What type of underfloor heating to choose

Many people dream of walking barefoot in the house on winter days, when it is cold and cold outside. But, unfortunately, even with individual heating and at a room temperature of 25 degrees, not everyone can walk without socks or slippers. But with a warm floor it is real. There are several types of flooring available on the market today. Each of these designs has its pros and cons. Therefore, before installing a warm floor, you need to learn and understand all types of this equipment.

There are two types of this design:
• electric;
• water.

In the electric one, electricity acts as a source of heating, and in the water one, respectively, hot water.
Electric floor heating can be further divided into subspecies. Depending on the heating element used:
• rod;
• film;
• cable.

Heating method:
•heating by means of infrared radiation;
• convection.

water floor

Inside the floor there are pipes in which hot water is located, and it heats the room.
There are two ways to install such a floor: concrete system and flooring. In the first method, the pipes must be filled with concrete or other floor screed material. In the second, a concrete screed is not needed, but guides are used that are made of aluminum. They distribute heat throughout the floor.
Pipes can be made of polypropylene, copper and metal-plastic. Floors made of copper pipes are distinguished by long-term operation. The metal-plastic pipe has good thermal conductivity and flexibility. Polypropylene flooring is the cheapest and does not last long.
Benefits of a water floor:
• long service life;
• no electromagnetic radiation;
• eco-friendly;
• can be additionally insulated with carpets, mats;
• it is possible to arrange furniture anywhere.

electric floor

Now this type of floor heating is most often used. It is considered to be of higher quality and takes less time and effort to install.

• Cable floor heating
It is absolutely safe, there is no need to install heating radiators, and it can heat any room. The cable in such a field heats up to a temperature of 70 degrees, and the insulation and sheaths can withstand even higher temperatures. You can choose resistive or self-regulating cable. Resistive is a cable with constant resistance. Self-regulating changes power in different areas depending on the temperature. Such a cable will heat up more near windows and doors, and less — under furniture. But under this system you need to do a floor screed. First, a heat-reflecting layer is laid, a cable is mounted and all this is poured with concrete or other screed material. When such a floor is installed, then with the help of a roller it is necessary to remove air bubbles, they can disable the entire system. It is possible to operate the floor only after a month, after the material has completely dried.
The only downside to cable underfloor heating is that in the event of a breakdown, you will need to remove the entire screed in order to repair it.

• Film

It is heated by electricity and heats the entire room. It does not need floor screed. You just need to install and connect to electricity. Any person can install, no specialists are required. It is necessary to place the film under the floor covering, connect and close it with some material: tiles, linoleum, laminate, etc. If necessary, such a warm floor can be moved to another room without problems. It can be easily cut into separate sections and installed only where needed. Also, this type of floor is ideal for rooms with low ceilings, because the thickness of the film is 0.42 mm.
Advantages:
— saves space and time;
— creates heat which does not harm the person;
— easy to install and use;
— durable;
— mobile;
— consumes a small amount of electricity.

• Rod
The main heating element is carbon rods, which are fixed on a grid consisting of fiberglass. It is installed either in a concrete screed, or mounted on a special tile adhesive. It is designed as a kind of mats. This type of underfloor heating can be installed under different floor coverings.

Whatever floor is equipped in the room, it undoubtedly has an advantage over conventional radiators. This is:
• complete autonomy, independence from central heating;
• the room warms up evenly;
• comfort for the person.