Among modern heating systems, one of theThe main places are occupied by a water or electric warm floor under the tile. Which is better to choose from them - the question is not idle. On this depends the comfort in the house and saving energy. Water heating is prohibited in multi-storey buildings. Therefore, heating the house with warm floors is done mainly with the help of electricity. The heating is controlled by a thermostat installed on the wall.
The advantage of the method is uniformwarming up the room. At the same time, a decrease in the average room temperature of 2-3 ° C will not cause discomfort. Saving electricity here is 10-15%. Especially requires a warm floor for tiles or ceramic tiles, cold for the feet.
Types of heaters
Heat is created by the following heating elements, embedded in the floor:
- cables;
- mats;
- infrared film.
The modern market offers different options. It remains to choose the electric warm floor under the tile. Which is better? Let's try to understand.
Cables
The cables are resistive and self-regulating.All of them are mounted in a cement-sand screed with reinforcement, which occupies 3-5 cm of additional height of the room. In addition, the top is laid tiles, taking up to 2 cm.
Resistive cable
When heated electric floors are installed, prices are the lowest for a resistive heating cable, which is single- and double-core.
Self-regulating cable
This type of cable is different in principle.It consists of two conductors arranged in parallel. Between them is placed a semiconductor polymer. Through it passes current in the transverse direction. In different areas, the heat dissipation in the cable can be different, depending on the temperature in the room. Therefore, there will not be overheating in some places, if there will be furniture or household appliances. It is important that too much load does not damage the cable.
Mats
What kind of warm floor under the tile to install, the homeowner decides, but it is best to use heating mats made of ultra-thin cable glued to the grid.
Film Infrared Floor
The heater consists of flat carbonconductors, laminated to a roll of special electrotechnical film. This option was originally designed for laying under floor coverings without screed or glue. Not every film floor can withstand the alkaline environment of mortar. Under the tile it can be applied, but an additional waterproofing of polyethylene is required.
Selecting the power of the heaters
When it is planned to make an electric warm floor under the tile, which is better for power, depends on the type of room.
Determination of useful area
Under bulky furniture and household appliancesheating is not done because of overload and disturbance of normal air circulation. It should be taken into account that it is advisable to heat up at least 70% of the floor of the room, when the electric heating serves as the main source of heat. At the same time its specific power should be 110-220 W / m2. If the useful area is less, from the electricThe floor will have to be abandoned or the layout of the premises changed. For the kitchen or living room, the power is approaching the lower limit, and in the bathroom, on the loggia or in the premises of the first floor, it needs more. The best option is to operate the heating system by 70-75%.
How to calculate the heating element when buying
Before you make a warm floor at home, you needcorrectly calculate the power, which depends on the type and area of the room. The figure below shows the types of floors through a thermographic device with heating of different power (surface temperature 15-25 ° C).
The room requires a specific power of 100-160 W / m2. For an auxiliary heat source, it can be selected at a minimum.
For a room at 20 m2 the useful area will be 20 · 70/100% = 14 m2.
Then the required power is W = 100 · 14 = 1.4 kW.
When the main source, you need to take the maximum: W = 160 · 14 = 2.24 kW.
The cost of a resistive cable is not very high, and it makes sense to take it as the main source of heating, which is not necessarily 100% used.
If the power of the cable is 20 W / m, then the main source needs a length
L = 2.24 · 1000/20 = 112 m.
At the ends of the cable, special couplings are installed. Therefore, they are sold in fixed segments. When buying, you can choose a cable with the required power close to the calculated one.
How to lay a warm floor
When laying a warm electric floorhands, you should know that the bottom need insulation. Save on it is not worth it, because it is a reliable heat protection at home. In addition, all the heat generated by the warm floor will go up into the room.
The overlap is cleared of debris, coveredwaterproofing, and the insulation is put on it. A popular material is polypropylene with a foil layer located on top. On a heater the thin assembly grid is put.
If the floor is loaded with heavy objects,As heat insulation, it is advisable to use solid waterproof gypsum-fiber or glass-magnesite sheets. They are attached to the base with dowels. To prevent the metal cap from contacting the heating elements, the place for the screws should be carefully selected.
Cement-concrete screed will be poured from above. So that it does not push through the insulation, small cuts are made in it at intervals. Then the screed will keep on the ceiling, and not on the insulation.
Cable spacing is calculated by the formula: h = S · 1000 / L = 14 · 1000/112 = 125 mm.
The laying plan must first be drawn on the sketch.with the designation of the installation location of the thermostat. Usually, floor heating is done in zones. The advantage of this method is that they can be connected separately.
Heated floor of the heating cable is laidunder the screed of concrete, the thickness of which is 3-6 cm. On top of it can be any coating that does not have insulating properties. Heated floor is placed so that it never stood furniture. Otherwise, these areas will overheat. Above the place where the temperature sensor is located, do not lay mats, as this may disrupt the entire system.
Furniture rearrangement and coveringself-adjusting cable mats will not impair its operation. It is convenient to apply it on the small areas of heating. In stationary conditions, where the furniture is not rearranged, it is more economical to use a resistive cable as it is cheaper.
The heated floor is fixed on the floor with a mounting tape, which is fixed 30–50 cm in length with the help of dowels.
Connection of a warm floor
Power supply for underfloor heating is carried outa separate group using RCDs. If the house is not grounded, it must be done. Braid cable must be grounded. Wires to the mains and to the warm floor are held in the wall, where the grooves are made. They must fit a corrugated pipe.
The wires are inserted into the installation box and togetherwith a cable of a heat-insulated floor are connected to a temperature regulator. Marking in it is as follows: L - phase, N - neutral wire, PE - grounding. Control of the thermostat is done in each room separately. When installing a heated floor in several rooms, it is advisable to use a multi-channel device. Heating can be turned off or kept at a minimum when no one uses the room. In the bathroom and other rooms with high humidity thermostat is not recommended.
Heated electric floors: prices and quality
Самыми дешевыми являются теплые полы китайского production. Russian products have an average price level. Among the Korean models there is a large range of prices and quality. When buying, you need to pay attention to the characteristics of the products, not in the advertisement, but in the documentation.
The best electric floor heating is made by American, Norwegian and Danish manufacturers.
The floors of European manufacturers have the following prices (rubles / sq. M):
- cable - 800-1000;
- heating mat - 1500-2600;
- infrared film - 600-800.
When buying, you should evaluate the cost of the whole set.
Any warm electric floor with their hands can be easily made, if you carefully follow the instructions for installation and connection.
Conclusion
Из всех известных способов отопления самым convenient is an electric floor heating under the tile. Which is better to choose? It all depends on the desires and possibilities of the homeowner. High thermal conductivity of ceramics, ease of management, hidden placement, cost-effectiveness, the ability to mount a heated floor electric with their own hands and other advantages of this method of heating make it more and more popular.
