Floor Heating
History
Floor heating is not a new invention. In the Roman Empire, 2000 years ago, the Romans invented a floor heating system. This system used the hot gasses from the chimney. The gasses were led through channels in the floor and thereby heated the floor.
Basic
Floor heating becomes more and more popular and in new houses it is a must. All types of floorings are suitable for floor heating. Tiled floors and stone floors become very comfortable with floor heating. In recent years wooden floors have become very popular. However, there are some simple rules to follow in order to accomplish long lasting wooden flooring.
There are two types of floor heating:
- Comfort floor heating
- Primary floor heating
Comfort floor heating is used in rooms with other heating sources such as radiators or furnace. With comfort heating you will achieve the advantages of a nice, warm floor.
Primary floor heating is for rooms that have no other heating sources.
Basic Function of Floor Heating
The most comfortable temperatures for the human body are 18- 20°C at eye height and 22- 24°C by the floor. If your feet are cold, your whole body feels cold.
The use of a floor as a heating source has several advantages. The floor surface gives a uniform heating in the room. Most of the heating (80%) is heat radiation and approximately 20% accomplished by heating up the air. With the floor surface as heating source, the floor temperature is only a few degrees higher than the desired room temperature. In well-insulated rooms a floor temperature of 23°C gives a room temperature of 20°C.
Floor heating is a low temperature system that provides the most comfortable enviroment. Radiators form a high temperature system that gives high temperatures at the ceiling and a high air circulation.
The nature of floor heating gives the opportunity to save energy since the temperature in the room can be kept 1-2 °C lower compared to systems using radiators.
Typical yearly running cost of floor heating as primary heating source, based on houses in Scandinavia:
| Bathroom 3,5 m ² , well insulated: | 45 kWh per m ² / year | (0,14 Euro / kWh) | 22,05 Euro |
| Bathroom 3,5 m ² , bad insulated: | 90 kWh per m ² / year | (0,14 Euro / kWh) | 44,10 Euro |
| Average house 100 m ²: | 55 kWh per m ² / year | (0,14 Euro / kWh) | 770,00 Euro |
The above figures may vary, depending on local weather conditions and local cost of energy.
Other advantages are:
- Low temperature heating = energy saving
- Better comfort
- No space occupied by heating devices
- Rooms easier to furnish
- Less dust in rooms
- Low installation cost
- No maintenance
Heating Capacity
The heating power in the floor must have enough capacity to warm up the room in the coldest of winters. The thermostat controls the energy in the floor. This is always advisable.
Below you will find the recommended power (W/square meter) for a house insulated according to today's standards in Scandinavia.
For houses insulated according to previous standards we advise you to contact us for calculation of power.
Recomended heating capacity for primary heating:
Room |
Heating capacity, W/m ²: |
|---|---|
| Hall, entrance | 60 -150 (Note 1) |
| Living room, sleeping room, kitchen | 60 -100 |
| Bath room, shower | 120 -150 (Note 2) |
| Concrete floors with excellent insulation | 50 - 80 |
| Concrete floors with bad insulation | 120 - 150 |
| Garage | 60 - 120 |
Recomended heating capacity for comfort heating:
Room: |
Heating capacity, W/m²: |
|---|---|
| Hall | 60 - 80 (Note 1) |
| Living room, sleeping room, kitchen | 50 - 70 |
| Bathroom, toilet room | 60 - 100 (Note 2) |
| Concrete floors with excellent insulation | 40 - 60 |
| Concrete floors with bad insulation | 60 - 100 |
| Garage | 60 - 80 |
Note 1: The higher heating capacity is recomended in order to dry floors and wet footware
Note 2: The higher heating capacity is recommended when toilet, drains, bath etc substantially reduce the floor space.
Since the energy loss in low energy houses is very low, comfort heating will be a sufficient heating source.