What is better - a warm floor or batteries?

Just a couple of decades ago, no one would have raised the question of what is better - a warm floor or batteries. All inhabitants of urban high-rise buildings and private houses with amenities used exclusively radiators. But in recent years, warm floors have won great popularity, so now weigh all the pros and cons are almost everyone who started a serious repair. Each system has its advantages and disadvantages, which will be discussed in our article.

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What are the heating systems?

Radiators are the most common batteries that are mounted most often under the windowsills( but not necessarily - they can on any other wall).The coolant flows through pipes, which are also very clearly visible.

In the system of floor heating, as the name implies, the heaters are mounted below, under the cover. In turn, the warm floor can be of two types:

• hydraulic;
• electric.

In the first case, pipes and radiators are located under the cover. In fact, it is the same battery system, only located differently. In the second case, the heating elements are heated.

Important! Asking the question what is better - a water-heated floor or batteries, keep in mind that in many cities such a hydraulic lower heating is not allowed in multi-storey buildings.

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Advantages and disadvantages of hydraulic floors

The main drawback of the water floor is that in order to mount it, you will have to make major repairs. There are other not very pleasant features:

1. The top layer of the coating rises to 6-10 cm - for a private house it does not matter, but in a city apartment creates many problems, why such a floor is prohibited in many places.
2. A perfectly flat surface is required for installation. Accordingly - on a flat concrete cover you need to lay first the roll waterproofing, and on it - the heat insulator.
3. The coating material is heated when heated, so it is necessary to lay a special polyethylene foam tape around the perimeter of the room.
4. The air in the room becomes too dry, so a humidifier is needed.

Several advantages

The floor area is larger than the battery area. Accordingly - the warm floor has a greater heat emission. If everything is correctly assembled, you can achieve great fuel economy - even though the indoor conditions will be almost ideal for living.

Important! Savings are especially important in a private home. The temperature of the coolant, when it enters a residential building, should be 70 ° C, as required by the SNiP.In the apartment house, the owner of the house pays for the standard already for the finished heat carrier, while in the private housing, as a rule, the gas consumption for which the water is heated is paid for. The savings can be 10-12%.

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Electric underfloor heating

Compared to hydraulic floor, electric has a number of advantages:

• can be laid in any premises;
• does not require major repairs;
• it is possible to use existing coating and it is not necessary to lay additional heat insulator;
• the floor height does not change;
• room is warming up quickly.

Heating elements are different. Depending on this, the underfloor heating systems are divided into three types:

• wired;
• film;
• with carbon rods.

Important! Wired heating is a system of cables, through which electricity is supplied to the TENs. In the second case, a special infrared film is used. Recently, the sale began to appear and floors with carbon rods, but while they are still very expensive and there are not many used.

Wired

Wired version is more familiar and clearer, but it has very significant drawbacks compared to film:

• consumes a lot of energy;
• is expensive;
• is afraid of overheating, that is, we must be extremely careful about the arrangement of furniture;
• creates electromagnetic fields around conductors;
• requires installation in a screed.

Important! Inside the room, you can not use a single-core cable.

Film floor

It is more practical and convenient than a wired one. Its main advantages include:

• low power consumption;
• no magnetic fields;
• can be mounted without screed.

Important! The only negative - as well as a wired system, the infrared does not like overheating.

System with carbon rods

So far this is the most modern variant. It occurs rarely, but it is necessary to know about the advantages and disadvantages. Advantages are:

• ability to independently regulate heat distribution;
• does not overheat, that is, you can put furniture as you like;
• does not consume too much electricity;
• fits under any cover.

Important! The disadvantages are extremely high costs and the need for screeding.

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Is any coating suitable?

Reflecting on what is best - a warm floor or batteries, especially pay close attention to what kind of coverage you are going to cover. For wire or film warm floor suitable:

• laminate;
• linoleum( without insulation);
• parquet( if the boards are thin);
• ceramic tiles;
• self-leveling floors.

There are also covers for which you can not lay any infrared film, or TENs with wires:

• insulated linoleum;
• carpet;
• conventional parquet;
• cork.

Important! This is especially important to consider if the system you would like to supply has automatic thermoregulation. The fact is that the coating with thermal insulation significantly reduces the heat transfer, respectively - the heaters will be constantly overloaded. And this is uncomfortable, and dangerous, and the floor will not last long. For hydraulic floors, this is not so important, but the efficiency is sharply reduced, respectively - the room warms up extremely slowly.

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Mounting the water floor

You will not be banned from supplying a hydraulic warm floor in a private house. But you need to mount it qualitatively, because it depends on comfort and security, and the durability of the system itself, and the economy.

Preparation of premises

Any important business should be started with preparation, in this case - premises:

1. Note the level of the top layer of your floor.
2. Drill the holes for the pipes.
3. Make technological niches.
4. Prepare a roughing floor - it must be leveled so that the skew does not exceed 5 °.

Thermal insulation

After the room is ready, it is necessary to lay the insulation.

Foam plastic, polyurethane and other similar materials are suitable for this. Better than all vapor-insulating - for example, from polystyrene.

Important! If such a plate is not available, the vapor barrier layer will have to be done separately. For this, reinforced polyethylene or polypropylene is used.

The vapor barrier must be fixed and glued, for which a damper tape made of expanded polyethylene is used. It is attached around the perimeter and at the joints slightly above the screed. Then the heat insulator - the mounting plate - is laid.

Pipe laying

For a warm floor, a variety of pipes are used:

• copper;
• steel;
• polyvinylchloride;
• from metal plastic;
• high-strength polyethylene.

Important! The latter option was created specifically for the hydraulic heating system, so it is considered the best. Such pipes have excellent qualities:

• they have a high thermal conductivity;
• they withstand high pressure;
• they can be bent;
• are not subject to corrosion;
• does not give noise;
• long serve.

When laying pipes, some rules must be observed:

1. From the outer wall, it is necessary to retreat 15 cm.
2. Do not lay pipes on joints of floor panels.
3. In the middle of the room, stowage with a large step is possible.

With regard to the types of stacking, there are several:

• snake;
• double snake;
• snail.

Important! It is not necessary to lay pipes on the entire surface. It is necessary to take into account the placement of furniture, especially large and stationary.

In addition to preparation and installation, the installation includes the following steps:

• connection to the distribution manifold;
• crimping;
• pouring concrete;
• expansion joint installation.

Important! For these works it is best to invite specialists from a utility company that has a license. If you do everything yourself, then note that the connection to the collector is done in two ways:

• soldering;
• couplings.

The first option - for copper or polyethylene pipes, the second - for steel and metal-plastic. Pressurization is carried out before pouring with concrete, because at this stage the quality of the entire system is checked.

Without pouring

Not so long ago appeared, the so-called, floorless hydraulic floor. It is still not very popular, and its efficiency is lower, but it can be used in apartment buildings. Mount it much easier and faster:

1. Thermal insulation is laid on the overlap.
2. A layer of particleboard or polystyrene panels is laid on top.
3. The main layer is laid and the heat-distributing plates.
4. The plates are covered with a vibration isolation layer.
5. All this is covered with an outer layer, usually a laminate.

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Installation of an electrical warm floor

The installation of cable and infrared systems is, of course, somewhat different. In this case, the cable systems are divided into two types:

• itself cable;
• cable in reinforcing mesh.

In addition to the system to be mounted, you need:

• mounting wire;
• grounding cable;
• fasteners;
• controller;
• temperature sensor;
• RCD system.

Important! The controller and the temperature sensor are often included in the kit.

As with the hydraulic floor, the first step is to prepare the room - level the surface and lay a layer of thermal insulation and vapor barrier. Infrared floor you just need to spread the surface and attach it with adhesive tape.

If the system is wired, proceed as follows:

1. Place the heat reflector layer.
2. Measure the resistance of heating cables - this must be done before stacking.
3. Compare the discrepancy with the data in the passport - it should not be more than 10%.
4. Place the cable and secure it.
5. If you need to pour concrete - lay reinforcing mesh.
6. Connect the power cable and heater.
7. Place the cable in the corrugation.
8. Attach the corrugation to the floor.
9. Reset the resistance.
10. Fill the screed or lay the tile.

Important! In the case of a film system, a vibration isolator must be placed above the thermal layer, and then a laminate.

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Radiators

Traditional fans' heating systems are still numerous. The principle of work is clear to all. It consists in the fact that a working battery warms the room in two ways. It produces thermal radiation, but at the same time, convection currents also arise. They are less noticeable in cast iron radiators, but if you have steel or aluminum radiators, this method of heating becomes very effective.

Important! Convection occurs due to the difference in pressure in the room and between the panels of the battery. Cold air is simply sucked into this space, heated and comes out already warm.

Advantages and disadvantages of the radiator system

Apologists for warm floors often say that radiators warm the room unevenly. There are other disadvantages:

• large heating costs;
• the need to strictly verify the position of the pipes and the radiators themselves.

However, these shortcomings are more than compensated by the advantages that must be taken into account when deciding what is better - a warm floor or batteries:

• a variety of materials;
• different types of installation;
• developed and mastered installation technology;
• the ability to supplement existing batteries with new sections;
• the ability to disconnect individual sections;
• air has sufficient humidity.

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Types of batteries

Radiators are made from different materials. They can be:

• cast-iron;
• steel;
• are made of aluminum.

Each metal has its own pluses and minuses, which must be taken into account when replacing.

Cast iron

They have a working pressure of 9 bar. As for other characteristics, they are:

• height - 350-1500 mm;
• depth - 50-140 mm.

Such batteries, although they began to be used very long ago, are still very popular. Their main advantages:

• relatively low price;
• ability to add sections;
• durability;
• possibility to use with any coolant;
• high efficiency.

If we talk about the drawbacks that need to be taken into account when comparing what is better than a warm floor or a battery of cast iron, then they are also quite significant:

1. The room heats up long after the batteries are turned on.
2. Heat output of cast-iron batteries is 110 watts per section, which is quite small.
3. You need a lot of coolant.
4. Such batteries weigh a lot.
5. Typically, the design of the variety is no different.

Important! Recently, quite beautiful cast-iron batteries have appeared - on legs and with exquisite casting.

Aluminum and bimetallic

They appeared later cast-iron, but quickly gained popularity. Users appreciate:

• high heat dissipation;
• easy installation
• economy;
• little weight.

Important! The main drawbacks of aluminum models include brittleness, fragility, low working pressure and the fact that not all heat carriers can be used - for example, some antifreezes quite quickly destroy such batteries.

Most of these drawbacks have been eliminated in bimetal batteries.

Steel

Such batteries are of two types:

• panel;
• tubular.

Important! In the first case, the radiator is made of the same stamped plates. They are welded along the contour. The main drawback is the inability to add sections. Tubular radiators are welded to the collectors. They look like cast-iron ones.

The operating pressure can be from 5 to 16 bar. Steel radiators give a temperature of up to 120 ° C.Their dimensions can be as follows:

• height - 200-900 mm;
• depth - up to 225 mm.

Steel batteries are much more durable than others. They have other advantages:

• high heat dissipation;
• reliability;
• strength;
• low cost;
• simple installation;
• different connection options.

Important! The main drawback is that such radiators rust. But it's not so bad, it's much worse that they can not always withstand the hydro shock.

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How to connect the radiators?

By the way of connecting the battery, too, are different. There are systems of these types:

• single-tube;
• two-pipe;
• beam.

Important! In the first case a special pipe of smaller diameter - bypass is used. This makes it possible to disconnect the radiator from the mains, which is simply necessary in case of an accident, but it is also used to control the temperature in the room. There are two ways to use the bypass:

• with two taps;
• with one three-way valve.

With a two-pipe scheme, the pipes stand vertically, the batteries are connected in parallel. Finally, when connecting to the beam scheme, a comb is used.

With a two-pipe serial circuit, the bypass is connected in one of three ways:

• lateral;
• lower;
• radial.

The latter option is considered the most reliable and most effective.

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What to look for when choosing?

Having decided that the radiator heating system is more suitable for you, take into account the working pressure. This parameter is more important than heat emission. In systems with natural circulation, that is, in conventional multi-apartment buildings, radiators with a pressure of up to 10 bar are used. This corresponds to the operating pressure of the entire system under normal conditions. However, during pressurization, the pressure rises by a factor of 1.5 or 2.

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Reasonable combination of

An unequivocal answer to the question what is better - a warm floor or radiators, does not exist:

• In fact, hydraulic floor heating can completely replace the radiators in the house. But you can not say about the electric heating. So the most convenient option is the combination of the two systems.
• Where a warm angle is needed and the loss of a small area of ​​free space does not play a special role, you can put a radiator. For the bedroom, nothing better to think of. The same can be done in the living room. For the children's room, heating from the bottom is more suitable, because the kid spends a lot of time on the floor. Such a system is good for the kitchen, bathroom and corridor.

Important! The mixer is a necessary part of the warm floor, but it is not always included. In any case, it needs to be installed.

In this article we have considered the option of installing a warm floor and radiators. We hope, thanks to this information, you could decide for yourself what is better - a warm floor or batteries, and did not regret your choice.