Infrared Film: electric floor heating for one day

It is believed that the floor heating radiator heating loses on the complexity of the installation. Laying pipes or in screed heating cable is performed only at the stage of construction or overhaul facilities. However, infrared film can be laid for final floor covering at a time and does not require any "wet" work. About it today and we'll talk.

Infrared a heating film. The picture shows the products of different manufacturers and with different bandwidth.

What it is

So, what is infrared heating film?

Device

• The basis: Dacron two layers with a total thickness of less than half a millimeter;
• conductors: A pair of busbars along the edges of the sheet;
• Heating element: Connecting bus bars carbon deposition having a high electrical resistance;

Copper bus bars and the heating track: a close-up.

• release Form: 0.1-1 meter wide rolls;
• The recommended method of installation: Laying a thermally conductive Finish coating (except tile).

Infrared film under a heating tile or screed differs from conventional heating film perforations, allowing a tiled adhesive or tie material screed floor layers.

Work film provided on the heating tracks when the heating carboxylic energization of the conductor rails. Tires themselves have minimal resistance and virtually no heat.

Why is the film called infrared? Because most of the heat is transferred to the surrounding film heater subjects not convection, and heat radiation lying in the infrared light spectrum (i.e., longer than that of visible light and a length wave).

All Film warm floors are sold under the name of infrared.

When laying under any opaque coating film gives off heat only through direct contact with it. The source of heat radiation becomes the top layer of the coating.

Infrared rays that penetrate through the flooring or laminate and magically heated rooms - fiction technically illiterate sellers.

Power

What are the characteristics of the film are important to a potential buyer?

1. roll width. It is selected depending on the conditions of installation of the heating element;

The film is to be installed under the warm tiled plinth. Width - 150 mm.

1. Power per square meter. This parameter varies from 150 to 440 watts.

Specific power of 150 W / m2 is enough for heating qualitatively insulated room provided that the IR film covers at least 70% of the floor area. The increase in power allows you to:

• To compensate for significant heat loss through non-insulated wall or ceiling;
• accelerate heating premises.

With a constant amount of heat loss does not increase the power of the film will increase the cost of electricity. The only change operation of heating element: the thermostat will involve heating for a short time with large pauses.

The thermostat turns off the power of the film heater at the set temperature. The average power consumption is less than 70 watts per square meter of floor surface.

I would advise to choose the power of the film, guided by these rules:

Infrared sauna. In the role of a heat source serves our old friend - film infrared heater.

With the growing power of the price per meter of film heater increases slightly. In Sebastopol, where I live film STEM Energy meter capacity of 150 and 220 W / m2 (0.5 m width) can be purchased for the same 325 rubles.

economy

Infrared film positioned by manufacturers and retailers as an efficient source of heat. Thereby saving?

To begin, I will refute one common misconceptions associated with the so-called efficient electric heat sources.

This direct heating devices that directly convert electric current into thermal energy. This implies two consequences:

1. The efficiency (COP) of such a device is always 100%. The law of conservation of energy, you know that since the electric heater does not perform mechanical work, all electricity consumed them completely converted to the acceleration of the medium molecules (ie, heat);
2. Neither direct heating device may not be economical to another. After spending one kilowatt-hour of electricity, you will get exactly one kilowatt hour of heat. Point.

The energy conservation law puts an end to marketing efforts. One electric direct heating apparatus can not be economical to another.

Nevertheless, the use of underfloor heating systems and infrared heating can indeed save you money. There is no contradiction: the savings achieved are not due to the magical properties of the heater, and by virtue of rational heat distribution scheme.

Classical convection heating (water or electric radiators, convector heaters, oil heaters, etc.) works as follows:

• In direct contact with the fins of the device heats the surrounding air;
• Thermal convection mixes the air in the room, distributing heat throughout.

Movement of the convection air flow in the heated room radiator.

Only here the distribution is not that much of a uniform: the ceiling is always a few degrees warmer than on the floor. A walk-we are on the floor!

Heating space under the ceiling is not just useless: it increases the heat loss through the ceiling and upper walls. This loss is always proportional to the temperature difference on both sides of the partition structure.

To obtain 22 at floor level, the air under the ceiling has to be heated to about +28 ° C, giving an average temperature in the room (28 + 22) / 2 = 25 degrees.

Now let's see what's going on above the surface of the floor heating. Maximum temperature immediately above a floor covering and decreases as it rises to the ceiling. When the floor level 22, then the ceiling would no longer +18 ° C, which gives the average temperature already at (22 + 18) / 2 = 20 ° C.

air temperature distribution and convection underfloor heating.

At 0 ° C outside the delta temperature between the heated room and the street at the transition from convection to the underfloor heating will decrease by 20%, which will give a proportional reduction in costs for heating.

What happens if you use a film heaters to walls and ceilings?

Reflected foil substrate infrared radiation will heat the floor and furniture in the lower part of the room. Those will give excess heat the air; The result is a functional analogue of a warm floor.

Infrared heating: temperature distribution - the same as for underfloor heating systems.

Along with furniture and floor thermal radiation will warm the people themselves in the room, thereby reducing a comfortable air temperature from 20-22 to 14-16 degrees. As the decrease in temperature will affect the accounts for electricity, we have already found.

The heating film on the ceiling loses efficiency IR ceiling panels. It strongly heats the air under a stream in contact with its surface, thereby increasing the average temperature in the room and its heat loss.

application rules

Components

Heating system "warm floors" based film heater comprises:

Picture	Description
	Heating film. It should not cover the floor surface completely: the wall are gaps the width of about 10 cm. It does not fit under the foil and fixed furniture: there she threatens to overheat.
	thermoregulator. It monitors the temperature sensor readings and in dependence on the temperature switches on and off power supply to the heating element. Simple electromechanical thermostats allow only set the target temperature; e show the current temperature of the floor; Programmable may ask the cyclical heating of the work (for example, to lower the temperature while you sleep or during working hours).
	Temperature sensor. The lead is connected to the thermocouple and thermostat is placed in the insulation layer under a heating film.
	wiring. Power is supplied single core copper stranded wire 1.5 mm2.
	Substrate. This is generally used as penofol - roll of foamed polyethylene insulation with a reflective layer of foil on one side.
	Mounting kit: terminals and bituminous insulating tape.

Compatible finishing coating

What are the cover can be used with a film heater?

• floating (Not having a rigid connection with the base);
• heat transfer. Insulate the heat source we are clearly nowhere.

In our list of fall:

• Laminate of all kinds;
• Linoleum without foam or felt substrate;
• parquet board Clicks with locks;
• carpeting (With provisos). A thick layer of the floor carpet significantly reduce heat transfer.

Mounting

How to put your own hands and connect the film warm floor? Step by step guide - at your service:

Picture	milestone
	installation terminals. They must pierce studs conductor rails and crimp the stripped insulation from the wire. Instead pliers crimping pliers, you can use ordinary.
	Isolation terminals and bus. On both sides of each terminal is stuck on a strip of bitumen tape. The same strip, folded in half, is glued to the tire section at the second end of the film heater.
	Laying the substrate. Penofol decomposed into purified of debris floor foil side up. The seams between the strips are glued aluminum or ordinary tape.
	Setting the temperature sensor. Under his penofol cut pit. The sensor should be located at a distance from the edge of the strip, under carbon paths and not under busbar.
	Laying film heater. He expanded on the floor and fixed pieces of tape.
	Connection to the thermostat. Power wires and temperature sensor are connected to the respective terminals.
	Laying finishing coating. Immediately after the completion of the film warm floor is ready for use.

Under the laminate or parquet I suggest put on top of the film heater layer of dense polyethylene. It will protect the terminals against accidental leakage of water: bituminous sealants do not provide reliable waterproofing contacts.

If The heating tape is attached to the wall or ceiling, pre-paste on its rear surface is the same penofol. It will reflect all the heat in the direction of the heated space. I have used as an adhesive spot-on silicone sealant.

Section film heater with glued penofolom designed for installation in an infrared sauna.

Security

How to make a film heater heating home safe and secure?

This will help the implementation of several very simple rules.

• Do not overload thermostat. These devices are designed for power 3600 watts. Less can be more - it can not be burned;

If the total capacity of underfloor heating in the room more than 3.6 kW - set the second temperature controller with its own supply chain.

• Do not underestimate the wiring cross-section. One square millimeter of copper wire corresponds to a current of 10 amps (at a supply voltage of 220 volts - 2.2 kW power). With a smaller cross section will overheat the wiring and insulation - melt;

Table wiring calculation section and a maximum length of film strips of floor heating.

• Put the thermostat in a dry place, protected from the spray site. These devices are not protected from moisture and water in contact fail.

Place the installation thermostat should exclude its contact with water.

conclusion

As you can see, the installation of the heating of the film is very simple, does not take a long time and does not require expensive tools. Learn more about the rules of installation of underfloor heating film will help the video in this article. Waiting for your additions to it. Good luck, comrades!