Recently, underfloor heating systems have been very popular. Moreover, electric faded into the background due to its high cost. Not only do they have a high cost, but also have to throw a lot of money on electricity. Liquid underfloor heating allows you to warm the house with a boiler.
It is enough to connect the pipe system to the heating circuit. That's just the adjustment of the warm water floor needs to be done correctly, otherwise it will be able to work in two modes - "very hot" and "cold". Let's look at the features of the system design, as well as ways to adjust the temperature of the coolant.
Typical Connection Options
As a rule, homes have a liquid underfloor heating - this is just a pleasant “bonus” to the main heating system. But in some cases, a warm floor is more than enough for complete heating of the premises. This is true in mild climates. Or in rooms that have a large area. And provided that in them the removal of heat will not be limited to interior items, furniture or the extremely low thermal conductivity of the floor covering.
In most cases, heating boilers, radiators, underfloor heating circuits and devices for the preparation of hot water supply are combined into one system. The most technologically advanced and easily customizable option is a typical scheme with connecting elements of the warm floor and radiators. This is a combined scheme, for its implementation will have to spend a lot of money and effort. But it's worth it.
Key system components
Now let's talk about adjusting the warm water floor. "Valtek" is a company that produces various devices for the implementation of heating systems of any type and complexity. The design of the warm floor consists of the following elements:
- Boiler.
- Circulation pump, safety group, expansion tank.
- In order to make a separate connection with two pipes of radiators, a star circuit is used. A collector is also used in the design.
- Heating radiators.
- Directly the collector of the underfloor heating system, which consists of: bypass; three-way valve; thermostatic head; circulation pump; combs, which is the connection of gears and heating circuits, flow meters.
- The contours of the warm liquid floor system.
Variations of a typical scheme
There are a large number of options for the execution of boiler pipings. In each case, the basic principles of the functioning of hydraulic systems are used.
But in that case, if you do not take into account specific options, there are five ways to coordinate the operation of heating devices:
- Binding the collector of the underfloor heating system in a parallel way. An insert is made to the trunk before connecting radiators. A circulating pump is used to supply fluid to the floor pipe system.
- Combining the type of secondary and primary rings. In that line, which is wrapped in a ring, there are several cuts in the feed part. Reduced flow rate occurs when moving away from the heat source. Due to the correct selection of the feed pumps and the limitation of the flow capacity of the regulators, it is possible to balance the flow rate of the coolant.
- The connection of the warm floor with the extreme point of the collector of the coplanar type. In this case, the coolant moves along the floor hinges due to the general circulation pump, which is installed in the generator section. The system is balanced according to the principle of priority flow. When adjusting the temperature of a warm water floor, it is most reasonable to use the method of restricting the flow of liquid into the pipeline.
- Connection with hydraulic divider. This option is ideal if you need to connect a large number of heating elements. It can also be used in cases where the flow rate in the circuits is very different, or the loops have a large length. The need for a hydraulic arrow arises if it is necessary to eliminate pressure drops, which can interfere with the normal functioning of circulation pumps.
- Local parallel connection via unibox. This option is suitable for including a small loop of a warm floor. Usually they do this if you need to make floor heating in only one small room - a bathroom or toilet. Adjusting the temperature of the warm water floor will be as accurate as possible due to the low length of the loops.
Simplest connection
The simplest option for connecting a warm floor implies the presence of such components:
- Heat supply and return pipelines.
- The contour is directly the underfloor heating system.
- Unibox. When adjusting the collector of a water heated floor, it is it that is most often used as the main element of an automatic system.
Remember that the operating mode of the underfloor heating system can vary, it all depends on how the coil is laid. The best option is a snail type circuit.
In this case, the pipes are laid in pairs, therefore, it is possible to achieve the most uniform heating of the surface. In that case, if the pipes are laid in a “labyrinth” or “snake”, the appearance of cold and warm sections is inevitable. These shortcomings can be eliminated, but you will have to work on setting up the system.
Temperature conditions of the radiator system
Before you start setting up the work of the underfloor heating system, you need to decide for what purpose this is done. It should be noted right away that the construction of a warm floor differs radically from battery systems. For example, when heating with radiators, you need to warm the liquid to a high temperature - about 80 degrees. Everything, of course, depends on the time of year, the temperature on the street, the area of the house. It is possible that it is enough to heat the liquid to 50-60 degrees.
And how should a warm floor work?
As for the coils of the warm floor, then it is necessary to supply liquid with a temperature of 40-42 degrees. Only in this case you can provide maximum comfort and safety. We will discuss further the adjustment of warm water floors by flow meters. Normal operation will ensure that the floor surface is heated to 25 degrees. If you make the temperature higher, it will not be very pleasant to walk on the floor.
The first way to adjust
Adjusting the warm floor of water heating is somewhat easier than electric. In order to achieve the required temperature, the latter is supplied with electricity, and in water - liquid (coolant). There are two ways to adjust the temperature. The first is carried out by mixing in the cooled liquid coming from the return.
For this purpose, a three-way valve with a thermostatic pressure head is installed. This head differs from the radiator head in that it does not respond to the temperature of the surrounding air, but directly to the liquid in the system. Due to this design, a constant flow rate in the loops can be ensured, a slight change in the temperature of the liquid is possible.
The second way to adjust
The next way is to limit the flow of hot fluid in the coil. It is also necessary to install a thermostatic head, but on a two-way valve. When adjusting the warm water floor, the thermal head allows the supply of hot and cold coolant to the pipes. And most importantly, the valve allows you to interrupt the return flow circuit. In this case, the return and feed are the bypass circuit. Through it, the duct is regulated by a restriction valve. He calibrates bandwidth in advance.
Temperature control is based primarily on the fact that the construction of the warm floor has a high inertia. During operation, fluid enters the coil with a minimum temperature. Only the flow rate changes. Therefore, the screed is heated cyclically. And this suggests that an accumulating layer is needed that can smooth out temperature differences.
Features of adjustment options
For both options, one rule can be distinguished: thermostatic-type valves must necessarily rely on the temperature of the return or collector. The reinforcement design can be either electronic or mechanical. It is even allowed to use a simple thermometer. This will allow you to manually adjust the warm water floor.
How to refuel the system?
But before setting up, it is necessary to correctly fill the entire system with coolant. Please note that if the flow rate changes spontaneously, it is not possible to carry out the adjustment. Therefore, it is extremely important to correctly refuel the system. In order to do this, automatic type air vents must be installed on the branches of the collector. In the event that the loops are located higher than the collectors, then the supply terminal must be connected via a deaerator.
What to consider when refueling?
It is necessary to take into account that you are refueling the generator and radiator parts in advance. Only then can you start filling the floor coil. At all entrances, you must close all the taps.
To fill the fluid, you need to connect a hose from the water supply or pump to the drainage outlet. To bleed air, also connect a hose to the branch on the return branch. It is recommended to take it outside or lower it into a container (30-45 liters).
First, fill the collector and piping, all flow meters need to be opened, and the regulators closed. After that, fill all the loops with liquid until liquid without air starts to flow from the bleed hose. Please note that the pressure during refueling should be minimal, only this way you will be able to displace all the air from the system.
How to work with flow meters on collectors?
It is worth mentioning the hydraulic balancing of the loop system. When adjusting the collector group of a water heated floor, many nuances must be taken into account. Depending on how long the loops are, a different amount of liquid will be required in order for it to cool in a strictly defined time. The quantitative value of the duct can be determined by the ratio of the heat load on the floor loop to the product of the heat capacity of the liquid and the temperature difference in the return and supply:
G = Q / s * (t 1 - t 2 )
Quite often, it is recommended to calculate the flow rate by the value of the capacity of the circulation pump. This is quite simple, but you should not resort to such methods. Firstly, it is difficult to calculate the total length of each coil. Secondly, you violate one of the important rules - the choice of equipment parameters should be based on the needs of the system. You will get the opposite.
Flow control with flowmeters is very simple. There are models in which the throughput is adjusted by turning the body of the device. Others rotate a special key. And on the case there is always a scale that shows the current value of the flow.
Manual and automatic temperature equalization
Huge differences exist in systems that regulate temperature by limiting and mixing methods. Of course, the way to adjust the temperature is also different. Of great importance is whether the adjustment is performed on the go, or whether it is done manually. Please note that manual control can be used if the mixing method is selected. In this case, the fluid flow in the remaining circuits will change slightly.
When manually adjusting the three-way valve, you need to control the temperature in the return branch. For this purpose, a sleeve is installed in it specifically under the thermometer. It is allowed to use a thermal probe.
Temperature measurement is allowed not to be carried out immediately, but to be guided by what liquid flow rate in the system, the length of the loops. Temperature measurement is recommended to be carried out after a time equal to the time during which the coolant in the system is updated twice or thrice. Due to the adjustment, you will ensure constant temperature differences in the flow and return. And the difference depends directly on the material of the screed, thickness, shape and direction of the pipes, the distance between them.
With automatic adjustment, tuning is even easier. The unibox valve or thermostatic head RTL is used as the main control element. But, in fact, the automatic adjustment of the contours of a water heated floor is carried out approximately according to the same principle as in the manual version.