Home heating for many of us is the key to comfort premises, so the equipment and its functionality has always drawn attention. Good autonomous boiler is still not a guarantee that you will be in the cold season to stay warm and comfortable. The main aspect of the heating efficiency in the home is becoming a way of heating premises and the organization of the entire heating system. What to prefer, radiators or underfloor heat the rooms? The question that is not essential, but requires clarity. Why today is becoming fashionable to do in the house of a warm floor instead of conventional radiators?
Technological aspects of choice existing between the two heating methods
Let's start with the fact that the radiators are already used as heaters for a long time. Practical application of this method of heating has proved sufficiently high performance batteries for creating indoor comfort temperature. Besides, we should not forget that the installation of the heating system in a building via radiators is not so complicated from a technical point of view. Bolted to the main highway battery can today almost every person who has the necessary knowledge and a minimum of tools. The battery can be of steel, cast iron, or new composite materials (bimetal). Connection methods are the same as many years ago: the screw connection and a clamping sleeve.
Indisputable is the safety and reliability of the radiator heating. To date, almost every residential building and apartment house you can find the battery. These heaters have become a familiar part of our housing interior. Thanks to modern materials have improved the appearance of products, increase the heating surface. These innovations have greatly improved aesthetic characteristics and improve productivity. As for other methods of heating, there is hot water heating Radiator serious competition today to create a warm water floor.
Floor heating has become commonplace in today's low-rise residential construction. Many owners of cottages and country houses prefer warm floors. Install radiators or equip a warm floor in the room, you decide. Another thing is how are justified large-scale installation work on the installation of water sex from an economic point of view.
Another thing is that the radiators in an apartment or house will cost less than the underfloor heating, the package including a lot of additional maintenance equipment and hundreds of meters of pipes. Economically heated floors are considered expensive, so to such events as the laying of water sexes should be prepared.
For reference: from the point of view of experts of Heating Warm floors are not the ideal choice of residential space heating. Not every room can be technically prepared for the installation of such a complex set, what is a warm water floor. For city apartment this option is generally excluded, as there are official bans on such equipment in an apartment building.
Water heating is fundamentally different from other types of heating systems. The main working tool of the system - the heat transfer fluid. It may be plain, or chemically treated water contained substance (antifreezes and their derivatives). In the first case, a radiator, in the second, with warm floors, the heating system installation involves lining the entire piping network.
For reference, the length of the heating circuit for supplying the radiators in a building area of 150 m2 It is about 100 meters. In the case of heating floors, we are talking about the overall length of the heating circuit water for hundreds of meters. The whole point is that the principle of the hot-water heating systems - is the delivery of the hot coolant in the heating apparatus. In a first embodiment, this role will be played by radiators in the second embodiment the heating device acts as the entire surface of the floor in the heated rooms.
You can often hear the opinion that a better use of the combined heating options. This formulation of the problem set you free from the dilemma, a battery or a warm floor.
Some rooms are set radiators and other heating circuits being installed water floor. This variant of the decision heating problems chosen by those who want to improve the level of comfort in your home. It comes from old houses and city apartments, not wanting to arrange a grandiose reconstruction or without for the purpose of technological capabilities. The apartment is perfectly gets this method of heating, when all apartment are radiators and in the bathroom or in the children's room are laid in the floor-heating pipes.
All other aspects that should be considered when choosing a heating system, lie in the psychological plane. Comfort - the most important criterion, which many consumers pay attention tonight. Unlike radiators, underfloor heating can be arranged in such a way that you will forget that your home is heated in general and in the floor lies a whole engineering construction. Warm and comfortable temperature is always within normal limits. Availability of the automatic adjustment will relieve you of the need to control the work of the heating industry. Heating floors offer unique opportunities for designers to create new and original elements of interior living spaces.
Warm water floor. Installation and basic features
You have doubts about the choice. What's better to stay on the radiators and to begin preparations for the installation of underfloor heating. Just appreciate the amount of necessary materials, equipment and level of work in each case. This will give you the right answers to many questions, leave a radiator or to bet on a warm floor.
To begin to understand what are the main stages of installation of underfloor heating. Why start with this heating option? The thing is that this method is considered to be a new and little known to most consumers.
first:
- installation of warm water floor is best done in the new structure, even when not started decorating, but instead of the floor are simple concrete floors. Take into account the fact that with a water circuit, laid in the floor, the ceiling height in the heated rooms reduced to 100-150 mm. For private home is not a problem, whereas for a city apartment is sometimes becomes critical.
Important! It must be remembered that the concrete screed with a hot-water pipe weighs 200-300 kg / m2. Count any additional weight will exert pressure on the concrete slab when laying floors indoors heating 20m area2. Approximately 5 -6 tons out! It is designed in your house overlapping for that load and in general, whether a city apartment is able to withstand such a reconstruction.
second:
- the main assembly is as follows. Prepared surface upon which is laid a layer of thermal and waterproofing. Further there is a grid or a special mats, which are stacked on the water pipes of the heating circuit. As a result, your floor takes the form of layered cake. This design is called - a layer cake, with each layer plays a certain role.
Before the wet concrete work on the perimeter of the room damper is glued tape, which serves as expansion joint of the concrete surface. The water pipe is placed on the two schemes, serpentine or spiral. Depending on the intensity of heating you choose the placement scheme.
third:
- Only after connecting the water circuit to the dispense equipment (pumping and mixing unit) is carried out a test run. If flaws in the technical system is not detected, there are no leaks and heating is in accordance with specified parameters, you can proceed to laying of the concrete screed.
On a note: after turning on the system must be allowed to run for 2-3 days, during which checks the operation of the heating of the complex and all the equipment in all modes.
Heating of floor heating without radiators type is generally chosen when there is a strong self-heating high-power boiler. In the house, where a constant heating, there is a constant hot water, underfloor heating should work without interruption. This is due to the powerful boiler achieved the required intensity of heating the coolant and process parameters satisfying the flow rate.
Radiators - everything is clear and simple
With radiators, it looks at the order of magnitude easier. With a stand-alone boiler or central heating system, we do determine how the pipeline will be carried out installation and connection of heating appliances. two types of heating systems are commonly used, open and closed. In the first case you need to build a highway, which will connect all in series, available in the house battery.
When you open the heating system you will have to lay two pipes, the flow line and return line. The batteries are connected in parallel in this case. This wiring diagram is very convenient. You can always disable one of the heaters, thus reducing the load on the boiler and reduce the temperature in the room.
Of all that you will need for this variant of heating equipment, the most expensive component is the radiator. These devices, cast iron or steel is quite expensive. However, the operating efficiency and durability are difficult to compare other materials. Bi-metal or aluminum radiators are cheaper but inferior cast-iron batteries in efficiency and reliability.
On a note: Old time-tested cast iron radiators MS-140 are virtually all residential buildings of the old buildings. Such units are able to withstand significant changes in temperature and operating pressure. You can not say about the new models. For district heating will be the best one battery cast iron or steel.
The new models are installed in new buildings, where in most cases there are stand-alone gas-fired boilers.
conclusion
Both options have their pros and cons. You can not take this way and immediately abandon the radiator, rushing everywhere to install underfloor heating. Do we need radiators for domestic heating, of course needed. In old houses, where the design parameters do not meet the large-scale reconstruction, the batteries perform the work.
Underfloor heating or radiators, so it is impossible to raise the issue. For example, for building large-area glazing best one will be the installation of radiators. The effect of the air curtain, which is created by heating the battery under the window, can not be replaced under-floor heating.
Both versions are suitable for domestic heating systems. Radiator enough to buy metal pipes, radiators, and a circulation pump. For underfloor heating, you will need plenty of valves, pump, reservoir, and thermostats flow. If you're willing to pay for it all, and to engage in construction and installation works, you can start. According to experts it is best to use the combined version, underfloor heating and radiators.
