Under floor radiant heating systems either utilize electricity or heated water to heat the floor. When heated water is used in a radiant heating system, it is called hydronic floor heating where hydro stands for water. Hydronic floor heating is widely preferred for heating large houses because electric radiant floor heating consumes a lot of power. Apart from that, hydronic floor heating can provide you ultimate comforts and you can easily control the temperature by its central unit. But you need to install these hydronic hot water channels under the floor and for this, you need to spend huge amount. Even if you want to save your cost, then you can go for hydronic wall heating panels. You can fix them on wall and they will provide you the warmness throughout the day.
Mode of Operation of The Hydronic Floor Heating System:
Hydronic floor heating system consists of a boiler or water heater which is used to heat up water. The heated water is circulated through pipes fixed underneath the flooring. These are flexible pipes made of polyethylene which are fixed inside poured concrete of the floor, attached on top of the subfloor in the form of grids, fixed inside grooved panels or fixed to the underside of the floor in aluminum strips. The water can be heated by a variety of ways such as gas-powered boiler, oil-powered boiler or water heater run by gas, kerosene or solar energy. When you switch on the heating system, the boiler will circulate hot water through these channels and these pipelines will get heated instantly. Afterward, they will transmit the heat to the floor surface and you will feel the warmness inside the rooms.
Hydronic floor heating systems divide the house into various zones which means that the amount of heat being transferred to various rooms can be adjusted easily. The heat zones are controlled with a thermostat. The distribution of water to each room can also be varied easily.
Types of installations
The common method of hydronic floor heating system installation is called slab-on-grade method. In this, the ground is first compressed and a layer of polyethylene vapor barrier is fixed on it. Thereafter, an insulating material is added to the surface followed by attaching a metal lath or wire mesh on top. The tubes of the hydronic system are then attached to the mesh and laid out in the form of a network. The tubes from each and every zone are connected to the valves and other parts of the system. Finally, concrete is poured on top to cover the arrangement.
Dry or Plate system of installation is a method in which the tubes are attached to the underside of the subfloor. The tubes need to be attached to aluminum plates which are highly insulated in case of houses located in very cold areas.
Thin slab method is further subdivided into two methods. The first method involves fixing the tubes to the subfloor which are then covered by light concrete. The thickness of the floor should be about 1.5 inches.
In the second method, the tubes are put between the subfloor and floor covering. Underlayment panels are available for holding the tubes in the correct place. The thickness of the floor in such cases is not more than half inch.
Hydronic floor heating systems can be installed in both new as well as old homes during renovation. The important requirement for installing hydronic floor heating system is the ability of the building to withstand the additional weight of the tubes, cement and concrete. The underside of the subfloor of the building should also be easily accessible for installing and maintenance operations.
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