A warm home is the dream of any owner. An efficient heating system of a private house or apartment will help to achieve the desired level of comfort. Until recently, living quarters were equipped only with radiator heating.
Oil-filled electric radiators were used as an alternative heat source. They are flammable and spend a lot of electrical energy for their work. Oil radiators, and sometimes stationary water heating, were replaced by underfloor heating.
Underfloor heating is a system of primary or secondary heating by means of electric cables or hot water pipes. They are laid, and then sealed with a cement-sand screed. Both technologies have their advantages and disadvantages. Which underfloor heating is better to choose?
A water heated floor consists of hot water pipes connected into one system and connected to a heating plant or gas boiler. This heating method is often used as the main one for large rooms. It is not suitable for living rooms with an area of less than 20-25 m 2.
Its installation in multi-storey residential buildings is associated with technical and economic problems. Any leak in the pipes can lead to flooding of the neighbors below and the dismantling of the entire flooring in the room. Also, an additional load on the general house heating network can lead to a decrease in the average temperature of the coolant in the riser or house.
Electric floors are more in demand. For apartments, this is the only way of additional heating.
electric floor
It consists of heating cables or mats laid under a "wet" or "dry" coating. The electric floor is connected to the common house power grid.
Advantages
Electric underfloor heating has a number of advantages that distinguish them favorably:
- The principle of convection of warm air. With radiator heating, the heated air is unevenly distributed throughout the room. Batteries have a peak temperature of +60-65°C. At the bottom of the room, it decreases to + 18-20 ° C, and on the ceiling it rises to + 25-30 ° C. When a room is heated with electricity, the air is evenly distributed. At the surface, its temperature is + 25-30 ° С. Rising to the ceiling, it decreases to + 18-20 ° С. This achieves the main principle of a comfortable indoor microclimate - a warm floor and a cool ceiling.
- Zoning. If the floor heating is electric, then you can create several separate areas for heating the room. This is important for the arrangement of comfortable places of rest. The intensity of heating is regulated by the number of heating elements laid on 1m 2 of the surface.
The apartments have radiator heating. Its power must be taken into account when calculating thermal zones.
- Versatility. Electric heating is suitable for installation both in apartments of multi-storey buildings and in cottages.
- The calculation of power is reduced to the summation of the cost of electricity.
- Floor load. The electric floor is laid under a thin layer of cement-sand screed or under GVL boards. Water - requires significant concrete flooring, which can overload the floors.
- Speed. Installation work on installing a heating system takes less time than water.
- Security. The probability of an emergency when operating a floor with electric heating is much lower than that of a water one.
- Programmability. With the help of remote and stationary control devices, the system operation can be set to an economical mode: active heating at night or on a weekend; an on timer that starts the system a few hours before the arrival of the owners. These options will help integrate underfloor heating into the smart home concept.
- Profitability. controversial option. With improper and illiterate operation, a warm floor will require a lot of electricity to work. Savings can be achieved if the system is configured correctly.
Choosing a warm floor with electric heating begins with a consideration of two parameters:
- power;
- type of heating element.
Power
This is an important parameter for answering the question of how to choose a warm floor. If there is not enough power, then the room will begin to freeze, “dead” cold zones will appear. If there is an excess of heating, then there will be excess heat, and the cost of electrical energy will increase. The number of heating elements per 1 m 2 of the room depends on several parameters:
- climate zone. The specifics of the calculation of all heating systems of residential buildings depend on it. Any territory belongs to its own climatic zone. From this parameter, the power is calculated.
- Rose of Wind. It indicates which side of the world the windows face.
- The thickness and material of the walls, floor and roof of the building. Building materials have a coefficient of thermal conductivity. It calculates the heat loss of the entire structure. This parameter determines which electric underfloor heating is best suited.
- Additional thermal insulation. The power is affected by the quality of the insulation of window frames and door frames, as well as the presence or absence of an additional layer of insulation on the outer walls of the building.
- Functional specifics of the room. Heating power varies in the bedroom and kitchen, hallway and loggia.
- Temperature. For residential premises, the normal temperature is + 19-23 ° С. Under it, a standard calculation is made, but some customers want a higher or lower temperature. This makes adjustments to the final value of the number of heating elements.
The method of carrying out a full-fledged heat engineering calculation requires special knowledge and takes a lot of time. In order to calculate and choose a warm floor at home, there are specialized programs. The initial data is driven into them: the area of \u200b\u200bthe room, the height of the ceilings, an additional layer of insulation and its thickness, the material of the enclosing structures and their thickness, the power of radiator heating, the number of windows in the room and their area.
There is a third way - to use the average values of the number of kW required to heat 1 m 2 of the area of \u200b\u200bdifferent rooms:
- Bathrooms (the only source of heat) - 0.13 kW / m 2;
- Living rooms (in addition to radiator heating) - 0.1-0.15 kW / m 2;
- Rooms without heating or basements - 0.13-0.18 kW / m 2;
- Heating of wooden floors - 0.06-0.08 kW / m 2;
- Floors without cement-sand screed (film floor heating) - 0.1-0.12 kW / m 2;
- Loggias and balconies (the only source of heating) - 0.13-0.18 kW / m 2;
- Floors filled with a thick concrete screed (the main source of heating) - 0.15-0.2 kW / m 2.
Heating element type
This is a fundamental parameter for the design of the entire system. Both the efficiency of heating the room and what material costs will be needed for installation depend on it. Electric underfloor heating according to the type of heating elements are divided into three groups:
- cable;
- heating mats;
- film (infrared).
Cable
This is a construction of heating wires, a heat-insulating substrate, a heat reflector, a screed or wooden flooring, and a finishing coating. Surface heating occurs due to the release of thermal energy from the passage of electric current through a metal conductor.
The maximum heating temperature of the conductor is precisely calculated and must not exceed these values.
There are two types of electrical cables:
- resistive. Resistive cable is the cheapest and simplest type of heating element, a good option for low-cost heating installations.
Resistive cable is simple and zonal:
- A simple cable is a conductor with one or two cores. Outside, it is protected by several layers of thermal insulation in a metal mesh. The average surface heating temperature is +60°С. The insulation protects it from heating up to +200°C.
The single core cable is sold in a fixed length. It is forbidden to connect two ends of different elements together, they will burn out. A simple cable is connected in a closed electrical system, i.e. the beginning and end of the heating element are at the same point. Two-core cables can be interconnected.
A simple cable for underfloor heating cannot be cut. It is designed for a certain length and power. If the integrity of the element is violated, the cable will fail, the entire heating system may burn out.
- Zone cable is a more expensive analogue of a simple heating element. It, depending on production needs, can be cut into small pieces. The zone cable is suitable for installation in small rooms. The heating temperature of its surface does not depend on the length of the section and is constant.
- self-regulating. This is a temperature controlled cable. It maintains the temperature, regardless of external conditions. The self-regulating cable consists of two metal conductors in a plastic sheath. The veins are interconnected by special connections. When the cable heats up, the bonds are broken, and the temperature of the conductor drops to the standard value.
The heating temperature control cable can be cut into pieces. Its cost is higher than that of a conventional resistive heating element.
There are carbon self-regulating cables. Their cost makes them out of reach for most consumers.
Heating mats
This is a kind of cable systems where the heating elements are fixed on a fiberglass base. When attaching a conventional cable, it is difficult to maintain the same distance between the rows. Because of this, the heating of the surface may be uneven. Mats do not have this problem. They are easier to attach to the base of the floor, but otherwise the installation technologies do not differ.
Important! Mats are suitable for laying ceramic granite, which is attached to tile adhesive.
Film (infrared)
This is a different heating system. It is very different from the previous two. The infrared heat-insulated floor consists of a waterproofing film in which the heating element is soldered. There is an option where the film floor consists of a cable (rod). Both types are produced in rolls. How to choose an infrared warm floor?
According to the material from which the heating element is made, infrared floors are divided into:
- carbon;
- bimetallic.
Carbon fiber is made up of carbon fibre. It is sealed in lavsan film. It is a durable, wear-resistant and elastic material. They produce a more expensive version of the graphite-coated film. It gives the material strength and allows you to get the best infrared underfloor heating in its class.
Electric current is supplied to the carbon fiber through copper conductors. The system can only be connected to the electrical network in parallel.
Carbon heating film can be used for wall and ceiling heating.
Before you choose carbon underfloor heating, you need to know that they have a high cost. The graphite-coated option can only be afforded by rich people. Therefore, it is necessary to look for alternative options.
Bimetal infrared floors consist of a polyurethane film and copper conductors with an aluminum sheath. They have a ground wire. This makes adjustments to the technology of its installation.
The film floor cannot be laid under ceramic tiles. The copper reacts with the tile adhesive and oxidizes. The entire system may fail.
Finish coat
It is necessary to choose the right heating element for a specific type of finishing floor covering.
- Ceramic granite. For its installation, a rod, film or cable floor is suitable. The only negative is that the heat from the cable will go up and down at the same time. To avoid this, a heat-reflecting foil screen with insulation is placed between the concrete base and the rod heating. Energy is reflected and directed inside the room.
- Linoleum. A capricious material that, when heated, can swell, change color, and break apart. Therefore, the power of heating elements for linoleum is limited to 0.14-0.15 kW / m 2. Any film or weak cable floor is suitable for its installation.
With severe overheating, phenolic compounds harmful to the body are released from the surface of linoleum.
- Laminate. Does not respond well to sudden changes in temperature. Infrared film is an ideal option for installation under a laminate. Heating mats are also used. Installation does not take much time. A protective substrate is laid on the film and a laminate is laid. In case of failure of the heating system, the laminate is easily dismantled, the breakdown is corrected, and the coating is quickly restored.
- Carpet. Material that requires minimal heating. It is laid on a film infrared floor.
If you use an infrared floor as the main source of heating, you will need twice as much electricity as for cable heating. Therefore, the film floor is practically not used as the main source of heat.
After a power outage, a thick screed over an electric cable floor can heat a room with internal heat for several hours. The infrared floor will cool down in a few minutes.
What is more durable?
Underfloor heating and electrical components how to choose an option for many years? The service life of film and cable underfloor heating is approximately the same. First of all, it depends on the quality of the installation. If the floors were laid on an uneven, torn base, then over time the heating elements will fray, the system will fail.
Power surges adversely affect the life of electrical components. The more unstable the network, the sooner they can fail. The problem can be solved by installing stationary voltage stabilizers.
What is more reliable?
The infrared floor is stronger. It is more resistant to damage from mechanical stress. If the cable floor fails, the entire heating system will need to be replaced. At the infrared floor, only one faulty section needs to be changed.
Video: warm electric floors
The article has answers to the technical side of the question, which underfloor heating to choose. These tips should be followed when developing a plan for the main and additional heating of a room or apartment. Installation of the floor can be done independently, without resorting to the help of third-party organizations. The main thing is to weigh everything and choose the most cost-effective option.
