underfloor heating

General facts on radiant heating and cooling

Thermal comfort can be described as the point at which the human body feels at ease and comfortable with the surrounding environment. There are many factors that influence the way people feel the temperature, such as direct sunshine, humidity, draught and how evenly the temperature is distributed. With radiant floor heating the feeling of thermal comfort can be increased, as the temperature is stable and there is no draught. It is also a method that satisfies other senses, too. It is completely invisible and very silent.

An under-floor system, however, heats almost entirely by radiation. This is the most natural and comfortable form of heating, like the sun. Radiant energy is emitted by the floor, partly reflected by each surface and partly absorbed. Where it is absorbed, that surface becomes a secondary heat emitter. After a while, all surfaces and furnishings themselves radiate energy and the room becomes evenly and uniformly warmed.

The energy reaches into every corner of the room or space, which means no cold spots, no warm ceiling and no cold feet! In buildings with high ceilings, the temperature actually reduces as the height increases, whilst with other systems, the convection effect increases the temperatures at high level, giving a high heat loss through the roof. In addition to this, with under-floor heating, the comfort level is achieved with an air temperature that is 2°C lower than convection heating systems. These factors mean that when designing an under-floor heating system, little allowance is required for buildings with high ceilings such as churches, barns, sports halls and similar buildings.

And it’s healthier. Under-floor heating reduces humidity within floor coverings, preventing dust mites from surviving or ensuring that they rise to the surface, where regular cleaning removes them. The reduction in air movement with underfloor heating also reduces the ingress of airborne and carpet or floor covering fungi spores, leading to an allergy free environment.

The system is installed within the building floor construction. It comprises a cross link polyethylene (PE-X) pipe or polybutylene (Pb) pipe, specifically manufactured for under-floor heating, installed within the floor in a specific design configuration with components to suit the floor type.
Water at temperatures of 45–65°C is circulated through a network of under-floor pipe work, heating the floor to a temperature of 23–32°C and turning the floor into a low temperature heat emitter.

It can be installed in any type of floor construction: screed concrete; structural concrete; timber joisted and timber floating floors with nearly all floor coverings.

Features and Benefits of Underfloor Heating and Cooling

pace:
Every square metre of your home can be fully utilised. Radiant floor heating allows you to design your home to suit you rather than your heating engineer.

Hygiene:
Healthy indoor environment. There will be less dust and the hygienic environment will be improved, helping to reduce house dust mites.

Aesthetics:
Radiant floor heating permits freedom for interior design. You can furnish as you like, no radiators to determine how the furniture should be placed.

Labour saving:
Cleaning of the floors is easier and wet floors dry very quickly.

Comfort:
Radiant heat will provide the highest comfort levels. Uponor Radiant Underfloor Heating is considered by some to be a luxury; the actual cost, however, is very competitive.

Silence:
Compared to radiator systems, there is no noise.

Cost effective:
Saves energy and running costs. Energy saving from 15-40% can be achieved with radiant underfloor heating.

Ease of control:
Small temperature difference between the floors means the system is practically self regulating.

Economic:
As Uponor is a pipe manufacturer, not just a specialist underfloor heating company, our price may be very similar to a radiator system.

Adaptable:
The installation is fast and simple, when using Uponor Underfloor Heating System.

Low-temperature system:
It is possible to use different heat sources – the water in the pipes can be heated by using oil burners, gas burners, solar energy, electricity etc.

Uponor Underfloor Heating is hiding under many floors, whatever the type.
Our systems can be installed in many different types of floor construction and - surfaces. Public baths and indoor swimming pools, warm floors for bare feet. Wet floor areas also dry quickly. Buildings with high ceilings and large floor surfaces are ideal for Uponor Underfloor Heating. It reduces heating cost and increases comfort. The air convection is lower, and the heating is where the action is – not above head height.

General Overview of Warm Water Under-floor Heating

Our water based under-floor heating system offers the complete solution creating the perfect comfort zone in any environment. It is also a system that puts you in complete control with both individual room temperature and weather compensation sensors available. And what’s more, you’ll find it makes complete sense helping you to save money, while delivering environmental and health benefits. Indeed, constructed from the best of materials (life in excess of 50 years - 10 year system guarantee), the system offers you complete peace of mind.

There are different kinds of heating systems and different kinds of heat. With our under-floor heating system, you get a heat that is most conducive to your comfort. A radiant heat that ensures you feel comfortable even at a lower air temperature than that produced by a more traditional convection system.
With our system, the floor structure is gently warmed throughout typically 23-26°C to create a large radiant surface. In contact with this surface, people and objects absorb the energy emitted without it directly heating the air first. This also means that there is no loss of air quality in the room. The result is that you experience warm feet real comfort! And a cool clear head.

When considering the cost of a heating system, you have to look at the capital cost plus the running costs over the life of the system.
Significantly, our under-floor heating system can help you to save up to 20% on domestic fuel bills, and can cut a remarkable 50% or more off the heating costs for large commercial properties.

General Overview of Electric Under-floor Heating

Different floor types require different under-floor heating solutions. As a specialist supplier and installer of electric under-floor heating we offer a wide range of heating systems to suit all floor types.

We supply floor heating solutions for wooden and tile floors throughout the UK. If you are located outside our installation area we can also refer you to a recommended electrician local to you to complete your installation.

All under-floor heating systems require adequate insulation either beneath the screed or directly beneath the heating cables. Where adequate insulation (10mm) is fitted below the screed our under tile cables or under tile mats can be installed directly on top of the primed screed. The floor can then be tiled over.

If you are unsure of the existing insulation it will be essential to fit an insulated tile backing board prior to the installation of the heating system.

With adequate insulation, under tile heating cables and mats designed to 150w/m² will provide a full floor heating solution. Mats designed to 125w/m² will provide tile warming and secondary heating.

Tiled floor finish on to timber or plywood base

All timber floors including floor boards, chipboard or plywood must be assessed to confirm their structural integrity and suitability for tiling prior to the installation of under-floor heating. Floorboards will always require the provision of insulated tile backing boards prior to heating being installed. Mats and cables can be fitted directly to ply-wood and moisture proof chipboard provided the floor is treated with a suitable priming solution. The design will vary from 100w/m² to 150w/m² dependent upon the specification of the floor base.

Under tile cables generally offer a far more flexible electric under-floor heating solution is terms of both area coverage and designed watts per m². Alternatively, under tile mats provide a quick solution for irregular shaped areas.

All under-floor heating installations must be connected via an RCD (earth trip) protected circuit. For those under-floor heating applications in bathrooms, wet rooms and shower rooms heating cables with an earth screen must be used. Cables or mats with twin conductors are considered easier to install than single wire alternatives.

In screed cables

In screed systems provide a highly efficient heating solution for new build properties or areas where a new floor is being fitted. The heating cables are installed directly above the foil faced insulation below a 65mm screed. Design parameters require output of between 130w/m² and 200w/m² dependent upon the room and construction type.

Laminate floor finish Floating floors reduce the overall loading within a building, reducing the weight of the floor compared to other floor systems.

Insulation panels are pre-grooved at 200mm centres with a bell shaped groove at one end of the panel to allow the pipe to turn at the end of its run.

The grooves are made so an aluminium plate can be installed that spreads the heat from the pipe to the underside of the floor. The panels are produced in a range from 30mm–100mm in thickness. The installation of this system is very simple. Panels are laid with the bell at each end of the room with panels butt jointed and cut to size.

Once the panels are in place, the aluminium plates are fitted within the grooves in much the same way as the plated Foil mat systems are the preferred option for laminate and engineered wood floor insulation beneath carbon heating films can provide a highly effective heating medium. The same insulation with heating films of varying outputs and sizes can also be used to provide full or secondary heating for most areas of your house.

Carbon film heating systems are not suitable for use in bathrooms or shower rooms as they do not employ an earth screen.

If you can't find your floor type or specification here or you would like specific design advice please contact us for technical assistance.

Under-floor heating requires water flow temperatures of approximately 45°C–60°C, depending on the design, heat loading and type of system. With a typical temperature drop across the under-floor heating flow and return of between 5°C–10°C, the return water temperature can be as low as 35°C. This can be important when considering which boiler is to be used in conjunction with the under-floor heating system. Some oil boilers, for example, may need additional controls to provide protection from low return temperatures.

Single areas of under-floor heating can be effectively controlled by means of a room thermostat and a two port motorised valve. This control can be further enhanced by using a programmable room thermostat to provide both time and temperature control. Many programmable thermostats now have additional control features, such as night set back and optimum start, which can be utilised with under-floor heating systems.

Individual rooms fed from the same manifold can be controlled by means of room thermostats and Thermoelectric Actuators. Thermoelectric Actuators are designed for a simple twist fitting to the regulating valves on the return header manifold.

When multiple room control is required, the room thermostats can be wired through a control centre.