this case, the return and supply are the bypass circuit. Through it, the flow is regulated by a restrictive valve. It has pre-calibrated throughput.
Temperature control is based primarily on the fact that the design of the warm floor has a high inertia. During operation, the liquid enters the coil with a minimum temperature. Only the cost changes. Consequently, the screed warms up cyclically. And this suggests that an accumulation layer is needed that can smooth out temperature changes.
Features of adjustment options
For both options, one rule can be distinguished: thermostatic type fittings must necessarily be based on the return or collector temperature. The valve design can be either electronic or mechanical. You can even use a simple thermometer. This will allow you to manually adjust the warm water floor.
How to properly refuel the system?
But beforesetting, it is necessary to correctly fill the entire system with coolant. Please note that if the flow rate changes spontaneously, it is not possible to make adjustments. Therefore, it is extremely important to correctly refuel the system. In order to do this, automatic air vents must be installed on the branches of the collector. In the event that the loops are located higher than the collectors, then the supply outlet must be connected via a deaerator.
What to consider when refueling?
Be sure to take into account that you refuel the generator and radiator parts in advance. Only then can you start filling the floor coil. All taps must be closed at all entrances.
To fill in the liquid, you need to connect a hose from the water supply or pump to the drainage outlet. To bleed air, also connect a hose to the outlet on the return branch. It is recommended to take it outside or lower it into a container (30-45 liters).
First, fill the manifold and piping, open all flow meters and close the regulators. After that, fill all the loops with liquid until liquid without air begins to flow from the bleed hose. Please note that the pressure when refueling should be minimal, only in this way you will be able to force all the air out of the system.
How to work with manifold meters?
It is worth mentioning the hydraulic balancing of the hinge system. When adjusting the collector group of a water-heated floor, it is necessary to take into accountmany nuances. Depending on the length of the loops, a different amount of liquid will be required in order for it to cool in a strictly defined time. The quantitative value of the flow can be determined by the ratio of the thermal load on the floor loop to the product of the heat capacity of the liquid and the temperature difference in the return and supply:
G=Q / c(t1- t2)
Quite often it is recommended to calculate the flow rate from the value of the circulation pump performance. This is quite simple to do, but you should not resort to such methods. First, it is difficult to calculate the total length of each coil. Secondly, you will violate one of the important rules - the choice of equipment parameters should be based on the needs of the system. You will do the opposite.
Adjusting the flow with flowmeters is very easy. There are models in which the throughput is adjusted by turning the body of the device. Others have a special key spinning. And on the body there is always a scale that shows the current flow rate.
Manual and automatic temperature equalization
There are huge differences in systems that control temperature by limiting and mixing methods. Of course, the way temperature is adjusted is also different. It is of great importance whether the adjustment is made on the fly, or whether it is done manually. Please note that manual control is allowed if the method selected ismixing. In this case, the liquid flow in the remaining circuits will change slightly.
When manually setting a three-way valve, you need to control the temperature in the return branch. For this purpose, a sleeve is installed in it specifically under the thermometer. The temperature probe can be used.
It is allowed not to measure the temperature immediately, but to focus on the flow rate of the liquid in the system, the length of the loops. Temperature measurement is recommended to be carried out after a time equal to that for which the coolant in the system is updated twice or thrice. By adjusting, you will ensure a constant temperature difference in the flow and return. And the difference directly depends on the material of the screed, thickness, shape and direction of the pipes, the distance between them.
Auto adjustment makes tuning even easier. A unibox valve or an RTL thermostatic head is used as the main control element. But, in fact, the automatic adjustment of the contours of the water-heated floor is carried out approximately according to the same principle as in the manual version.
