Introduction
If you want your home to be heated evenly and to a comfortable temperature, you need to know the heat output of your underfloor heating system. After all, you are installing the system so that you can be assured that each room is heated to the temperature you desire – you certainly don’t want it to be chilly or underperform. If you want to accurately predict how much heat you will need to keep your space heated, you need to know the heat loss. You can then choose an underfloor heating system that has a heating output that compensates for the loss.
Read ahead for valuable information on underfloor heating output, designed to help you understand this important concept.
Think about your space and its limitations
Before you start the installation process, you need to assess the area that you are planning to heat. If you are looking to heat a small room with a small area, you might be best off with a highly conductive floor finish. Stone flooring or tile can both be heated to a high temperature, and will therefore have a higher heat output that soft flooring. You might need to supplement the underfloor heating output with a secondary heating method. In a small room, such as a bathroom, you could also include wall heaters or heated towel rails, as they will contribute to the overall heating output of your overlay underfloor heating system.
The size of your room will directly correspond to the heat output of your underfloor system. The larger the area you need to heat, the higher the maximum heat output of the system. However, the size of the heated floor area in relation to the overall room size affects the output too as the larger the room gets, the higher the heat loss becomes. If the heated area is significantly smaller than the overall floor or room size (<80%), it may be difficult for an underfloor heating system to create enough heat for primary heating unless the home is well-insulated.
Floor Types and Temperatures
The heat flow depends on the structure of the flooring material and its internal molecules. Heat travels much faster through dense materials, such as tile, than it does through porous materials, such as wood or textiles. No matter what, the correct underfloor heating water temperature
will eventually spread throughout any material you choose, and will reach a balanced temperature.
The temperature of your floor directly affects the
heat output. That means that the higher the temperature of the floor, the
higher the heat output from the floor will be. Not every material or finish can
handle the high temperatures required to heat your home, so you need to ensure
that the finish you choose is up for the job.
Stone and tile are very dense and they have a high
level of thermal conductivity. This means that they can transmit the heat much
more efficiently from the heating element and manifold to the surface of the
floor. They can be heated to more than 29°C in order to provide a higher
output.
Softer floor materials, including laminate, linoleum and wood all have poor
conductivity, and so they can only be heated to a maximum of 27°C degrees. If your
chosen floor finish allows a lower heating output than you require, you could
consider a different flooring material or adding an additional heating source.
Thermostats
Your thermostat controls the level of heat in the room. Modern thermostats control the floor heat after using a probe to assess the temperature of the air and/o floor. The thermostat switches the heat “on or off”, and so its level of accuracy (and the probe’s accuracy) will have a big impact on your heating output. Remember, the higher you want you room to be, the more heat output you will require in order to reach this temperature.
This is an important consideration in smaller room, especially in the bathroom. The bathroom is usually a few degrees warmer than the rest of the home, and so if you have poorly placed or malfunctioning thermostat probes you can end up severely overheating these small spaces. This can lead to damaging paint finishes, appliances, and flooring, making a state of the art, reliable thermostat especially important.
Gauging the room temperature accurately is key when it comes to maintaining the correct heat output. A reliable thermostat will not only keep your home the temperature you desire, but it will protect your belongings and save you money on heating costs.
Floor Insulation
If you want to increase the heating output of your underfloor heating system, you need to ensure that you have the right insulation installed. Insulation might be placed just below the heating units, pipes, or even below the screed. If you neglect this important component, the heat generated by your system will move both upwards and downwards, meaning that you waste a heap of money on your electricity bills.
Understanding the Power of your Underfloor Heating System
The power of your underfloor heating system is measured in watts per square metre. In a well insulated, modern home, the power should be somewhere between 65 – 85W/m² in order to have the necessary output. When you are choosing your underfloor heating system, it is usually recommended that you go with a 150 – 200W/m² option. This will reduce the time it takes to heat up a room, as system will not be running continuously. The system is only running half of the time, and so the power provided only needs to be half of the wattage of the entire system. For example, a 150W/m² system will usually provide 65 – 85W/m² of heating per hour.
Summary
The surface materials, size of your space, and additional heating sources all contribute to the heating output needed for your home. Once you have determined the heating output necessary for your space, you can choose the right underfloor heating system for your home. This will keep your home warm, cost effective, and in condition.
