Underfloor Heating

Grampian Heat and Power is an approved installer of Uponor products.

Space Heating

Whatever the method used, the purpose of all space heating is to create an acceptable level of human comfort within a defined area. “Comfort” however, is a subjective concept. It will vary from person to person according to their age and activity level. There is therefore no universal ideal design temperature for all occasions - a sheltered housing project may require air temperatures of 21°C, while just 15°C may be adequate in a gymnasium or indoor sports hall.

Principles

The principle of underfloor heating  (UFH) is very simple. Rather than mount metal panels on walls, pipes are laid in the floor and warm water circulated so that the floor effectively becomes a large radiator. Because the floor is so large compared to a normal wallmounted radiator, it needs to run only a few degrees above the air temperature to provide enough warmth to gently heat the whole room.

The primary aim of the floor heating design is to create an even, uniform surface temperature across the entire floor area within the building in order to ensure a consistent comfort level throughout the structure. When the floor temperature is higher than the air temperature, the floor will emit mainly radiant heat. The heat output from the floor is directly related to the temperature of the floor and that of the surrounding air. Loops of pipes are normally installed beneath the whole floor area. These loops are connected to a central manifold, which is supplied with hot water from a suitable heat source - such as a boiler or heat pump.

Heat pumps are becoming ever more popular due to the potential energy savings. Usually, with boilers as the heat source, the central heating water is mixed before it reaches the manifold to reduce the water temperature to that suitable for the UFH system. Controls reduce the water temperature to maintain the correct design temperature and pump the warm water through the UFH pipes.

Heating with UFH

UFH is a true radiant system and heats from floor to ceiling. UFH avoids wasted heat at high level and since the whole floor is heated evenly, optimum comfort is achieved everywhere in the room.

Floor Construction Type

Floor construction is another key factor in the design. Screed floors, suspended wooden floors and floating floors all require individual consideration to ensure optimum performance and an even distribution of heat across the surface of the floor. The screed or solid floor system relies on the conductivity of the screed or concrete to conduct the heat from the pipe surface to the underside of the floor finish. Because the screed is itself heated to conduct the heat it tends to store considerable amounts of heat and thus provides a slow response when both heating up and cooling down.

Timber floor systems rely on the conductivity of components fitted within the floor to conduct the heat from the pipe to the underside of the floor finish. In order to achieve good results the pipes must transfer their heat evenly to the floor surface. Inadequate heat dissipation and hot spots can cause unsightly shrinkage, particularly with natural wood boards. Because the mass of a timber floor structure is less than the mass of a screed floor, the system response of a timber floor system is usually much faster.