UNDERFLOOR HEATING - GENERAL
Underfloor heating has been known since ancient times - you can see in the photo below a sample of an ancient residence from the Museum in Dion, Katerini, which, with the use of fire, had floor heating. However, it began to spread more only in recent decades, with its demand increasing rapidly in recent years, due to the low installation cost of the system, which came to rival the installation of radiators.
Floor heating is a heating system with low temperature water (45°C) and the heating surface is the floor, within which multilayer and aluminium pipes are placed. It is offered for heating any space either independently or in combination with other systems (e.g. radiators) as well as for cooling.
The advantages of underfloor heating over other heating systems are:
Uniform temperature distribution in the rooms.
Very healthy way of heating as there is no air movement nor annoying dust.
The floor is pleasantly warm in winter or cool in summer, offering ideal conditions of comfort and well-being.
Total freedom in the layout and decoration of the house.
Space-saving by avoiding the installation of radiators.
Low water temperature.
Very low operating costs - can be used in combination with alternative energy sources such as heat pump and solar panels with a gain of up to 70% compared to oil and gas.
Its disadvantages are:
Need for a specialized designer – installer.
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
· CONSTRUCTION
Underfloor heating pipes are laid after the coatings and before the final floor coverings.
The height of the floor heating construction varies from 2.1 to 10.5 cm, depending on the construction and the needs of the space, e.g. in the case of tiles with glue the total height of the floor heating formwork-pipe-tile-tile-tile starts from 3.1 cm and reaches 10.2 cm. It is also possible to install wooden flooring, marble, etc. In renovations we usually choose a low height due to lack of space, while in new constructions we choose solutions of greater height since there is usually no problem with the height of the floor as there has been a corresponding study of the installation of underfloor heating.
In the rooms where floor heating will be installed, the insulating wall tape, the transformer and the collectors (distributors) are initially installed. Then, the pipe is laid cold, without joints, with a certain density, according to the study, so that during heating the thermal needs of each room are met. Immediately after the installation of the pipes, they are checked at a pressure of 6 bar for 24 hours to ensure the correct and good operation of the system. Finally, either the tile is laid directly (with glue on the structure), or the pipes are covered with cement mortar (thermal concrete) of different height (from 3 to 4.5 cm) depending on the space and the floor is ready to receive the final coating (marble, tiles, wood, etc.).
· MATERIALS USED
1. MORPHOPLATE/INSULATING FLOOR TILE
The Morphoplate (floor insulation board) , which is laid under the floor heating, is hard plates of expanded polystyrene of high density (30 Kg/m3), 50mm high, with a quick support system between them to have easy and quick installation, stability, sound insulation, thermal insulation, mechanical strength, pipe support, pipe spacing selection (75/150/225/300 mm), minimizing thermal bridges with special treatment. Their packaging is in cartons of 10 m2 making their transport easy and safe (without damage).
2. TUBE
Our company uses pipe made entirely in Germany with 30 years warranty!!!!
The types of plastic pipes used are multilayer, or, of the newest technology, laminated with aluminum, for higher performance and strength.
The pipe is made of polyethylene of high molecular structure. It is networked by electron bombardment during its production and thus a complete homogeneity of material mass by 100% is achieved (DIN 1689/3, SKZ, DVGW, ISO 9001).
Its construction turns it into a tube of higher strength, without creaking, with very little expansion and 100% oxygen barrier. Ιt does not need to be heated while installing it on the floor and, once it's laid, it easily takes on the shape that was given to it due to its construction.
The placement of the circuits is done strictly without joining into the floor.
Its advantages are:
Resistant to high pressure and temperature (10 bar I 6 bar I 95°C I 110°C).
It does not age.
It is resistant to corrosion by salts, antifreezes and various chemical additives of water.
It does not crumple - it is bent by hand up to 5 times in its diameter.
It does not tear, even if scratched.
It is unbreakable on impacts.
Resistant to bending (minimum radius of curvature at O°C = 8 times its diameter).
It has the smallest frictional losses.
It is silent even at high flow rates.
It does not self-ignites.
It does not need to be heated during its installation.
It is easy to handle, cut and connect.
It has a very low coefficient of expansion.
At the beginning of the winter season and for a while we can pump high-temperature water without any problems in order to boost the process of heating.
3. EXPANSION JOINTS – WALL INSULATION
During the operation of floor heating, the floor expands and contracts. These contractions and expansions are approximately 4mm in a length of about 10m for the conditions under which the system operates. In order to eliminate these expansions, a wide easy-to-compress tape (1cm thick and as high as the floor heating and the final floor together) is placed around each space, called insulating wall tape.
The wall insulation tape is made of extruded polyethylene foam DIN 4102. It is placed around the perimeter of the wall to separate the thermobond from the neighbouring building materials in order to help with the contraction of the thermobond to avoid thermal and acoustic bridges.
4. COLLECTORS – DISTRIBUTORS
Brass and stainless steel (inox) are placed on the wall at a height of 60cm. They are with switches on the inlet, internal regulation, with regulating valves on the return and built-in racks. There is the possibility of installing flow meters and thermostatic heads for complete autonomy of the rooms per circuit.
· ENSURING PROPER OPERATION WITHOUT PROBLEMS
- FIBRES AND CEMENT EXPANSION JOINTS
Polypropylene fibres are a reinforcing additive for concrete, cement mortars and lime mortars. They improve its flexibility, impact and surface abrasion resistance and consistency. They disperse and form a three-dimensional lattice, which absorbs shrinkage stresses and prevents the formation of cracks during drying.
The cavities are placed in the cement that is poured over the floor heating, at the points where two different types of flooring are to be installed so that no problems are created by their contractions.
- IMPROVING EMULSION - THERMAL CONCRETE FLUIDIZER - SPECIAL CEMENT LIQUID
They are added to improve the mechanical strength and thermal conductivity of heated thermal concrete
UNDERFLOOR HEATING WITH SOLAR PANELS
The combination of installing solar panels with floor heating contributes significantly to energy saving for heating with a profit of up to 70%!!!
The solar heating tank is placed between the boiler and the floor heating system. Inside it, there is a heat exchanger connected to the solar panels, which heats the water of the underfloor heating system during the days of winter when sunshine prevails. As soon as the water reaches the desired temperature, it is automatically channeled to the floor heating with a command received from the electronic differential thermostat.
With this system we save energy from conventional fuels such as oil or natural gas that can reach very high rates!
CALCULATION OF CONSTRUCTION HEIGHT
– CLASSIC SYSTEM WITH Φ17Χ2 PIPE
Total construction height:
· with floor insulation panels of 1.5 cm: 1.5 + 1.7 pipe + 4.5 cement = 7.7 cm final construction height
· with floor insulation panels of 1.5 cm: 1.5 + 1.7 pipe + 3 cement/fiber = 6.2 cm final construction height
· with floor insulation panels of 2.5 cm: 2.5 + 1.7 pipe + 4.5 cement = 8.7 cm final construction height
– LOW RISE SYSTEM WITH Φ16Χ2 PIPE
Total construction height:
· with floor insulation panels of 0.6 cm: 0.6 + 1.6 pipe + 3 cement/fiber = 5.2 cm final construction height
· with floor insulation panels of 0.6 cm: 0.6 + 1.6 pipe + 1 liquid cement = 3.2 cm final construction height
– LOW RISE SYSTEM WITH Φ10Χ1 PIPE
Total construction height:
· with floor insulation panels of 0.3 cm: 0.3 + 1.0 pipe + 0.8 cement = 2.1 cm final construction height
– ULTRA-LOW HEIGHT DRY STRUCTURE SYSTEM
Total construction height:
· with floor insulation panels of 2.5 cm with built-in pipe 1.4 cm & diffusion sheet = 2.5 cm final construction height
· Our partners...
"More than 20,000,000 meters of pipe have been installed in Greece!!!”
· Some of our products & projects...
