How to make a water heated floor. How to make warm water floors in a private house How to make warm floors

What is a water heated floor? This is a capital liquid heating system in which the air in the room is heated through the use of a flooring structure with a system of pipes through which the coolant circulates. The underfloor heating system is connected to a local (gas boiler) or central system heating.

The water floor heating system can be operated as the main heating of the house (an independent source of heating) or as an additional one. Depending on the design and method of heating, they emit different types warm floors: water and (cable, rod,).

A water heated floor is a durable and economical heating system, but its installation is associated with significant difficulties and costs. Therefore, the installation of a warm floor system is entrusted to professionals. For those who decide to make a water heated floor with their own hands, we will tell you what stages this process consists of, and pay attention to the main subtleties of design and installation.

Water heated floor - advantages and disadvantages

Pros:

• efficient redistribution of heat, ensuring uniform heating of the entire room;

• ensuring natural air circulation;

• underfloor heating compatibility with any type floor covering(provided that it conducts heat well: tiles, laminate, natural stone);

• the ability to install an autonomous system (individual heating) or connect to the central heating main;

• reduction of heating costs by 20-40% (compared to radiator);

• independence from power supply (and power outages);

• the ability to adjust the temperature in individual rooms and at any time of the day;

• minimum costs for self-assembly;

• getting better appearance premises due to the absence of radiators and visible pipes of the heating system;

Minuses:

• inertia of the system. The warm-up time of the room is 4-6 hours (depending on the volume, area);

• the complexity of the design in the case of using a warm floor as the only source of space heating;

• high installation cost;

• difficult to regulate temperature regime in case of connection to the central heating main;

• reducing the height of the room by raising the floor by 100-120 mm;

• the use of floor coverings such as carpet, carpet or carpet is excluded;

• the possibility of leakage (in an apartment - flooding of neighbors from below, in a private house - a basement);

• low maintainability of the pipe system;

Water heated floor - do-it-yourself installation

Step-by-step instructions for installing water floor heating include four consecutive steps:

1. Develop on your own, download a ready-made standard or order an individual project of a warm water floor. At this stage, it is recommended to involve a specialist in order to eliminate errors.
2. Select equipment and building materials.
3. Proper installation of underfloor heating system.
4. Carry out a check and the first start of a water-heated floor.
5. Finishing, laying flooring (tiles, laminate, linoleum).

Stage 1 - designing a warm floor

Before proceeding with the drafting of the project, it is necessary to make sure that there are no unremovable obstacles to the installation of the system in the room. These may be:

• room height. The thickness of the warm water floor (mounted system) is 100-120 mm. This raises the floor to the appropriate height;

• location of the door. Due to the installation of the system, the floor level rises. It is necessary to maintain the height of the doorway at 2200 mm (standard door and mounting clearances) or evaluate the possibility of increasing the doorway or estimate how much it will cost to make a door to order;

• window orientation. Windows located to the north or northwest, or oriented to the windy side, or having a large size, may cause the system capacity to be increased to compensate for heat loss through the external circuit and provide the desired room temperature;

  Note. If calculated heat loss are more than 100 W/sq.m. installation of a water heating system is impractical.

• bearing capacity of beams or floor slabs. Given the weight concrete screed, the ability of floor slabs or beams to support the weight of a water-heated floor system should be assessed. Old floors are not yet a reason to abandon the system as a whole, but a reason to explore the water floor.

In view of the requirements listed above, water-heated floors in a private house are more common than in apartments in high-rise buildings.

If there are no obstacles for the device, you can start designing.

Calculation of a water heated floor

The required amount of material is calculated depending on the parameters of the heated room and specifications component equipment and materials. The calculation of a warm water floor is made on the basis of the following data:

• floor area and room height;
• material of walls and ceilings;
• degree and type of thermal insulation;
• type of flooring;
• pipe material and diameter;
• power of the heating element (boiler or central);
• desired temperature regime (see table).

Limiting (maximum) surface temperature of a warm floor for rooms for various purposes

After that, a sketch (diagram, drawing) is made, reflecting the installation location of the main equipment, the method and step of placing the pipes.

How to make a water heated floor

Be sure to pay attention (device features):

• floor heating elements must not be installed in places where furniture is located, because this can cause them to overheat and dry out;

• it is not recommended to exceed the length of the circuit over 90 m (the limit value depends on the pipe section);

The maximum length of the water floor heating contour (loop) depending on the diameter of the pipes used

The deviation is explained by the fact that the hydraulic resistance (deceleration of the movement of the coolant) and thermal load are directly related to the pipe diameter.

Masters consider it optimal, the length of the circuit is 50-60 m (with a pipe cross section of 20 mm). If necessary, it is advisable to install two circuits of the same length. This is due to the fact that in the process of moving through the pipes, the hot year gives off part of the thermal energy, and the floor temperature decreases. The use of short circuits will ensure uniform heating of the floor over the entire area.

Note. The length of the circuit is calculated from the point of exit from the collector, not only at the point of entry into the heated room.

• the step of laying pipes for underfloor heating is 100-500 mm;

Note. When using a water heated floor as an additional (alternative) source of heating, a pipe laying step of 300-500 mm is recommended. In the case of installation of a non-alternative (main) system, the step is reduced and amounts to 100-300 mm. If the laying step is exceeded, the “thermal zebra” effect appears, and the difference in the temperature of the floor surface is felt by the foot.

• installation of thermostats will avoid overheating, and reduce the cost of operating the system.

Water heated floor in the apartment from central heating

Important. Installing an underfloor heating system in an apartment is fraught with a number of difficulties. In particular, it is necessary to submit the project to the housing office or the society of co-owners, as well as the district heating network. After the approval of the project, obtain a conclusion on the possibility of installing the system. Usually, installation is allowed only in new houses, where there is a separate riser for pumping hot water (used in case of a breakthrough).

Installation of a warm floor in the bathroom is allowed by connecting through the outlet to the coil from the heated towel rail. A permit is not required for heating a small area.

In addition to the component installation scheme, at the design stage, the type (type) of the underfloor heating system is selected.

1. concrete system. It involves pouring pipes with concrete (arrangement of the screed);
2. decking system. It involves the use of wood or polystyrene flooring. In this case, there are no "wet" processes and the speed of work increases.

Stage 2 - accessories for underfloor heating

Warm water floor a complex system heating pipes. Therefore, we list what is needed for installing a warm floor (system components).

Boiler for warm water floor

The best and most common option in a private house (apartment) is to connect to a gas boiler. If the apartment does not have individual heating, you can connect to the main central heating, but the autonomy of the project is lost.

It is also possible to use electric water floors. Their peculiarity is that the heating cable is laid inside the pipe, which guarantees uniform heating of the coolant (water, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol) along the entire length of the circuit. The undoubted advantage lies in the possibility of installation in apartment buildings (because they are not connected to the heating main, which means there is no risk of damage to the attachment point). But there is also a significant drawback - the high cost of electricity, which is necessary to ensure the functioning (heating) of the system.

The design power of the boiler should be 15-20% higher than the total power of all floors in the room.

Circulation pump for underfloor heating

It is necessary to ensure the movement of the coolant in the system. The pump built into the boiler will not cope with the load if the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe house exceeds 100 sq.m.

Pipes for a warm water floor

• copper pipes according to experts, they are considered an ideal option - durable, have a high heat transfer, but their cost will significantly increase the installation budget;

• plastic pipes leading in terms of price / quality ratio. Their composition eliminates the appearance of corrosion and accumulations, which leaves the diameter of the pipe flow area unchanged. Besides, metal-plastic pipes are lightweight, easy to bend and have a high temperature limit.

• polypropylene pipes are attracted by a low price, but there is a high probability of buying a low-quality product.

• PEX pipes made of cross-linked polyethylene are reliable, but require rigid fastening, tk. straighten when heated. Users recommend reducing the mounting pitch of holders when using PEX pipes by 2-3 times.

The optimal section is 16-20 mm. Pipe consumption per 1 sq.m. 5-6 m.p. (with a step of 200 mm).

Note. According to reviews, users are advised to use products only famous brands(Uponor, Rehau).

Insulation for warm water floor

The following materials can be used as thermal insulation:

• foil polyethylene (with a minimum design thickness of a warm floor);

• expanded polystyrene. Users recommend using ready-made thermal insulation mats having protrusions for laying pipes with a pitch of 50x50 mm;

• mineral wool. Users speak poorly of wool in the case of a concrete system due to the ability of mineral wool to absorb some of the moisture from the solution.

Advice. The heat-insulating layer (insulation thickness for underfloor heating) above the basement, in the basement, on the first floor in a private house, should be thicker. In addition, the higher the expected temperature of the coolant, the thicker the thermal insulation layer must be made.

Heat consumption meter

Installing a heat meter in an apartment is relevant when obtaining permission to install a water-heated floor in an apartment building.

manifold cabinet

It is installed for the installation of adjusting elements and for joining the pipes of the circuits with the heat supply main.

Reinforcing mesh for underfloor heating

Regarding the laying of reinforced stacks, user opinions differ. In general, the reinforcement mesh will further strengthen the concrete screed after the pipe system has been laid.

Components for the tie device

• concrete (cement, sand, water);
• damper tape 100-150 mm wide;
• fasteners for fixing pipes.

Stage 3 - do-it-yourself installation of a warm water floor

1. Installation of manifold cabinet

Installation of the system begins with the installation of a collector cabinet, the mandatory elements of which are (collector assembly): a collector, a pump, an air vent valve and a drain outlet. Collector dimensions depend on its configuration. It is recommended to install the manifold at an equal distance from all circuits. If it is impossible to fulfill this recommendation, near the longest of the contours.

Important. When installing the collector, it is provided free space for pipe bending. In this case, installation of pipes from above is not allowed, only from below. This will ensure the normal movement of the coolant. The installation of a shut-off valve between the piping system and the collector will simplify the maintenance of the system if necessary (prevention, descent, repair).

2. Preparation of the base for underfloor heating

The surface is cleared of debris, differences in floor heights (slopes, elevations) are eliminated.

Laying on the prepared surface thermal insulation material reducing heat loss through the floor. Next, a waterproofing film is covered. Laying damper tape levels the thermal expansion of the concrete screed.

Floors under a water-heated floor must be leveled to ensure a screed of the same thickness (a guarantee of uniform heat distribution over the surface)

3. Laying pipes for underfloor heating

Installation of water floor heating pipes can be performed by several methods (laying schemes):

Snail

Pipes are laid around the perimeter of the room, tapering towards the center. It is obligatory to lay pipes through a row in order to ensure the possibility of a reverse flow of the coolant and a more uniform heat transfer.

The method is used when, due to the complex configuration of the room, it is necessary to shift the center of the pipe system, as well as in rooms with an area of ​​​​more than 40 sq.m.

Snake (loops)

In this case, the pipe from the heater runs along outer wall, then undulates back. The scheme is suitable for small spaces.

Meander (double snake or combined scheme)

The serpentine loops are arranged in parallel and allow organizing the movement of warm and cooled coolant through the pipes. This method is good because it allows you to compensate for the cooling of the pipes.

The material was prepared for the site www.site

Advice. Masters are advised to start laying from the outer or colder walls of the room.

To perform the layout correctly, it is recommended for a beginner to first mark the floor surface. At the time of installation of a warm floor in subsequent rooms, laying will be done "by eye". Only solid pipes or reliable connections are used for laying.

Pipe laying begins by connecting one end of it to the supply manifold.

You can organize insulation near the outer walls by changing the order of the pipe layout, as shown in the diagram.

After laying the pipe on the designated contour, it is fixed with a clamp. Alternatively, you can use dowels and tie the pipe to them using copper wire, or lay a reinforcing mesh on the floor and tie the pipe to it, allowing the thermal expansion of materials.

Simplifies the work of a ribbed polystyrene substrate under a warm water floor, the use of which at the same time allows you to provide thermal insulation and lay pipes in even rows.

4. Connecting the floor heating collector

After laying the circuit, the free end of the pipe is connected to the return manifold.

5. Crimping of a warm water floor

Pressure testing of pipes (hydraulic test), this is the name of the procedure for checking the quality of laying, because at this stage, it is possible to make adjustments to the heating system of a water-heated floor.

Pressure testing involves the inlet of water into the system under high pressure. The pressure recommended for testing exceeds the calculated working pressure by 1.5-2 times (at least 0.6 MPa). In the first half hour of pressing, a pressure decrease of no more than 10% is permissible, in the next 2 - 15% of the initial value. The water temperature remains unchanged. Check time - a day or more. If no violations are detected, and the floor warms up evenly, you can continue to work.

6. Screed for a warm water floor

For screed can be used:

• any ready-made mixture, a mandatory characteristic of which is the ability to conduct heat well;

• classical concrete (with cement grade not less than M 300) with the addition of a plasticizer (3-5%).

The height of the screed varies in the range of 3-7 mm. The solution is filled with a full (filled with coolant) system with a pressure specified during pressure testing. Full time hardening of concrete - 28 days. For a mixture, the setting time is determined by the manufacturer.

Note. Expansion joints are provided on the surface of a large area (more than 40 sq.m.).

Stage 4 - the first launch of a warm water floor

After complete hardening (drying) of the floor screed, the system is ready to start. It will reach the specified parameters within 2-3 days.

Stage 5 - finishing the underfloor heating

Fully finished underfloor heating is covered finishing material. The most popular flooring today is tile and laminate.

Water heated floor under the laminate is widespread. However, the installation of the laminate in this case is carried out with some nuances:

• the quality of the laminate must be confirmed by a certificate. After all, when it is heated, harmful substances will be released into the room. Typically, underfloor heating laminate is labeled "Warm wasser";

• the heat insulator under the laminate does not fit;

• ventilation of the covered laminate floor is obligatory. To do this, a gap of 10-15 mm thick is left around the perimeter, which is then closed with a plinth;

• before laying the laminate is placed in a room to set the floor temperature. At the same time, packages with lamellas must be placed on the floor, and not stacked in one high pile.

As you can see, the use of laminate as a floor covering does not create additional difficulties, however, the masters advise using a water-heated floor under the tiles. This is due to the fact that the laminate is characterized by low thermal conductivity (the thicker the lamella, the lower this indicator), and it also contains connectors, the fumes of which may not have the best effect on the health of the residents of the house.

How to make a water heated floor with your own hands - video

Water heated floors will last long time in the event that you follow the recommendations for their operation, which contain user reviews. The main requirements are as follows:

• a gradual rise in temperature is required. Do not run the system at "maximum" after a period of inactivity (until the floor has completely cooled). Users recommend a stepwise increase - by 4-5 ° C per day;

• the temperature of the incoming coolant should not exceed 45 °C;

• It is not recommended to turn on/off the system frequently. This will not lead to additional savings;

• need to provide optimal humidity in room. A balanced microclimate will favorably affect human health.

Conclusion

In addition to installing a warm water floor system inside the house, you can perform installation work on the street, for example, for the installation of a snowmelt and anti-icing system (for heating the footpath, entrance area, porch, stairs, car parking, etc.).

Having chosen the option of water-heated floors, also called hydraulic ones, as heating, you will have to thoroughly try with their installation. Of all the possible types of underfloor heating, water is the most difficult to install, however, the result is durable, which allows you to achieve more comfort and savings than a traditional radiator system. You can somewhat reduce the cost of installation if you install a water-heated floor with your own hands. To do this, it is necessary to purchase all the necessary elements and materials, as well as to prepare the floor surface in all the premises involved in accordance with the established requirements.

If you have not yet fully decided on the type of underfloor heating -.

Surface preparation. Features of base insulation for underfloor heating

The old screed is completely dismantled down to the base. Unlike when installing a warm floor, it should already be on initial stage level the floor horizontally if there are differences of more than 10 mm.

Important: When using a water heated floor, in the device of which there are several circuits, the damper tape is also laid along the line between the circuits.

In order for the heat not to go down, it is necessary to insulate the base of the floor. Depending on the location of the room and the type of floor, as well as the target orientation of the heating system, the appropriate insulation is selected:

• If a warm floor is an addition to the main heating system, then it is enough to use polyethylene foam with a reflective foil coating as a substrate for a warm floor (penofol).
• For apartments with heated rooms on the floor below, it is sufficient to use sheets of expanded polystyrene or extruded polystyrene foam with a thickness of 20 to 50 mm or other durable insulation of suitable thickness.
• For apartments on the first floor with an unheated basement or houses in which the floor is located on the ground, more serious insulation should be used in the form of an expanded clay mound and expanded polystyrene sheets 50-100 mm thick.

Advice: You can use specialized heaters for underfloor heating. On the one hand, such materials are already equipped with special channels for laying pipes of underfloor heating systems.

A reinforcing mesh is laid on top of the insulation. It is necessary to fix the screed layer, which will cover the entire underfloor heating system. Among other things, it is possible to subsequently fix the underfloor heating pipe to the grid, instead of using special fastening strips and clips. In this case, ordinary plastic ties are used.

Scheme of the surface of the warm floor

Selection of materials and necessary devices

Before you make a warm floor with your own hands, you should decide on the composition of the equipment and all elements of the system and calculate the materials.

The composition and arrangement of a warm water floor includes the following elements:

1. Water heating boiler;
2. Pressure pump (may be part of the boiler);
3. Ball valves at the boiler inlet;
4. Distribution pipes;
5. Collector with a system for setting and adjusting underfloor heating;
6. Pipes for laying on the floor surface;
7. Various fittings for laying the main route from the boiler and connecting floor heating pipes to the collector.

The pipe material for a water-heated floor can be either polypropylene or cross-linked polyethylene. It is better to choose polypropylene pipes with fiberglass reinforcement, since polypropylene itself has a significant linear expansion when heated. Polyethylene pipes are less susceptible to expansion. It is the latter that are most widely used in the layout of surface heating systems.

Pipes with a diameter of 16-20 mm are used. It is necessary that the pipe withstand temperatures up to 95 degrees and a pressure of 10 bar. It is not necessary to chase expensive options with oxygen protection and additional layers. Especially if the main task is to reduce the overall cost of installing underfloor heating.

The collector is a branch pipe with a number of taps (splitter). It is necessary to connect several underfloor heating circuits to one main supply line for warm water and return, chilled water intake. In this case, two splitters are used, which are installed in a special manifold cabinet. One - for the distribution of hot water, and the second - for the collection of return, cooled water. It is in the composition of the collector that all the necessary elements for setting up underfloor heating are placed: valves, flow controllers, air vents and emergency drain systems.

Scheme-example of connecting a water-heated floor

Calculation and distribution of pipes

For each room, the calculation of the length of the pipe and the step of its installation must be made separately. Calculations of a water-heated floor can be performed using specialized programs or using the services of design organizations. It is very difficult to independently calculate the required power for each circuit, while taking into account a lot of parameters and nuances. If you make a mistake in the calculations, this can nullify the entire operation of the system or lead to unpleasant consequences, including: insufficient water circulation, the manifestation of a "thermal zebra" when warm and cold areas alternate along the floor, uneven floor heating and the formation of leaks heat.

The following parameters are required for calculations:

1. Room dimensions;
2. Material of walls, ceilings and thermal insulation;
3. Type of thermal insulation for underfloor heating;
4. Type of floor covering;
5. Diameter of pipes in the underfloor heating system and material;
6. Boiler power (water temperature).

Based on these data, it is possible to determine the required length of the pipe used for the room and the step of its installation in order to achieve the required heat transfer power.

When distributing pipes, the optimal laying route should be selected. It is important to consider that the water, passing through the pipes, gradually cools. By the way, this is not a disadvantage, but rather a plus of water heated floors, because the heat loss in the room does not occur evenly.

When distributing pipes of a water-heated floor in each circuit, a number of rules should be followed:

• It is advisable to start laying pipes from the outer, colder walls of the room;

Important: If the pipe entry into the room is not from the side outer wall, then the pipe section from the input to the wall is insulated.

• To gradually reduce the heating of the floor from the outer wall to the inner, the “snake” laying method is used;
• For uniform floor heating in rooms with all interior walls(in the bathroom, wardrobe, etc.) spiral laying from the edge of the room to the center is used. The pipe is brought in a spiral to the center with a double pitch between the turns, after which it unfolds and unwinds in the opposite direction to the exit from the room and to the collector.

Most often, the pipe is laid in increments of 10 to 30 cm. In most cases, 30 cm is sufficient, and in places with increased heat loss, it can be reduced to 15 cm.

In addition to the length and shape of the distribution of pipes, their hydraulic resistance should be calculated. It increases with increasing length and with each turn. In all circuits connected to the same collector, it is desirable to bring the resistance to the same value. To resolve such situations, it is necessary to divide large circuits with a pipe length of more than a hundred meters into several smaller ones.

For each circuit, a single piece of pipe of the required length is purchased. It is unacceptable to use joints and couplings on pipes that are laid in a screed. So the calculation of the length and the order should be carried out after carefully carried out calculations with thinking through the entire laying route.

Important: The calculation is carried out for each room separately. It is also undesirable to use one circuit for heating several rooms.

To insulate the loggia, veranda, attic, a separate circuit is laid, not combined with adjacent rooms. Otherwise, most of the heat will go to its heating, and the room will remain cold. Warming under a warm floor is carried out in the same way as with a floor located on the ground. Otherwise, there are no differences in terms of installing a warm floor on the loggia.

Video: theoretical seminar on the installation of underfloor heating

Selecting and installing a collector

typical collector for underfloor heating

Having decided on the number of circuits, you can choose the appropriate collector. It must have enough leads to connect all circuits. In addition, the collector is responsible for adjusting and configuring water heated floors. In the very simple version the collector is equipped with only shut-off valves, which significantly reduces the cost of the system, but practically makes it impossible to adjust its operation.

Slightly more expensive options that include the installation of control valves. With their help, you can adjust the water flow for each loop individually. The increase in cost, although it will be noticeable, but such a system will allow you to set up a warm floor for uniform heating of all rooms.

Mandatory elements for the manifold are an air vent valve and a drain outlet.

For the complete automation of the hydraulic underfloor heating, collectors with servo-driven valves and special pre-mixers are used, which regulate the temperature of the supplied water, mixing it with the cooled back. Such systems, at their cost, can make up the bulk of the budget for an entire underfloor heating installation. For private use, there is no special need for them, because it is easier to carefully set up the collector group once more simple type than spend on automatic system, which, even under constant loads, will work in the same mode.

An example of connecting a collector of a warm floor

The collector of a heat-insulated floor is established in a special collector box. The thickness of such a box is most often 12 cm. The dimensions are selected taking into account the dimensions of the collector group with all the necessary additions in the form of pressure sensors, air vents and drains. Under the collector group, there must be a place up to the floor necessary for bending the pipes supplied from all the contours of the warm floor.

The actual installation of a water-heated floor begins with the placement of a manifold cabinet. The collector cabinet should be placed so that the pipes from each room and circuit are approximately equal in length. In some situations, you can bring the cabinet closer to the largest contours.

The easiest way to hide a cabinet is to mount it on the wall. The thickness of 12 cm makes it quite possible. The main thing to consider is that punching holes and recesses in load-bearing walls strongly discouraged and even prohibited in most cases.

Important: The box should be installed above the level of underfloor heating, not allowing pipes to be removed upwards from it. Only in this case can the air exhaust system work adequately.

The collector cabinet is assembled and filled according to the general standard according to the instructions of the collector used, so that there will be no problems with mounting all the elements and additional equipment.

Video: manifold assembly

Choosing a heating boiler

The choice of a boiler is primarily determined by its power. It must cope with water heating at peak times of system loading and have some power reserve. Tentatively, this means that the power of the boiler should be equal to the total power of all underfloor heating plus a margin of 15-20%.

A pump is needed to circulate water in the system. AT modern boilers, both electric and gas, there is a built-in pump. In most cases, it is enough for heating one- and two-story residential buildings. Only if the area of ​​the heated room exceeds 120-150 m², it may be necessary to install additional auxiliary pumps. In this case, they are installed in remote collector cabinets.

Shut-off valves are installed directly at the inlet and outlet of the boiler. This will help to turn off the boiler in case of repair or maintenance without having to drain all the water from the system.

Important: If there are several collector cabinets, then a splitter is installed on the main route for supplying warm water, and after it - narrowing adapters. This is necessary to evenly distribute water throughout the system.

general view of the entire system (connection of radiators can be excluded)

Installation of water heated floor pipes and pouring the screed

Basically, the laying of a warm floor is carried out using special fixing profiles, which are fixed to the floor with dowels and screws. They have sockets for fixing pipes. With their help, it is much easier to maintain the step distance between the turns of the pipe.

Advice: To fix it, it is enough to use plastic ties, which press the pipe against the reinforcing mesh. It is important not to tighten the pipe too tight, it is better that the tie loop is free.

Pipes are most often supplied in the form of coils. It is impossible to pull the pipe from the coil coil by coil. It is necessary to unwind it gradually as it is laid and fixed on the floor. All bends are made carefully in compliance with the restriction on the minimum possible radius. Most often, for polyethylene pipes, this radius is equal to 5 diameters.

If you push too hard polyethylene pipe, then a whitish stripe may appear on the bend. This means that the material began to stretch sharply and formed a hall. Unfortunately, such defects cannot be laid in the underfloor heating system due to the increasing risks of a breakthrough in this place.

The ends of the pipes that lead to the collector, if necessary, are laid through the walls and enclosed in foam polyethylene insulation. To connect the pipes to the manifold, either a Euro cone system or a compression fitting is used.

If this is your first time encountering polypropylene pipes – .

There are several schemes for laying underfloor heating pipes. You can choose the right one according to your needs. Along with other factors, it is worth paying attention to the arrangement of furniture and plans for its rearrangement.

When the underfloor heating installation is completed, a mandatory high pressure system check is performed. To do this, water is poured into the pipes and a pressure of 5-6 bar is applied for 24 hours. If there are no leaks and significant expansions on the pipes, then you can start pouring the concrete screed. Filling is carried out at connected operating pressure in the pipes. Only after 28 days can we assume that the screed is ready, and proceed to further work on mounting the flooring.

Important nuances of forming a warm floor screed

There are some features in the formation of screed over water heated floors. This is due to the principle of heat distribution in its thickness and the floor covering used.

• If the underfloor heating is laid under the tiles, then a screed should be made about 3-5 cm thick, or the pipes should be distributed with a spacing of 10-15 cm. Otherwise, the heat from the pipes will not properly warm up the space between them, and such a phenomenon will appear like a "thermal zebra". At the same time, the alternation of warm and cold stripes will be quite clearly felt by the foot.
• Under laminate, linoleum, etc. it is desirable to form a screed thinner. For strength, in this case, another reinforcing mesh is used on top of the warm floor. This will reduce the thermal path from the pipes to the floor surface. Also, a layer of heat insulator does not fit under the laminate, because it will only worsen the efficiency of the warm floor.

You can turn on heating with a water-heated floor at the first hint of the beginning of autumn cold weather. The initial warm-up may take several days, after which the system will already maintain the required temperature. The large inertia of water heated floors can also play a good role, even if for some reason the boiler cannot heat water for some time, the system will continue to give heat to the premises for a long time. In addition, you can keep the underfloor heating system on low power throughout the year, turning off most of the circuits and leaving only a part that heats rooms where the flooring is made of ceramic tiles or self-leveling floors (entrance hall, bathroom, etc.), because even in hot weather such coatings feel cold.

Video: Do-it-yourself installation of a water-heated floor

Underfloor heating is no longer a novelty. This technology is used for underfloor heating in apartments, private houses, offices and various other premises. Their principle of operation is simple - they heat the base under your feet, as well as the air in the room, which allows you to warm up any room well enough. They are usually installed in addition to the main heating system. Installing them is not as difficult as it seems, but this is a rather troublesome business. How to make a warm floor? This process will largely depend on what type of system was chosen for installation.

Now there are three main types of underfloor heating, which differ in the type of coolant, and also have different technology arrangement. However, in general, they are united by one main advantage - the heating element is installed directly into the floor cake, due to which it is heated. At the same time, the air masses in the room also warm up, but the air will be warmer near the floor, but above this limit, at the level of a person’s head, the air remains slightly cool, which allows you to create an optimal microclimate in the room.

On a note! In certain cases, underfloor heating can completely replace the central heating system. But this is not always possible, and you still shouldn’t refuse the main radiators.

Water based heating

In this case, the heat carrier is ordinary heated water, which flows inside pipes laid according to a certain pattern and filled with a concrete screed. The service life of such a system is approximately 20 years. A fairly reliable and safe option, but it is used either in private homes or in new buildings where it is possible to connect such a floor. In old multi-storey buildings, without the permission of the management company, it will not be possible to connect a water floor, since installation will involve connecting it to a central heating system that is not designed for additional loads - it can get very cold in other apartments.

The disadvantages of this design may be the likelihood of leaks and the risk of flooding of the premises located below, as well as the tendency of some types of pipeline to corrode. Installation, of course, is laborious, but this is one of the most economical floor options. You can install such heating under any finish coating. However, if you want to use the possibilities of a water-heated floor as efficiently as possible, study the features of different coatings. To find perfect option will help .

Heating with cable

Such floors can be installed in absolutely any room - even in old, even in new apartments, houses, offices, etc. This option has become a real salvation for those who, for some reason, cannot make a water heated floor. The system is quite simple to install and is a laid electrical cable in a special scheme, located inside the screed. It converts electricity into heat.

For the arrangement of heating can be used self-regulating and resistive cables. In the latter case, a two-core is usually used (single-core often become sources of radiation harmful to the body, which is why they are not preferred to be used). Self-regulating wires do not have the disadvantages that resistive wires have. Typically, a cable floor is used if the top coat is made of tiles or linoleum.

IR floor

This is perhaps the most popular floor heating system, as it does not require pouring a new screed, it is easy to install, but it is not inferior in quality to other heating options. It is represented by thin mats with carbon strips connected to each other by wires. Such floors heat up quickly, but also cool down quickly (sometimes this function is needed), they are very thin, allow you to quickly adjust the heating temperature, are economical in terms of energy costs, easy to repair and completely safe for humans. Such a system also works thanks to electricity. There is a drawback - a small static and because of this - the attraction of dust to the base. Read more about infrared underfloor heating, depending on the finish, in separate articles of the portal: under the laminate, and under the tile.

Table. Comparison of characteristics of different systems.

Characteristic	water floor	electric floor
Presence of EMP	Not	Possibly, depending on cable type
Possibility of arrangement in apartment buildings	Only in new buildings with a separate connection	Yes
Quick settings management	Not	Yes
Dependence on the heating season	Yes - in apartments and no - in private houses	Not
Installation time	Long due to the need to fill the screed	Short
Possibility of laying any finishing coating	Yes	Certain types of flooring should not be placed on top of an electric floor
Ease of repair	Complicated repair	In the case of IR floors - quick repair

Prices for electric underfloor heating "Teplolux"

electric underfloor heating thermolux

If you have not yet decided on the type of underfloor heating, read. We have discussed in detail the advantages and disadvantages. different materials and made a list of recommendations.

We make a warm water floor with our own hands

Let us consider in more detail the process of work in the arrangement of water floor heating. It includes a number of stages - this is the preparation of a rough base, the installation of the system itself, as well as pouring the screed and laying the finish coat. In this case, it will be considered a budget option building a heating system.

Heated floors are a serious cost item during repairs, so it is important to accurately calculate how much and what materials will be needed. To facilitate your labor costs, we have prepared a guide that tells how to calculate a warm floor - water or electric. Online calculators are included. And in the article "" you will find full list everything you need for installation.

Foundation preparation

Consider how to make a subfloor for the arrangement of a water system based on expanded clay.

Step 1. First of all, the old wooden floor is completely dismantled. Boards and logs are removed. Remains of bricks and oversized construction debris may be left on the ground.

Step 2 A laser level is used to determine the height of the final floor. The main target of the required level is Entrance door. The marking should be 1.5-2 cm below the threshold.

Step 3 Markings are applied to the walls. The first mark indicates the boundary of the screed with the laid heating pipes (the thickness of the screed should not be less than 6 cm thick). The second indicates the thickness of the expanded clay insulation (in this case, the thickness of this layer will be 10 cm).

Step 4 Along the line of the laser level, marks are applied to the walls along the entire perimeter according to the level of the finished floor.

Step 5 Markings are also applied to the walls of two other levels - expanded clay bedding and screed. The reference point in this case is the mark of the finished floor.

Step 6 The rough concrete floor is covered with sand, which is evenly distributed over it. You can focus on the bottom mark.

Step 8

Step 9 The holes in the walls left from the log are sealed with pieces of brick and cement mortar.

Step 10 Waterproofing is laid on a layer of sand. In this case, it is a dense polyethylene film, which is laid with the plant on the walls. For convenience, the film is fixed with adhesive tape.

Step 11 Beacons are being installed. For this, high-density foam block cubes are used, on which metal beacons will then be installed. Cubes are installed on polyethylene at a distance of about 1 m from each other. The height of one cube is 9 cm.

Step 12 Metal beacon profiles 1 cm high are installed on the cubes.

Step 13 At the junctions of the lighthouses, a cube must be installed. For proper docking, the beacons are cut. With proper docking, the beacons overlap each other in the direction of the future movement of the rule.

Step 14 Lighthouses are set by level. Landmark - a line on the wall indicating the height of the screed. To level them, you can use plywood linings.

Step 15 When the beacons are level, they are fixed on the cubes with self-tapping screws.

Step 16 The draft floor should have a slight slope (the difference is up to 5 mm for each meter of the base length). If necessary, the cubes can be pressed into the sand to achieve the desired result. The operation is performed along the entire length of the lighthouses.

Step 17 Additional cubes are installed between the main cubes.

Step 18 Expanded clay mixed with a small amount cement mixture. This will give you a stronger floor. A bucket of sand, 2 kg of cement and about 3 liters of water are used for a bag of expanded clay.

Step 19 The prepared expanded clay is laid out on the base and leveled. Backfilling is done starting from the far corner of the room. There should be about 1.5 cm of free space left to the top level of the beacons.

Step 20 The expanded clay layer is covered with cement mortar. The solution is leveled with a trowel over the entire surface.

Step 21 The screed is aligned with the rule according to the beacons. Perfect evenness can not be achieved. To make it easy to remove the beacons from the screed, their surface is not smeared.

Step 22 Two days later, when the screed dries, the beacons are removed. To do this, the screws fixing them are unscrewed. Together with the beacons, wooden linings are removed.

Step 23 After that, the resulting cracks are cleaned of debris and sealed with cement mortar.

Pipe laying and connection

After preparation, the installation of the heating system itself begins.

Step 1. In this case, the existing heating system will be kept on the basis gas boiler. The battery is powered by a supply circuit located on the second floor. The water leaving the radiator is sent to the return circuit, which is located in the basement. The warm floor will be connected to the second output of the battery and to the return circuit. Taps will be installed to turn off the radiator and underfloor heating. A circulation pump will be installed at the entrance to the return circuit.

Step 2 The radiator is equipped with the necessary fittings. These are connectors and pipes. To seal the connection, plumbing linen and sealant are used.

Step 3 This is how the finished outputs from the battery will look like. One of them will be used to connect a warm floor.

Step 4 Before further installation of pipes around the perimeter of the room, a damper tape is glued (we have already discussed its choice). She sits on the walls with glue.

Step 5 Multifoil is laid on the rough screed - a special insulation. Separate strips of material are fixed to each other with adhesive tape.

Step 6 A reinforcing mesh with 10x10 cm cells is laid on top of the foil. Individual pieces are overlapped by 1-2 cells. The grid is connected to each other with a wire.

Step 7 A pipe leading to the return is installed and connected.

Step 8 A water floor pipe with a cross section of 20 mm is mounted to the other outlet from the battery. A piece of protective corrugation can be put on the initial section of the pipe.

Step 9 The pipe is laid on the floor and fixed to the reinforcing mesh with plastic clamps. When laying, it is important to ensure that there are no kinks on the pipe. To form knees, you can use a hair dryer that heats the pipe. The distance in the circuit between adjacent pipes should be about 20 cm in this case.

Step 10 The underfloor heating pipe is laid with a snake.

Step 11 The ends of the return pipe and the underfloor heating are sent to metal pipes leading to the basement. Voids can be sealed with mounting foam.

Step 12 The sections of the metal mesh rising above the floor level are fixed on the floor base with the help of dowels and metal plates.

Step 13 Further work will be carried out in the basement. A circulation pump is being installed. It connects to the return pipe. Two cranes are also installed in the system. One of them will block the natural circulation. The lower valve completely blocks the entrance to the return pipe.

Step 14 The control unit is assembled and all pipes are connected. In natural circulation mode, water flows through the underfloor heating pipe into the return line with both taps open. If you turn off the top tap, then the water from the warm floor will move through an additional pipe towards the pump - this is the mode of rapid heating of the floor. If the bottom tap is closed when the pump is off, then the warm floor will be completely turned off.

Filling the screed

The final stage of the installation of the water floor is the pouring of the screed and laying the floor covering.

Step 1. To make the screed even, metal beacons are installed. They are located on pieces of concrete.

Step 2 Pieces of concrete are fixed to the base with cement mortar.

Step 3 Beacons are fixed on concrete with self-tapping screws in pre-made holes. All of them must be aligned strictly according to the level.

Advice! It is better to start installing the first beacons from the side of the door. This will allow you to correctly select their height relative to the doorway.

Step 4 A concrete solution is prepared in exact proportions.

Step 5 The concrete is evenly distributed over the prepared floor.

Important! At the time of laying the screed, the floor pipes must be filled with water.

Step 6 The concrete solution is aligned with the beacons using the rule.

Step 7 The screed is dried for 28 days. The floor is covered with a top coat.

Video - Installation of a water floor

Video - Installation of a warm infrared floor

The complexity and the entire process of manufacturing a warm floor will depend on which heating option is chosen. The water floor is perhaps the most best option for arranging base heating in a private house or new building. Those who do not want to mess with the screed can be recommended to use infrared floors.

A warm water floor is an excellent option for heating any apartment or house. Many people know about its effectiveness, and therefore they decide to install it. They can do this both with the help of specialists of appropriate qualifications, and with their own hands. This article will answer the question of how to make a water heated floor with your own hands.

Pipe laying options

The biggest benefit is saving money. The homeowner does not need to spend money on paying for services provided by specialized organizations. All he needs to do is determine the right amount of materials, purchase them and begin installation.

Of course, using the services of construction companies is a simpler process, because all the routine work will be done by their specialists. However, it often happens that organizations are dishonest, that is, they perform each operation poorly. Moreover, some of them enter into contracts with manufacturers building materials and therefore they can offer the owner not always high-quality pipes, insulation, as well as other elements. Of course, such situations are rare.

Also, the advantage of self-editing is that in order to carry it out, you need to familiarize yourself with many secrets by reading various information and watching a lot of videos. It seems to be a waste of time, but in the future, these secrets will allow us to develop rules for proper operation.

In addition, carrying out independent installation, a person fully controls all processes. At the same time, he performs them as best as possible, because he does it for himself.

Foundation preparation

The main requirement for the base on which the warm floor "sits" is its evenness. It should not have differences greater than 10 millimeters. In this case, the base is understood as a concrete floor. Therefore, if there is an old parquet or wooden floor, they must be dismantled. The main goal is to obtain a clean surface of the concrete floor itself.

Foundation preparation

In many cases, it has drops with values ​​that exceed the allowable values. Often this disadvantage is eliminated by pouring a concrete screed. There is an easier option. It provides for falling asleep of irregularities with screenings (fine-grained stone sand). After such actions, the surface is ready for the installation of insulating and, which are different.

Base insulation

Base insulation

This process is necessary to prevent the movement of heated air down, because the installation of a warm floor is carried out in order to heat the room, and not to heat the floor or the air in the room below it. The method of insulation depends on the location of the apartment or room. This is often trumpeted in videos, and for good reason.

The prepared surface is insulated with a polystyrene foam plate. It is important that its density is greater than 35 km/m³. A material with such parameters will perfectly cope with the load that a warm floor will create with a person. If the density is less, then the plate will simply collapse and cease to perform the function of thermal insulation. The width of the plate depends on the placement of housing.

If it is located on the ground floor and the room below is not heated, then the thickness of the polystyrene foam must be more than 100 millimeters. On the floor between the second and first, as well as the upper floors, a slab with a thickness of 50 millimeters is placed. It is allowed to use a thinner insulation (at least 30 millimeters), but this should not be done.

Either a plastic film or foil penofol is placed on top of the polystyrene foam plate. The process is simple and different videos announce it. The second material is polyethylene foam, on which the manufacturer applies foil. Penofol with foil, like plastic film, is a good waterproofing agent. Moisture insulation is important for climate improvement in terms of thermal insulation properties. In addition, the foil reflects heat upwards, which improves the heating of the concrete screed, flooring, and the whole room. It also keeps out most of the harmful substances from Styrofoam.

Filling the screed

Here it is worth dwelling on one point that is often overlooked. The exposed foil is destroyed by the chemical reactions of the concrete mortar. This happens during the pouring of the screed. In cases where the thickness of the foil is very small, the solution simply "eats" it. Salvation is foil penofol, specially designed to create a warm floor in a wet way. It has protection or very thick foil.

Foil penofol

This point is unimportant if the installation of a warm water floor does not involve pouring a cement screed. As you know, warm water floors are also floor and wooden. In the first case, a special gasket and aluminum sheets are laid on top of the tubes, on top of which or linoleum. In the second case, an old wooden floor is used as the basis. A special coating is also placed on top of the contour.

Calculation and distribution of pipes

Regardless of the type of warm water floor, the calculation of the pipes can be carried out in the same way. The process is quite complex. It requires taking into account various factors. They are presented:

• the size of the room;
• materials of walls, ceilings and heat insulation;
• type of flooring;
• type of thermal insulation for underfloor heating;
• the diameter of the tubes used;
• power of a gas or electric boiler.

Calculation and distribution of pipes

All these data are taken into account for one purpose - to determine the length of the circuit, that is, one pipe with which one branch is created and which is connected to the collector. Often the length of the circuit is determined taking into account the diameter of the tube and the climate.

Tubes with a diameter of 16 and 20 mm are used, practice shows that a pipe with a larger diameter is the best. Reasons: better heating of the screed and less resistance to water while driving. Due to this, the operation of the boiler is accompanied by a lower load.

The optimal length with a diameter of 16 mm is up to 80 meters. It is best if it does not exceed 65 meters. As for a product with a diameter of 20 mm, its length should not exceed 100 meters. The best option is 75 meters.

Depending on weather conditions, the distance between the pipes is selected. If winter "pleases" with frosts no stronger than -22 degrees Celsius, then the distance should be equal to 150 millimeters. For heating in more very coldy step must be reduced to 100 millimeters. In the event that the conditions do not differ from the climate in the north, additional radiators should be installed and used (they can be heated with a boiler).

To calculate the length of one branch, you need to draw a plan for their placement in the room, taking into account the above features. The tricks of this process are often noted in our video. At the same time, it is convenient to divide the room into many squares. One side of the square should be proportional to the distance between the tubes. This makes it easier to develop a project, as well as calculate the desired length of the contour. This procedure can be seen in the video.

You can place an outline:

• in a spiral;
• double helix;
• snake.

It is worth adding that the first contour meters located near the boiler should be placed near cold walls. The most will swim there warm water. In this case, the installation of a "snake" is perfect. If all the walls are internal, then you need to evenly distribute the heat. For this, placement in a spiral is suitable.

contour calculation

If you don’t want to mess with the calculations, then you can entrust this work to specialists or use the appropriate programs, where, as the video shows, the automation of laying pipes for the floor.

Grid installation

Installation begins with the placement of the reinforcing mesh on foil foam. It helps to increase the strength of the concrete screed, which, when heated, expands and can crack. In addition, it serves as the basis for fixing the tubes. The mesh must be attached to the floor slab. This is done using dowel-nails that will pass through the insulation layer.

Tubes are placed on the grid in accordance with the developed project. Each circuit must be a complete pipe, without joints. It is not allowed to place connections in the screed. Attach the pipes using plastic clamps. Clamps should easily fit the main element of the system. It is not worth tightening them strongly, as the tube will expand and the clamp will crush it.

The mounted tubes are connected to a collector that leads to the boiler. The last one is included. Water is supplied under pressure equal to 6 atmospheres. This is to check the integrity of the system.

Water floor system

The screed is poured with cement mortar with a special "plasticizer". It will not allow the screed to crack. The thickness of the screed should be less than 5-7 centimeters. Its thickness above the heating system should be 1-3 centimeters (if tiles are used as flooring) or 3-4 centimeters (if there are no tiles).

Video

With this video you will get a lot of useful information about the warm water field. You will also learn about the installation of underfloor heating loops.

Photo sources.

All about the development of a water-heated floor with your own hands.

In this section, I will tell you how to make a warm floor with your own hands. Let's consider the device of heat-insulated floors. Taking into account my many years of practice, I will tell you how to save on materials and how to make a floor heating scheme correctly. You do not have to buy expensive equipment, in the form of mini schemes for mixing units. Knowing the schemes and devices for the operation of a warm floor, you can design any scheme on the fly and solve the problem of a warm floor.

This article is a complete tutorial on designing underfloor heating. Knowing the physics of phenomena, you will understand the principle of arranging underfloor heating. This information will help you avoid costly problems with your underfloor heating installation.

And it's free!!! This article was developed by a specialist with many years of experience and experience in installing underfloor heating.

Also, this article will be a permanent reference for those involved in and.

This article will illustrative examples and connecting knots of heat-insulated floors. We also solve typical problems.

I'll tell you in simple terms understandable language for dummies, how to install a warm floor!

In this section you will learn:

In this section, I will explain all the nuances that are encountered in the practice of an ordinary installer.

So that you do not get tired ahead of time! We will go from simple to complex. In this article, we will take a closer look at practical experience. Let's look at the dependency graph. Let's count a little. And who wants to count very accurately, you can visit and get acquainted with my personally developed section Hydraulics and heat engineering. This section has more physics and mathematics. In general, whoever wants to consider the entire physics of the processes of water supply and heating, then you cannot do without Hydraulics and Heat Engineering.

As for the temperature of the underfloor heating slab itself, it should not exceed 30 degrees. In general, this is enough. If the mixing unit has a thermostatic valve with a thermal head, then the required temperature setting is adjusted by turning the thermal head. Usually up to 60 degrees. Keep in mind that the temperature of the water in the warm field from the actual temperature of the floor heating slab may differ by 10 - 20 degrees.

The simplest thing in this task is the way of laying the pipe on the surface of the future warm floor.

But even here, new installers manage to do it wrong!

And so, with regard to laying a warm floor, I recommend the snail method, this snail method is the most economical in terms of hydraulic losses. Since with this method, the liquid in the pipe flows with fewer turns, which increases the good flow of liquid in the pipes. Also, the floor heats evenly over the entire area.

For example:

In order to correctly draw and mark a room, it is necessary that the number of longitudinal stripes be even. That is, 8,10,12,14,16 and so on.

For example, there are 16 longitudinal and 18 transverse stripes (Transverse ones do not affect the position of the threads.).

This floor surface is not rectangular and has a chamfer. In such cases, we mark lines parallel to the chamfer with the same pitch as the cell.

And here's what happened:

If the length of the pipes exceeds the allowable value, then it is necessary to lay two contours on the same surface. For example:

If there is an obstacle, then you should bypass this method:

It is important to make the lengths of the contours the same if possible.

Also have practical advice, near the outer walls, make the laying step less by 1.5 times, if the total laying step is not equal to 10mm. Since the floor near the outer walls consumes heat faster.

As for the size of the area?

From my own experience I will say that the area can be 6x6 meters. Or maybe 10x5 meters. In many places and in reference books they write that the area of ​​\u200b\u200ba warm water floor should not exceed 40m 2.

But I will say so! If the length of the floor exceeds 10 meters, then such a floor should be divided into parts. Since the heated floor begins to lengthen as the temperature rises.

A damper tape is laid on the places where the floors are separated. It is better that the whole circuit is within a part of the warm floor. That is, so that the circuit itself does not cross the damper tape.

If you have a large area and need to divide it, then you should make sure that there is a separate contour for each part. The contour is laid by one branch. That is, it is actually one pipe through which one stream runs. That is, the damper tape must separate the flows. Not many pipes should pass through the damper tape. Where is the damper tape - there is a constant change in the distance between warm floors. And being there can harm them.

In places where pipes enter the heated stove itself, it is necessary to lay it in some kind of insulation. It can be a heat-insulating energy flex, or corrugated pipe. So that in this place the smoothing of the movement of the plate from .

Underfloor heating?

Now I’ll tell you the difference between an ideal warm floor and so-so:

Option like this:

The base of the floor is not even and has an error of up to 5 cm. That is, somewhere it is normal, and somewhere it is 5 cm lower, or even 10 cm. The insulation has a thickness of 2 to 5 mm. The thickness of the concrete screed is from 5 to 15 cm.

The option so-so refers to the low-quality work of a warm floor. Many have done this before. Let's say the floor does not heat evenly and badly. Heat goes into the stove, especially through a thin insulation. Such a heater is allowed in apartments, and even then such a heater does not economically affect the floor. Heat escapes to the lower load-bearing floor!

The perfect underfloor heating!

The base of the floor is even and has an error of up to 3 cm. Insulation from 25 mm, this is usually polystyrene foam or polystyrene foam (With a density of at least 35 kg / m 3 for strength). The thickness of the concrete screed is from 5 to 10 cm. It is necessary to lay a metal mesh in the screed to strengthen the floor. Also, a metal mesh can play a smoothing effect of heat transfer across the floor. metal mesh must be laid under the pipe, for reinforcement, you can add a grid on top of the pipe. A damper tape must be laid along the edges of the floor to compensate for the expansion of the floor.

What about underfloor heating pipes?

The pipe can be mainly made of metal-plastic or. There is a big question, what is better metal-plastic or cross-linked polyethylene. Many sellers and craftsmen claim that it is better to lay special pipe for a heat-insulated floor from.

From my own experience, I can say that the difference is very small and the efficiency is almost the same. So this is a hugely inflated myth about cross-linked polyethylene, and it is also expensive. I can only say that the higher the internal for a warm floor, the better. Since the heating is better and the flow resistance is lower. What improves the efficiency of a warm floor. With regard to heat transfer, then without a doubt it is higher! But is it worth the candle? Not! Firstly, the difference is very small, and secondly, the laws from the calculations of heat engineering fully allow heat transfer. This is that the rate of heat transfer is quite enough to heat the concrete floor. Since the concrete floor itself does not transfer heat as quickly as we would like. If the concrete floor transferred heat instantly, then the effect would be significant.

You can also use copper pipe and corrugated stainless steel pipe. But these pipes are very expensive and the installation of such pipes is very laborious. So these pipes are definitely out of the question!

The laying of a warm floor has the following sequence:

Explanation for each element of the underfloor heating pie:

1. Styrofoam plate is used to prevent the bottom into the concrete slab or into the lower room. The expanded polystyrene plate must be with parameters of at least 35 kg / m 3 to prevent damage when loaded from above. Usually, for the first floor, which has an unheated lower room (basement, etc.), a polystyrene foam plate with a thickness of at least 100 mm is mounted. For subsequent floors 50mm. Sometimes laying up to 50 mm thick is allowed. For acceptable floor heating, the thickness of the polystyrene foam board should not be lower than 30mm. The polystyrene foam plate is laid on a flat floor surface without gaps, if there are irregularities in the floor, then such drops are covered with screenings and leveled over the entire floor, and then a polystyrene foam plate is laid on the screening.

2. The second layer on the polystyrene board is to lay down either foil penofol or plastic film. Since foil penofol is polyethylene foam covered with foil, it has, like polyethylene film, a waterproofing effect. This effect prevents vapor permeability between the concrete floor and the styrofoam board. If moisture does not pass from one environment to another, then the climate improves in terms of thermal insulation properties. This waterproofing effect reduces heat loss to the bottom, thereby saving thermal energy. And the foil layer additionally increases the vapor permeability insulation, as is known that various metals have a high resistance to the permeability of various substances. Also, not a little important effect of the foil is its ability to reflect heat rays, which also adds to the downward reduction effect. Also, polyethylene film and foil reduce the penetration of harmful substances from the polystyrene foam board, since it is known that polystyrene foam is a harmful substance. Like it or not, but in small quantities you will have to breathe polystyrene foam vapors. Another nuance will be that the open foil in foam foam can quickly collapse when pouring a concrete screed chemical reactions solution. Roughly speaking, the solution eats the foil if it is very thin. Ask sellers about false penofol special for underfloor heating in a wet way (that is, a concrete underfloor heating). Foil penofol for underfloor heating can be protected from corroding the foil or be sufficient with a thick layer of foil.

3. A steel mesh with a certain pitch serves to strengthen the base of the concrete screed of a warm floor. The mesh located in the lower layer, when the concrete screed is deformed, goes into tension, and thereby increases the strength of the concrete screed to fracture. In addition, the grid makes it possible to fix the pipe on it. Attached to the grid through plastic clamps, which is sold in electrical stores. The mesh itself is fastened with dowel-nails of a certain length through the foam polystyrene plate to the floor slab. The mesh to the dowel-nails is connected through a metal mounting tape.

4. The damper tape is used to prevent the destruction of the concrete screed from the thermal expansion of the concrete screed itself.

It is poured with a high-quality concrete screed (Cement + screenings. Do not lay a large stone.). So that the screed does not crack, it is necessary to water it in the morning and evening for the first week. cold water or better, buy a "plasticizer" special for this purpose, which is diluted with concrete mortar and prevents cracking. At worst, consult with experts on how to make a smooth screed so that it does not crack. Special additives or additives are sold. The thickness of the screed is not more than 5-7cm. the distance from the pipe is from 1-3 cm, provided that there is still ceramic tiles on top. If there is no tile, then leave 3-4 cm from the pipe. When the concrete screed dries, do not run through pipes hot water. Better just leave it under pressure of 1.5-4 atmospheres. What they write must be kept up to 6 atmospheres and so on, also an inflated myth. Everything works and does not deteriorate. And you leave the pressure in order to detect marriage and detect leaks during pipe damage. And all...

Don't worry about the tie! Any tie will do. And do not listen to any firms that promote their technology. Allegedly, their floor transmits heat well and so on. This is again an inflated myth. Again, the difference is very small. Because of some small percentages, such a PR is inflated "mom don't cry!" ... The main thing is that the smaller the thickness of the concrete floor screed, the better the heat is transferred. Since concrete itself plays, albeit small, but thermal insulation. That is, it resists heat transfer. Do not lay parquet on a warm floor. Parquet is also a kind of heat insulator, but already stronger than concrete and ceramic tiles. Lay on a warm floor ceramic tiles. It is allowed to lay down parquet only in warm regions. With us, with 30 degree frosts, this is not possible. Of course, you can put parquet or wood. But you lose a lot of outgoing heat from the floor. Therefore, it is necessary to add heating power to other heating devices (radiators).

How long should the pipeline be in the underfloor heating circuit?

Everything depends on the specific case. Below I will show you a table where the resistance to the movement of water in the pipes is indicated. And you have to understand what length to choose!

For 16 metal-plastic pipes up to 80 meters.

The node scheme for a warm floor can have several options. Consider the simplest visual option, where there are no special problems.

Underfloor heating wiring diagram.

To understand this, let's look at a visual diagram.

Arrows indicate water flows. The floor is a contour of heat-insulated floors.

Which scheme do you think is more efficient? Certainly consistent! In a sequential scheme, the entire pump flow goes to the underfloor heating circuit. And in a parallel circuit, the pump flow is shared with the inflow flow of the inlet circulation. Therefore, if you want to squeeze the maximum efficiency out of the pump for the underfloor heating circuit, then definitely you need a sequential mixing unit system. And it is not discussed.

Also, with a sequential scheme, you can lay many more circuits in one mixing unit. Since the cost of floors can be obtained much more. While on the parallel type, the pump flow is shared with another circulation ring.

To help you understand which schemes are serial and parallel types, let's look at schemes.

Parallel circuits of mixing units:

Sequential schemes of mixing units:

A sequential system is better in that the entire pump flow goes into the underfloor heating circuit. This stream is not shared. Thus, it makes it possible to make in one mixing unit a large number of contours.

Want to learn how to make a warm floor without a mixing unit?

Do not forget! The diagram does not indicate automatic air vents. I hope it's not difficult to figure out where to put them. Set the supply and return manifolds to a high point. Keep in mind and think that the pump rotor does not spin in the air.

We have not considered the option when there is one circuit for a warm floor. In principle, this is quite possible for one circuit. Only the diameter of the pipes can be reduced, and the power and flow rate of the pump can be reduced by a factor of three. More details below.

You can find out which schemes to apply to three-way valves.

What pump to use for a warm water floor?

The market sells standard circulation pumps for with a flow rate of 2.5 m 3 / hour, this is about 40 liters / minute and a pressure of up to 6 meters. The higher, the faster the flow in the underfloor heating circuit. For a warm floor, there is a standard pump standard with parameters (2.5m 3 / h with a head of 6m.).

If it is indicated on the pump that it has a flow rate of 40 liters per minute, then in reality this does not mean that it will pump like that. It all depends on the throughput of the system itself or the underfloor heating unit. Let's say if you have a lot of long circuits, then they give sufficient resistance to movement, as a result of which the pump flow decreases.

Approximate schedule of all pumps:

And now the real schedule of such a pump (2.5 m 3 / h with a head of 6 m.):

Graph 1.

Now think, the better the transmittance, the less pressure appears on the contours. The more branches (circuits) in one mixing unit, the higher the flow rate and, of course, the lower the pressure on all circuits. So don't overdo it! If a pressure of 3 meters is required for good pumping of the circuit, then it is necessary to observe the flow rate according to the schedule and not increase the number of circuits.

How to find out the total flow in the mixing unit for a parallel circuit?

2. Calculate how many losses all branches (circuit) will produce. But in fact - the number of losses will be able to find the constant flow of incoming heat to the mixing unit. It is usually equal to about 40-100% of all circuit costs. That is, if the total flow rate of the circuits is 15 liters / minute, then the flow rate of incoming heat is approximately 6-15 liters / minute. This is envy of the temperature difference from the incoming temperature and the temperature set by the thermal head. They also affect the consumption and heat loss of the floor itself. That is, if the temperature from the boiler is 60 degrees, and 40 degrees are set in the mixing unit, then the flow rate will be approximately 40%. And if the temperature from the boiler is 75 degrees, and 40 degrees are set in the mixing unit, then the flow rate will be approximately 25%. You also need to take into account the bypass, if it is available, then a constant flow also goes through it. Also add about 6 liters/minute to the bypass. If they are long, then, accordingly, they are large, and, accordingly, the thermal head begins to transmit more heat, which means that the pump flow rate increases, and, accordingly, the pressure drops.

And if it is very difficult to understand, then consider this:

2. Multiply all flow rates of the branches by 2. That is, if the flow rate of all circuits is 15, then the total flow rate of the pump itself should be 30 liters / minute.

How to find out the entire flow in the mixing unit for a serial circuit?

Compare the resulting flow rate with the graph and find the head loss given by the graph. There is a flow scale on the horizontal coordinate, from the desired scale you rise up, rest on the line and then move horizontally to the left and get a pressure scale. The schedule for other pumps is original. You can simply manually draw the scale of your pump and draw an arc in it as shown in graph 1. Since all pumps operate on a standard curve. And depending on the pressure, you can select the required length of the pipeline from table 1.

Check out one more feature!! This is that if a pump with a head of 6 meters, in fact, as usual, produces less pressure, for example 5 meters. If the flow rate is 40 liters/minute, then it can deliver 30 liters/minute. This happens due to various factors: Loss of voltage in the network. local resistance the knots themselves. Some narrowing in the pipes, turns and so on. And in the end, you need to consider about 15% lower pump life. Only then will you do the right thing.

Here is a graph of practical experience for a pump with parameters (2.5m 3 / h with a head of 6m.):

Graph 2.

How to find out how long the pipe is needed for underfloor heating.

To calculate this, you need to know the water flow in the pipe for a given length of the pipeline for a certain floor area. Also, at 10m 2 there should be a flow rate of at least 2 liters / minute. Depends on heat loss. Below are the details.

According to table 1, find the pressure loss. And so that the pressure at the inlet to the circuit is not lower along the pipe at a certain fluid flow rate.

And the pressure in one mixing unit is the same for all circuits. The pump creates one pressure for all circuits. The pressure is calculated according to schedule 2.

Don't get confused! This is a comprehensive solution. Read below about the laying step and then it should be clear about the length of the pipeline. The main thing is not to make the pipe too long.

And if it’s simple, then for every 10 meters of 16 pipes it is necessary to pump at least 0.4 liters / minute. That is, 2 liters / minute are needed for 50 meters of pipe. And at 80 meters 3.2 liters / minute.

The comprehensive solution is:

Table 1

Keep in mind that if you install to yourself, on an already clogged heating system, then perhaps this mixing unit you will take away some flow from the boiler, which may affect the flow in other heating branches. This problem is solved by adding , with additional pumps.

As for pipe bend losses, they are very small, for example, to obtain a resistance of 1 meter at a speed of 0.44 meters/second, 200 turns (90 degrees) are needed. As a rule, there can be a maximum of 40 on one circuit.

It is very important to know that if you use antifreeze in your heating system, the viscosity of the antifreeze differs from water by 30% to 50%. And this means that the water through the pipes will run even more slowly. And the calculations need to be carried out already by others. It is necessary to add a pump power margin of about 20% or shorten the pipes by 20%. Also keep in mind that the heat capacity of the anti-freeze liquid is again about 20% less. This means that this liquid will carry less heat.

How many contours of a warm floor to complete in one mixing unit?

Based on golden experience:

From experience I will say a pump with a flow rate of up to 40 liters / minute and a pressure of 6 meters for a parallel system, up to 8 circuits with a length not exceeding 65 meters for 16 pipes are enough.

For a serial system, up to 12 loops of a long pipe not exceeding 65 meters for 16 are sufficient.

If you decide to make pipes 80 meters long, then you should make 5 circuits for a parallel system, 8 circuits for a serial system, for one such pump.

Just don’t think of making a circuit 100 meters long 16 pipes, it’s not very economical! On my own personal experience checked!

Algorithm for solving this problem for a parallel system.

Let's say you got 6 contours of a warm floor. With the length, you also decided and it is about 80 meters. You also decided on the flow rate and it is equal to 3 liters / minute for each branch.

And now we consider:

We are watching table 1.

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