With the onset of cold weather, each owner of an apartment or house is trying to find the most profitable way to effectively heat a home. In the past few years has become popular electric floor heating, power consumption which can be very economical. To do this, the installation and operation of the system must take into account several expert tips. This will reduce the cost of the family budget for energy.
System device
To understand, how to save on electricity consumptionfirst you need to examine the devicesystem. For heating inside or outside the premises most often used special wires. They consist of nichrome vein. Around it are several insulating shells.
The device is connected to a thermostat that controls the heating level. The efficiency of this system is related to its basic principle of operation.
Electric floor heating consumption will be less than the convector or radiator. His peak temperature is determined at the base of the room.
Varieties of systems
Will help to understand the features possessed electric floor heating, characteristics. Power consumption all systems are not the same. A cable mounted under the screed (3-5 cm) and a mat, which is installed directly into the tile adhesive (5-8 mm), are on sale. There are other systems.
The cable is commercially available as a bay.Its cross section is about 7 mm. Therefore, it is mandatory poured tie. The master independently lays out the heating wire on the prepared surface. The step of laying between the turns can be from 8 to 15 cm. Therefore, the power per 1 m² varies from the density of the turns.
The mat is a grid of PVC material (50cm wide), on which a thin wire (3 mm thick) was originally laid out. Here the power of 1 m² is set by the manufacturer. Therefore, when buying, you must select the correct option.
System power
Regardless of the type of system there arecertain standards for which the system capacity per 1 m² is chosen. For room heating the system is suitable from 110 to 180 W / m². Equipping the anti-icing system for sidewalks, roofs, gutters, etc., will require a wire with a power of about 200-350 W / m².
The choice of this indicator also depends on the flooring. Electric floor heating, power consumption which is 110-130 W / m² per hour, suitable forlaminate flooring. Wood coating can not be heated more than 30 ° C. Therefore, the power of such coatings does not require too high. Tiles want to heat more. Therefore, it is used for the system from 150 to 180 W / m² per hour.
Infrared warm floor
Infrared is widely used today. warm floor electric. Power consumption This system is different from cable types of heating devices. The heating element of such a product looks like a film with stripes. This is laminated carbon paste.
Such a warm floor is suitable for "dry" installation when the solution is not used. Laminate, linoleum or carpet are immediately mounted on the film without a screed or tile glue.
The power of infrared floor heating is higher than that of the cable. It is about 220 W / m² per hour. This product is best used for comfortable heating.
Power calculation
There is a certain technique that allows you to calculate how much energy a warm floor consumes. Formula The calculation is very simple. Initially, it is necessary to determine the required system capacity per 1 m² by the method presented above.
Next, the area is calculated, which will bekeep warm floor. You can make a comfortable heating and heat the room with additional appliances. In this case, the system covers less than 50% of the room area. In order to heat the room with electric floor heating only, it is necessary to install the system for at least 70% of the base.
Suppose you need to do autonomous heatingin the bathroom, which is located on the 3rd floor of a multi-storey building. The required power per 1 m² will be 150 W (the flooring will be made of tile). The floor area is 10 m². If you take the square, which occupies furniture and plumbing, it turns out 7 m². The calculation is made:
M = 7 * 150 = 1050 W
You must purchase a system with a capacity of 1050 watts.
How much energy does the system consume?
The above calculation method allows you to find the maximum electric power consumption of a warm floor. But under normal conditions, such systems consume much less energy.
The fact is that the operating temperature of the wireis usually 65 ° C. The surface to this level never heats up due to the obligatory presence of heat loss in the room. But with long-term operation, the system will be able to reach 50-55 ° C on the floor covering. It is comfortable for a person to stand barefoot on the surface with a temperature of 25-30 ° C. Therefore, the level of floor heating controls the thermostat.
The system consumes the most energy whenthe first heat. If the wire is mounted in a coupler, this process takes about 3-4 hours. For a mat the first warming up lasts from 40 minutes. up to 1 hour. Next, the thermostat turns off the power to the wire. The coupler can give off heat for quite a long time. On the surface, the temperature may not fall for more than an hour. Mate cools in 20-30 minutes. During this time, warm floor does not consume electricity.
On average, an electric underfloor heating works for 8-10 hours per day, provided that there are no significant heat losses in the room and the heating level is 25 ° C.
How to reduce energy consumption during installation?
Electric floor heating, power consumption which can be significantly reduced, requires the correct approach to its installation. The better the base is warmed, the less the owners will pay their energy bills.
Be sure to warm the base inground floor rooms, on the balcony. For this purpose, polystyrene foam or rolled insulation based on rubber is used. Filling the cable with a coupler will also be better to equip high-quality insulation.
Due to the small thickness of the solution, the mat above the wire can be mounted without insulation, but only if it is not the first floor.
Indoors with high ceilings, large window openings, poorly insulated walls require more energy for the presented system.
How to reduce energy consumption after installation?
Underfloor heating electric, power consumption which depends on the characteristics of the room, alsohighly dependent on the type of thermostat. There are mechanical and programmable variants on sale. In the first case, the device constantly maintains a given level of heating, breaking the circuit when it reaches a certain temperature.
Programmable thermostat will reducepower consumption up to 30%. This device allows you to operate the warm floor only during those hours when the owners are at home. After they leave, for example, to work, the program reduces the heat to a minimum level. An hour before the owners arrive, the device turns on the system and reheats the floor again.
Having considered a system like electric floor heating, power consumption which depends on many factors, each user will be able to significantly reduce the cost of paying energy bills.
