Recommendations for choosing an electric floor heating

Selection criteria

Flooring material

So, the main condition, depending on whichthe choice of an electric warm floor is carried out, the surface finish material is a tile or a laminate.

Installation of a warm floor under the tile is carried out using a heating cable or a thermometer. This is due to the fact that these materials are not afraid of moisture, which can not be said for a film infrared heater, which fits only "on dry".

If you have decided to install an electric underfloor heating under a laminate( or a parquet board), then you already need to select a film, becausecable heating will not provide sufficient heating of the laminate( the material has poor thermal conductivity).By the way, for linoleum it is also recommended to use this version of the heater.

Ceiling height

If for your application conditions the tile will be a covering or a parquet board, the next criterion for choosing an electric underfloor heating is the ceiling height. To create a floor heating using a cable, a concrete screed must be at least 3 cm thick. Together with a heater and finishing material, the room can be reduced to 8-10 cm in height, which is not always beneficial.

If you choose a thermo, the presence of a concrete screed will not be required at all, which will reduce the height by about 5 cm.

In the case of a film coating, the height will change no more than 2 cm( taking into account the insulation), because the thickness of the infrared emitter is less than a millimeter. In this regard, it is better to choose an infrared film than other materials.

Room humidity

Next, an important criterion for choosing an electric warm floor is the humidity of the room. Of course, to date, there are many waterproofing materials that will not pay attention to this problem, but still unnecessary costs and fears for safety make you think about the right choice of electric underfloor heating for your home.

So, by analogy with the "wet" and "dry" styling, you need to choose the right option. For baths, bathrooms, toilets and other rooms with high humidity, it is customary to use a tiled coating, which allows the use of only a thermometer and cable. If you decide to use a laminate, there are no special prohibitions on the laying of thermal film, the main thing is that there is a high-quality waterproofing and grounding.

We also recommend once again not to risk their safety and choose thermometers. In addition, these products can be laid with a bend, creating heated walkways.

Financial possibilities

Ironically, the cost of a warm floor is not considered to be the most important criterion of choice. This is due to the fact that prices are almost the same, considering not only the heaters themselves, but also additional costs.

Now we will analyze in detail all 3 options:

1. Cable .The cheapest of all candidates. At the same time, additional costs for materials for concrete screeds should be taken into account: cement, sand, plasticizer.
2. Thermomat. The cost is higher by 25-30%, but the presence of screed is not mandatory.
3. Film .The most expensive of all listed options, but at the same time, electricity consumption per 1 square meter.she has the most minimal. As a result, after a while, the film coating pays for itself, which knocks it out into the leaders in this criterion.

We recommend that you immediately get acquainted with an overview of all existing types of underfloor heating:

systems are there?

power costs. It's not a secret that most of the buyers primarily pay attention to the power of the heater, which is the main indicator of economy. The more power, the more kilowatt per hour winds the heating system, and therefore, you should choose the most economical.

The second place is the cable. It is the best option for styling for reasons of electricity savings. And the last stage of the rating is taken by thermometers. They tend to consume 30% more electricity than the cable, not to mention the film coating.

We recommend also viewing the most economical heating system at home, perhaps the information will be useful for you, and you decide to make a combined heating.

An alternative opinion on cost-effectiveness should also be provided. Cable heating of the screed allows heating the room for a while after the system is disconnected. The heated layer of concrete will continue to radiate heat for a while, while not consuming electricity. At the same time, when you turn off the film floor, the material instantly cools.

Special features of mounting

Another important factor in choosing an electric floor heating is how difficult are the installation works. In the case of film and mats, the styling is carried out quickly, without special difficulties. In addition, as we have already mentioned the concrete screed, these products do not require( and to interfere with the solution and fill in the level is not an easy matter).

As for the cable, it's hardest to put it, becauseit is necessary to fill the solution, and place the turns at equal distances from each other, even the calculation of the material itself is much more complicated. That's why we recommend choosing one of the first two options.

Availability of maintenance and repair

Here the whole thing, again, in a concrete screed. If, after the creation of the warm floor, it ceases to warm( it will fail), repairs will be required, possibly with the need for access to the heating elements.

If you select a heating cable for heating, you will need to break the floor, search for the coupling according to the project( most often it breaks down), replace, and then re-fill the screed.

In the case of infrared film and mats, it is only necessary to remove the upper trim, which opens access to all the components that need repair.

Summing up

So, we have provided you with the most important information on how to choose the electric warm floor for your home. As you can see, the criteria are very diverse and you will have to sacrifice something for the purchase of the most suitable product. We recommend that you prefer a film version, if possible.it is the most modern, economical and easy to install.

We recommend that you view the seminar, which details the features of using each of the options in detail:

Finally I would like to pay attention to what kind of electric floor heating is better to choose by the firm. To date, the leaders in the production of these heaters are the companies AEG, Rehau, Valtec and Green Box. If you are not at all clear about which manufacturer you'd better trust, you know, these 4 firms have a lot of positive feedback from customers and a good reputation in the world market.

We recommend to read:

• Comparison of fan heaters and electric convectors
• Advantages and disadvantages of electric underfloor heating
• Wiring diagram for heating cable