Today, warm floors are especially popular. Due to the fact that water systems can only be installed in their own homes, and the installation process is quite expensive and time consuming, many stop their choice on electric floors. They, in turn, are divided into cable, film and systems consisting of heating mats.
Cable floors have the lowest pricing policy. Therefore, they are very popular. The efficiency of the system and its operational period depends on the cable, which acts as the heating element.
Types of cable
When installing cable electric floors, either resistive cables are used or self-regulating. If you choose a resistive cable, then it is worth considering that during operation it highlights the same amount of heat. In this case, the amount of heat released will not be associated with the temperature of the coolant. Self-regulating wires with changes in their own temperature change and thermal power.
The market presents resistive cables of two types: single-core and two-housing. And the first, and the second have an identical principle of operation. Heating veins, which is the main element of the cable, converts electrical energy into thermal.
Many stop their choice on unwitting versions, due to their attractive pricing policy. Low price is perhaps the only advantage of a single-core wire. To form a closed circuit to the power grid, you need to connect both ends of the wire. This can cause a number of difficulties during the installation of the engineering system.
During the operation of a single-core cable, strong electromagnetic radiation occurs. Scientists have not yet proven that they are able to harm human health, but did not disprove this fact.
The two-housing cable consists of conductive and heating custody. Such a structure reduces the level of electromagnetic radiation.
Use the resistive cable can only if the draft floor is perfectly smooth. Manufacturers produce resistive cables of a certain length. The heating cable is stacked only on the part of the room that is not forced to be furnished.
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If the furniture is on top of the wire, then the likelihood of its overheating is large. As a result, the whole system will fail. To perform a warm floor dismantling, not only to remove the decorative coating, but also to destroy the screed.
If when installing a warm floor, use a self-regulating cable, then the system will not overheat. This is due to the specifics of the structure of the heating element. It consists of a variety of heating elements that have small sizes. Between themselves these elements are connected sequentially.
It is also worth noting that each such element, in turn, consists of two conductive livers. Polymer is located between these veins. It is he and is a source of heat. The temperature of this polymer and its resistance are linked directly proportional.
As soon as the temperature is rising, resistance immediately increases. At the same time, the current strength decreases and, as a result, the amount of heat released becomes smaller. This "smart" heating element is able to regulate the amount of heat allocated by each segment separately.
A feature is that the temperature of each element of the self-regulating cable is not associated with the temperature of the adjacent elements. As for the pricing policy, it is several times higher than the price policy of resistive analogues.
Power of heating element
Before purchasing the wire, it is necessary to determine which power should be the engineering system. The warm floor can act as the main or additional source of heat.
If we consider the electric floors as an auxiliary source of heat, then 130 W is sufficient for heating. If warm floors are the only source of heat, then on heating 1 m2 will take at least 150 W. It should be noted that part of the heat will be spent on heating a rough base. To avoid such heat loss, it is necessary to qualitatively perform the thermal insulation of the base.
To minimize expenses, it is necessary to correctly calculate the area of the room. Lock the cable under the furniture does not make sense. Therefore, it is preliminarily to make a scheme for the placement of furniture, and it makes it possible to calculate the area of the room. Also do not install the cable under the elements of the interior that hang over the floor.
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First, it makes no sense to warm furniture. Secondly, resistive heating elements located under furniture or hanging items will overheat. Next, you can calculate the power to which the engineering system should have.
The manufacturer indicates which power has 1 m2 cable. Accordingly, knowing what power should have the entire system, it is easy to calculate the desired wire length. When counting the length of the heating element, it is impossible to make errors. Couplings are fixed at its ends. This uses special equipment.
You can try to independently fix the coupling at the ends of the cable. But the operational period of the product is reduced at times. Sometimes it is just a few months. Therefore, you have to install the entire cable.
Methods of laying cable
It is important not only to correctly select the heating element, but also to put it. There are two ways to lay the heating element: snail and snake. The laying scheme must be selected before starting the installation work. Most often, the laying produce a snake. This is due to the fact that the laying of "snail" is much more complicated. And the effect is the same when laying in any way.
In order for the system to work efficiently, it is necessary to place the wires at a certain distance from each other. What this distance will be more, the less the thermal power of the system will be. Stacking step must be the same. Otherwise, the semi will be the so-called cold zones.
There are norms according to which the wires should not be closer than 5 cm from each other. As for the upper limit, the system will become ineffective when laying in a step greater than 30 cm. Experts are recommended in bedrooms and children's rooms to make a smaller step, and in the rest of the rooms - more.
Sometimes in the center of the room, laying a step is a little less. Then the floor covering will be heated in this area more. When walking, the temperature difference will be felt. It is also worth considering that one hundred wires cannot be placed close to the walls. It must be at least 15 cm from them.
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In addition to the cable, you need to install the thermostat, and the temperature sensor. The temperature sensor connects to the thermostat. It is located in a corrugated pipe that needs to be located between the wires of the system. It is necessary to do this in such a way that the distance from each cable to the thermostat is the same. Inside the corrugated pipe should not get the screed. Therefore, its end needs to be closed with adhesive tape.
It is also necessary to consider that the heat allocated by the engineering system must constantly leave. If it is accumulated, then, in the end, the cable will overheat and fail. Heat may not leave for several reasons. First, the presence of furniture over the heating element. Secondly, the presence of air bubbles in the screed. The air has very low conductivity performance.
It is worth paying attention not only to the quality of the heating cable. The quality of the couplings play a big role, with which the heating element connects to the electrical network.
Choose a heating cable for a warm floor today is quite simple. If priority priority policy, you can purchase a resistive cable. It is better to purchase a two-housing cable. If you want to get a more reliable option, you should spend money on a self-regulating cable.