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To increase the comfort of living in the cold season, you can use underfloor heating. One option is electric underfloor heating. It is mounted faster and easier than water, you can do it yourself without the involvement of specialists. Laying the electric floor under tiles, linoleum and laminate will be discussed on your own.
Electric floor heating device
Generally speaking, an electric underfloor heating consists of the following parts:
- heating element;
- floor temperature sensor;
- thermoregulator (thermostat).
At the same time, it is worth knowing that the heating element will work without a sensor and a thermostat, but the work will be inefficient and short. Inefficient, because you have to turn it on / off manually, and this leads to energy overruns. And short, because with manual control, overheating often occurs, which negatively affects the service life of the heating element.
Types of heating elements
On the market you can offer several different heaters:
- Heating resistive cables. They have the lowest price, they are single-core and two-core, which changes their connection scheme. Their main drawback is the possibility of local overheating and failure (on a working resistive cable underfloor heating, objects cannot be placed for a long time). Therefore, during installation, the cables are not laid out under the places where furniture and household appliances will stand. Another disadvantage is the lengthy installation process during installation.
Resistive heating cables - Heating self-regulating cable. It has a higher price, but it can regulate its own temperature in a particular area in automatic mode, which avoids local overheating and prolongs its service life.
Self-regulating heating cable - Electrical cable mats for underfloor heating. These are the same cables, only fixed in the form of a snake on a polymer mesh. They too can be made from resistive or self-regulating cable. Laying such an electric floor requires much less time.
Electric cable mat - Infrared carbon films. A carbon paste is soldered between two polymer layers, which, when an electric current passes through it, generates heat in the infrared range. Attractive by the release of infrared heat, with proper quality it is durable – if some part of the carbon strips is damaged, only they are excluded from work, the rest work. Fast installation is also a plus, but the electrical connection is more complicated than with cables. Not very happy with the price and this is the main drawback.
Carbon film – infrared floor heating - Carbon infrared mats. These are rods with a carbon interior, interconnected by electrical wires. The most expensive type of heating elements for electric underfloor heating, but, according to reviews, the most unreliable. They appeared not very long ago and the production technology is poorly developed, therefore the main problem is failure due to a breakdown in contact at the junction of the carbon rod and the conductor.
Carbon mats for infrared floor heating
Which of these types of electric floor is better, it is impossible to say for sure. Each has pros and cons, installation features. Based on them, they choose the best option for a particular floor covering – it is better to put cables or mats under the tile, and a film heater under the laminate or linoleum.
Types of thermostats
There are three types of thermostats for electric underfloor heating:
- Mechanical. In appearance and principle of operation, they resemble a thermostat on an iron. There is a scale on which you set the required temperature. As soon as it falls by 1°C below the set value, the heating turns on, it becomes one degree higher – it turns off.
- Electro-mechanical. In terms of functionality, they are no different, only they eat a small LCD screen and up / down buttons. The screen displays the current floor temperature, and with the buttons it is adjusted in the right direction.
- Electronic programmable. The most expensive, but also the most functional. They can set the operating mode (temperature) by the hour, and in some models by the days of the week. For example, if everyone left in the morning, you can set a low temperature – about 5-7 ° C, and program it to rise to the standard one an hour and a half before arrival. There are some models with the ability to control over the Internet.
Some models of floor heating thermostats have built-in air temperature sensors and the ability to turn on / off heating according to these indicators, and not depending on the floor temperature. So there really is a choice.
Electric underfloor heating under tiles – cable and cable mat
Cable mats are best suited for tiles. In this case, such an electric warm floor is the easiest to do with your own hands, especially if you already have it insulated and leveled. Insulation is necessary so that heating costs are not too high, and a flat base is necessary in order to ensure uniform heating and avoid voids under the cable. If there is air under the cable, it will overheat and burn out. Therefore, first they make insulation and rough leveling of the floor, and then they put a heating cable or mat.
It is more difficult to work with heating cables – they need to be laid out for a long time, tied to a grid or fixed in clamps. But other than that it’s also a good option.
Cable mat installation procedure
We will assume that the floor is insulated and leveled. Situations are too different and it is possible to say exactly what the screed cake should be only in relation to each case.
When installing electric floor heating of any type, installation begins with the installation of a thermostat. It is placed on the wall at a comfortable height, but not lower than 30 cm from the floor. It is installed in a standard mounting box (like a socket). A hole is drilled under the box in the wall. To do this, use a drill with an appropriate nozzle – a crown.
Two strobes are laid down from the box. In one, electric cables from the heating elements will be laid, in the other – a sensor in a corrugated hose. The groove intended for laying the floor temperature sensor also continues on the floor. It should be at least 50 cm from the wall.
To provide a warm floor with electricity, 220 V must be connected to the thermostat. The cross section of the wires is selected depending on the current consumed. The data are given in the table.
After the strobes are made, you can begin to lay the electric underfloor heating with your own hands. To do this, all debris is removed from the floor surface (sweep carefully).
To improve the adhesion of the screed and tile adhesive, it is primed.
After the primer has dried, a temperature sensor can be placed in the prepared groove. It is lowered into a corrugated hose (often included). The sensor itself is located at the end of a long wire. It is brought to the edge of the pipe, closed with a plug. The plug is necessary so that the adhesive or solution does not damage the sensor. After the tester, they check whether the sensor was damaged during operation. If everything is fine, you can install it.
We put the corrugation in a strobe prepared in advance, we put the wire into the mounting box, prepared for the thermostat.
We wind the wires into the mounting box of the thermostat.
The groove with the sensor is sealed with tile adhesive, making sure that there are no drops.
Further, to reduce heating costs, you can spread a thin layer of insulation with a laminated surface on the floor.
Cloths of thermal insulation are stacked close to each other, gluing the joints with adhesive tape.
With this layer – metallized thermal insulation – not everything is so simple. If it is laid, the screed or tile will turn out to be floating, since it will not have a connection with the base. Some manufacturers recommend cutting “windows” in the substrate to ensure bonding, through which the concrete and adhesive (or screed) will be connected to each other. This connection does not seem to be reliable.
Next, mark the area that will be heated. We exclude places where furniture and large household appliances will stand. We also retreat from walls and other heating devices (risers, radiators, etc.) by 10 cm. The rest of the area should be covered with cable mats. They are spread out in the required space. In the place where the mat needs to be deployed, the mesh is cut without touching the heating cable.
The mat is unrolled (the cable serves as a connecting link) and laid in the opposite direction (or at 90° if necessary).
Please note that the mats must not overlap each other and the heating cables must not touch. There must be a distance of at least 3 cm between the two wires. Also, when laying out the electric floor heating, calculate so that the floor heating sensor is between the two canvases.
Lead the electrical cables from the heating mats into the junction box as well. After installation, they must ring, checking the resistance. From the passport (available in the instructions for each set), it should differ by no more than 15%.
After that, you can connect the thermostat. The connection diagram is on the back wall (graphically indicated what and where to connect).
For better contact, it is better to tin the wires (warm up with a soldering iron in rosin or soldering flux). Installation of conductors is simple: they are inserted into the socket, after which the clamping screw is tightened with a screwdriver.
Next, briefly apply voltage – for about 1-2 minutes. Check if the mats are heating up and if all sections have become warmer. If yes, you can move on. We close the tile adhesive (special for underfloor heating) and apply it in small areas on the cable mat. The thickness of the layer is 8-10 mm.
When applied, the adhesive is well pressed. There should be no voids or air bubbles left. The leveled layer is passed with a notched trowel, forming grooves.
Now lay the tiles.
You must work carefully, otherwise the cable may be damaged. Also, be careful not to move the mats with your feet or break the cable. Electric cable underfloor heating is ready for use after complete drying (indicated on the package).
This method is not the best. It is easy to damage the heating elements during work. To ensure that this is avoided, the laid cable mats can be filled with a thin layer of leveling agent – a composition for rough floor leveling. It has an increased fluidity, due to which there will definitely not be any bubbles and voids. On the dried leveler, it is already possible to lay tiles without any problems.
Features of laying an electric floor from heating cables
The main differences when laying an electric underfloor heating from a heating cable is that the cable itself must be laid out according to one of the schemes (snake or snail and their modifications) and also that such a floor must be filled with a screed with a thickness of at least 3 cm. Only after concrete is set design strength (after 28 days at a temperature of +20°C), tiles can be laid. So this version of a heated floor for tiles requires much more time, but it is also suitable for any other types of flooring – under parquet, laminate, parquet board, linoleum and even carpet.
Now the process itself. Mounting tapes or a metal mesh are fixed to the finished rough screed over the insulation. As with matting, a layer of laminated thermal insulation (with a shiny surface) can be placed under them, but you can do without it.
Mounting tape for underfloor heating is laid out along one of the walls in increments of 50-100 cm. It is attached to the base with dowels or self-tapping screws. The tape has folding tabs that fix the coils of the cable.
The second method of attachment is to the cells of the reinforcing mesh. This option is good when the underfloor heating cake is made with insulation. The mesh then reinforces the screed and evenly redistributes the load on the insulation.
The mesh must be made of wire at least 2 mm thick, the mesh size is 50 * 50 mm. This is the most convenient option for laying – you can lay the cable with the required pitch. The mesh sections are connected to each other with wire or plastic clamps, and the cable turns are fixed to the cells in the same way.
Why else choose a cable, and not a cable mat for tiles? The cable can be laid with different pitches, taking into account the characteristics of the room. For example, lay it more often along the outer walls, and take a step less often indoors. With mats, there is another way out – to use fragments with more power in cold areas.
After laying the heating cable, the supply wires are brought into the thermostat mounting box, their resistance is also measured, then the thermostat itself is connected and the system is tested. If all cable fragments heat up normally, you can fill the electric floor heating with concrete mortar. After complete drying, you can lay any floor covering, including tiles.
Do-it-yourself electric underfloor heating under laminate and linoleum
For this type of coating, the use of a film underfloor heating will be optimal. With a level base (a prerequisite for normal use, if the floor is curved, a preliminary leveling screed is required), installation takes a little time, does not require screeding or other wet work.
Photo editing process
Installation also begins with marking the heated area (do not lay under furniture, appliances and low-hanging objects) and installing a thermostat and a floor temperature sensor. Next, a heat-insulating foil substrate is rolled out. Since there is no screed, it can be used without any concerns.
The strips of material are rolled out close to each other. It can be fixed on the floor with double-sided tape or shot from above with staples from a construction stapler.
The joints of the strips are glued with adhesive tape. Moreover, it is also desirable to take foil – to minimize heat loss.
Next, roll out the heating film. It is cut along the lines drawn on it into pieces of the desired length.
Strips of film are laid close to each other or with a small gap, but not overlapping. Overlapping copper busbars should not be allowed in any case.
They are fixed one to another with adhesive tape.
Next, you can proceed to the electrical connection. The connection diagram is shown in the photo.
First, bitumen insulation (included in the kit or purchased separately) covers the tires at the cut points. They take a piece of insulation, remove the protective coating on one side, apply it so that the entire surface of the bus, including the contacts, is completely covered. Half is folded over to the other side and carefully pressed.
From the side close to the thermostat, contact clamps are installed (available in the kit, but you can buy separately or solder a wire to the copper bus). The contact consists of two plates. One is put on the tire, the second under the film.
The installed plate is crimped with pliers. Check the strength of the installation by slightly pulling the contact.
We take electrical wires with copper conductors, according to the diagram above, we insert one or two conductors into the clamp at the contact plate and also crimp with pliers. If you have soldering skills, it is better to solder the connection.
The next step in the installation of an electric film floor is the insulation of the junctions of the conductors. For each connection there are 2 bituminous insulation plates. One is placed at the bottom, the other at the top. Also make sure that the tires and contacts are completely closed.
The installation of the underfloor temperature sensor is also different. It is simply glued to the black (carbon) strip with a piece of tape.
To prevent the sensor from sticking out, a window is cut out in the substrate.
The same windows are cut out for insulated contact plates and wires. This is necessary so that the laminate or linoleum lies flat, without bumps.
We seal the laid wires with adhesive tape.
We connect the conductors to the installed thermostat (the installation is no different from that described above), we test the system by setting the heating to no more than 30 ° C. After checking if all the strips are heating up, if there is a spark or a characteristic smell of melting insulation somewhere, the warm under is turned off.
The next step depends on the type of flooring used. If this is a laminate, you can immediately spread the substrate and proceed with its installation. Only the substrate should be special, designed for underfloor heating, like the laminate itself.
If linoleum is to be laid, a dense plastic film is rolled out on a film electric underfloor heating.
A rigid base is laid on top – plywood, gypsum fiber sheets. They are attached to the floor with self-tapping screws, but you need to be careful not to get into the tires. And on top you can already put carpet or linoleum.