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Everyone wants to get efficient energy and help reduce carbon emissions to save the earth. It is also wanted by those who plan to apply the heating system in their house. Here is a must-read underfloor heating guide for you.
Underfloor Heating Leads To Efficient Energy and Reduces Carbon Emission
The heating system we know has a simple principle: heat rises. The heating system used fire and then a radiator. It was applied directly, so that old houses usually have fire stoves and chimneys. The next technology is using an underfloor heating system.
Underfloor heating systems do this by placing the heating elements underneath the floor. Then heat rises into the room and up through the house. There are two underfloor heating systems in the main heating generation process group and the heating element. Those are:
– Wet (water-based). This system uses hot water through pipes to create heat,
– Dry (electric). This system uses electric coils whereas heats wiring beneath the floor.
Both wet and dry systems usually place the pipes or coils on top of a separated insulation layer to ensure the heat is directed upwards into the house. Systems are connected to a hot water boiler or mains electricity supply, while a thermostat regulates temperature.
Selecting the best match type, you need to know the room size and how often warm temperature will be needed there, is it needed for your new building or for extended / renovation.
The Underfloor Heating Installation
Selecting the best type and size depends on the house’s size. So, you must follow these steps:
Before Installation
Customers can measure the size of their rooms by themselves, but they need help to estimate how long the piping system should prepare, how many thermal actuators are needed, and the size of the boiler and pump. Many companies give free of charge for the estimation service.
During Installation
Applying the heating system is not a problem because the company usually has an expert who can help the customer.
After Installation
The installation is done, then to keep the system working correctly, it is necessary to do regular checking so that it can serve for a long time. The regular checking could do by an expert from the company. Any time a problem appears, the expert could help immediately.
The Other Details of Underfloor Heating Guide
Underfloor heating system installation cost and time will increase for retrofitting underfloor heating in an existing home. The height issue also appears if you do not want to increase the floor build-up when ceiling heights are fixed. That is another factor to consider, whether you are installing a wet or dry underfloor heating system.
Dry or electric underfloor heating is oftentimes cheaper and easier to install than the wet type, especially in existing homes, but the operational costs can be higher significantly. Electric/dry systems are often used to heat single rooms, like bathrooms or kitchens. In another way, water underfloor heating systems require a deeper installation technique using screeding, so the water or wet system is typically recommended for new-build projects.
Electric systems offer mats or loose wires to suit the floor space. In bathrooms or small rooms, mats will easily do the job and are quite easy to install. You can lay them out across the smooth floor, with insulation placed above and below as needed. While the loose-wired systems can be distributed across larger floor spaces. The benefit is their flexibility of shapes or layouts. You only need to pay attention to make it have even space, or you will have some patches which are warmer than others.
Water underfloor heating systems installed in an existing house will need a low-profile option that uses smaller diameter pipes and runs at a higher temperature. This means that the floor will heat up and cool down far more quickly than conventional underfloor heating. Suppose an underfloor heating system is added to an existing radiator heating system, then a different system control is needed. This situation will be different if applying it to a new building.
Whether you choose the wet or dry system, it is necessary to get advice from an expert so that your estimation is not so far from reality. Hopefully, this underfloor heating guide can give you enough information before you apply the heating system to your house. Lastly, do not forget to connect your underfloor heating system with a smart thermostat so that we can control the heat through the thermostat or smartphones.