Flexible floor heating for family houses

High comfort is based on the well-known principle of radiant heat transfer to objects in the room and subsequently to people. The resulting effect is objectively natural for humans, creating a healthy environment suitable for children, allergy sufferers, and asthma patients. Another aspect is the efficiency of this technology. The overall radiation and the temperature profile in the space are uniform, unlike other technologies (for example, heating bodies). An incomparable advantage is that the system can be used for both heating and cooling. This is a significant advantage nowadays, especially as we face hot summer months even in our geographical latitudes. From the laws of physics, it can be deduced that the most suitable solution for the flow of warm and cold air in the space would be floor heating and ceiling cooling. Due to the higher investment, only some investors will opt for this combination. The economics of the system is also favorable, as the overall heat transfer allows for working with a lower temperature of the heat-carrying substance in the pipes (generally between 25 °C to 35 °C), meaning that less energy is needed for heating than with other systems. Users then feel the warmth in the room more intensely, allowing it to be heated to a temperature that is 1 to 3 °C lower. Technically, this low-temperature system is directly ideal in tandem with a heat pump, which can be easily supplemented with a cooling module.

Flexibility of REHAU systems

In principle, installations of floor heating can be divided into "wet and dry" methods. Several solutions are available for different situations. When choosing which option to select, the price, project, and the plumber's experience play a significant role. The designer considers thermal losses depending on the thermal insulation at the installation site. The necessary output is calculated, which can be influenced by the pipe diameter but mainly by the spacing (standard spacing = 150 mm, or 100 mm). The design also addresses the need for step insulation, which influences whether the installation will be carried out on the ground floor or on an upper floor, where better step insulation is needed. Another aspect that must be taken into account is the thermal resistance of the final floor covering. In terms of suitability for underfloor heating, tiles exhibit the best properties. However, wooden parquet flooring, floating wood floors, and currently popular vinyl coverings also have very good parameters.

Simple installation

The most commonly used variant of the so-called "wet method" is the installation of RAUTHERM heating pipes on the black system board Varionova, which is equipped with molds resembling Lego, meant for securely fixing the pipe (∅ 14-17 mm). This system board can be supplemented from below with step or thermal insulation. If used without this additional insulation, it is suitable for installation both on EPS insulation and on mineral wool (which has better step attenuation).

Vila Park Stodůlky

The hot water floor heating system was selected for the Vila Park Stodůlky project by ED Group a.s., which consists of 53 family homes (singles, duplexes, and 1 row house). The family homes each have 2 above-ground floors with a layout of 5+kk, a flat roof, private garden, and garage. Bedrooms and bathrooms are located on the second floor. The houses are brick-built and insulated with a contact thermal insulation system. The interior walls are finished with plaster. The window systems are aluminum and plastic, depending on their purpose. The aforementioned Varionova system was used for the installation of the underfloor heating. Operation is controlled by the intelligent REHAU NEA SMART 2.0 regulation, which can respond to the outdoor temperature and temperature changes in the room. The system can be remotely controlled via a mobile phone or other similar devices (tablet). The construction in Prague's Stodůlky was carried out by STEP spol. s r.o.

Benefits of REHAU systems

It is important to mention that the benefit of REHAU systems is the RAUTHERM pipe, made from peroxide cross-linked polyethylene (PE-Xa) at high temperature and pressure. In this technology, the molecules of polyethylene connect and create a three-dimensional network. The result is a high-tech material with high strength and durability. This is the reason why REHAU provides an unmatched long warranty on the material (10 years). The return on investment in underfloor heating ranges generally from 5 to 10 years.

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