In this article we will consider the main advantages and disadvantages of heating pipes, as well as how to choose the best pipes for a water-heated floor.
Heated floors with a liquid coolant are very popular for the creation of heating systems in private houses and multi-apartment dwellings. The use of water heating floors in the medium term will be more economical than the use of electric heating, and this despite the fairly substantial start-up cost of the project. As a coolant in warm water floors, hot water from main heat supply systems is usually used. But in some cases, special liquids, such as antifreezes and ethylene glycols, can be used as a heat carrier, which, before being fed into the system, are heated to the required temperature in a special device.
Pipes for a water-heated floor
To lay pipes for a warm floor yourself or to trust professionals?
The design and installation of heated floors with liquid coolant is quite a challenge. The use of a liquid coolant imposes quite serious demands on the pipes and fittings used for its circulation. The pipeline system of warm water floors should reliably protect the system from leaks, otherwise because of a single microscopic hole you will have to dismantle a large area of the floor covering. The place of leakage of the heated floor is rather difficult to find - the length of the pipeline system for a room of 30 square meters can reach one and a half hundred meters.
Laying of pipes of a warm water floor
However, despite the fact that the creation of a project and the installation of a heated floor with a liquid coolant requires professional work, you can contribute to this activity and discuss the choice of both the laying methods and the characteristics of the materials used. A special role in creating an efficient and reliable warm water floor has the choice of pipes for the circulation of the coolant.
Video - laying pipes for the water floor
Which tubes to choose?(Old technologies are replaced by new ones)
Most recently, conventional water and gas pipes were used to create a pipeline heating system with liquid coolant, which were laid in the floor using pipe benders and gas welding. The formed structure was laid on the base of the floor and filled with a screed. In the case of hidden or the appearance of a new defect, the whole floor screed had to be opened.
Application of metal-polymer pipes for water-heated floor
But with the emergence of a new generation of pipes for liquids - metal-polymer and polymer, the situation on the market for heated floors with liquid coolant changed radically. They began to be widely used not only for the organization of water supply systems, but also for the construction of heated floors. These materials have been on the market for more than twenty-five years and have appeared relatively recently in Russia.
The undoubted advantage of this type of pipe is the increased resistance to corrosion and the durability of the inner layer to the abrasive action of the liquid. As a result, the internal diameter of the pipes remains virtually unchanged throughout the warranty period. Manufacturers guarantee a trouble-free life of such pipes for up to fifty years. The advantage of pipes created with the use of synthetic materials is the complete obstruction of access to atmospheric oxygen, which allows them to be widely used in autonomous water supply and heating systems, where the stability of the elements of the entire system is particularly important.
Plastic and plastic pipes
Plastic and metal-plastic pipes are sold usually in coils, which allows to optimally adjust their moldings to the required tasks. So when installing a system of heated floors with a liquid heat carrier, it is possible to lay a heat-conducting pipe without joints over the whole area of the room, which undoubtedly increases the overall reliability of the system. In the event that the design of a warm water floor still provides for the connection of pipes, they must be carried out in an all-in-one way, which should prevent the appearance of leaks.
Metal-Plastic Pipe
In addition to plastic and metal-plastic in a number of projects for creating heated floors, other pipe materials are also used. So, recently, copper piping systems, which have practically perfect heat transfer and full immunity to corrosion, are very popular.
It is forbidden to use the existing building rules for the installation of water supply and heating systems that have direct contact with concrete piping systems of ferrous metals - the life of such pipes surrounded by a concrete screed is critically small.
Scheme for laying pipes for underfloor heating
The quality of this pipeline system is critical - hacking floors to eliminate minimal leakage is an extremely labor-intensive and expensive exercise.
Recommendations for selecting pipes
When selecting the pipes used for a warm water floor, pay attention to their purpose. The manufacturer's description should explicitly prescribe the possibility of using the pipe for the heating system, and not just for water supply, even with hot water.
To be guided to the purpose of the pipes, remember that the pipes for heating systems must meet the following characteristics:
- -have a linear expansion factor of not more than 0.025 Mm / mK,
- -have a thermal conductivity of at least 0.43 W / mK.
- It is advisable to use a single piece of pipe, without joints and inserts, to lay the heated floor system.
Advantage of plastic pipes
To create systems of heated floors in household premises I usually use two types of pipes: polymer( polyethylene) or metal plastic.
Metal-plastic pipe has a "sandwich" design. The polymeric layer in it acts as a protective buffer, protecting from damage the internal component - a pipe from aluminum. The inner aluminum layer has a high resistance to heat-transfer fluid, and the outer layer protects aluminum from the damaging effects of the external environment.
In principle, the characteristics of the plastic and metal-plastic pipes used for heating systems are approximately similar, so that there is no particular difference in the application of one type or another. However, under the guise of pipes for creating heated floors, unscrupulous sellers can sell you and ordinary water pipes. Their main function is radically different from specialized heating pipes - they simply deliver the coolant to the heating system and are not designed to heat the environment. Therefore, in specialized pipes in the outer layer a special polymer is used, characterized by increased heat transfer.
Metalloplastikovaya pipe in section
The usual polyethylene used in pipes of water supply does not have such thermal conductivity and consequently use of usual pipes in heated floors will give low efficiency index.
Oxygen barrier pipes
In addition, a special so-called "oxygen" layer can be present in heating pipes made of polyethylene or a combination of metal and plastic, which prevents atmospheric oxygen from entering the coolant. Otherwise, air adversely affects the service life of the fittings of your home's heating system.
Structure of a tube with an oxygen layer
In this case we are talking about the so-called "cross-linked polyethylene".The cost of manufacturing such pipes differs from the usual in a larger direction, but their use is more preferable when creating autonomous heating systems.
