Warm Water
Underfloor Heating
The basic principle of all types of underfloor heating is the same. To warm the floor thereby creating a low temperature heat source with a large surface area. Instead of one small piping hot radiator on the wall the entire floor becomes a "warmth radiator" under your feet.
The temperature of the floor has to be high enough to warm the room to normal living temperatures, but never too warm to become uncomfortable underfoot. Then as the heat rises, the room is warmed to a comfortable uniform level.
A warm water underfloor heating system works by pumping relatively low temperature water (typically 50°-55°C) through a series of continuous high quality, polyethylene pipes which are laid under the floor.
Since the entire floor can now act as a radiant heat source, it doesn't have to emit as much heat per square metre as a much smaller wall radiator. That's why the water temperature can be lower than when employing a standard central heating system which means the boiler uses less fuel And that's good for the environment, not to mention your pocket.
A water underfloor heating system is ideally suited to gas burning condensing boilers, but can just as easily be used with any other heat source including solar, geothermal or even an existing or new central heating system.
The plastic pipes
are placed in the floor construction which can be either a screed of concrete or floorboards. No inaccessible joints are placed under the floor and pipe lengths without any joints are employed throughout. They are then placed with sufficient spacing to ensure a uniform warmth.
Warm water is then pumped into the tubes and around the rooms which can be zoned with individual thermostats.
When the room temperature falls, the thermostat triggers the corresponding electrical actuator on the manifold. Hot water from the boiler is then blended, via a mixing valve, with the warm water returning from the underfloor heating system. This water is then pumped around the zone until the air temperature reaches the desired level and switches the zone off. The process is entirely automatic, providing warmth in an unobtrusive, comfortable and economic way.
Whilst warm water underfloor heating is easiest to install in a new build or complete renovation situations, kits exist which allow the addition of a warm water underfloor heating system in for example a conservatory or new extension. These kits are designed to link up and add to an existing central heating system. They are easy to install and are available in various sizes.
There are three standard ways of installing a warm water underfloor heating system depending on the floor in question:
Solid Floor System Design - where pipes are laid within a solid concrete or screeded floor. Insulation is built into the floor as required by Building Regulations and the heating pipe is simply placed according to the design plan and permanently covered by screed.
Suspended Floor System Design - where the heating pipes are fixed between the joists of a suspended floor, either from above or from below. Alternatively the pipes can be laid between battens above the joists.
Standard insulation is then inserted between the joists to prevent heat loss.
Standard tongue and groove floor board is laid above the system or
Floating Floor System Design - where underfloor heating is installed in floating floors above an existing solid or timber floor. Here the pipes are generally fixed to panels and floor boards are laid above the system.
