Underfloor Heating - Components

home > underfloor heating > underfloor heating controls

underfloor heating - components

The pipes and manifolds, the wiring centres and actuators, that make up the physical system are not very glamorous but are incredibly important and must be of the highest quality and long lasting.

We only offer the highest quality components sourced directly by Encompas from our European manufacturers with exceptional credentials.

Manifolds

A manifold enables the distribution of the system water to the underfloor heating pipes serving each zone.

They also provide the means of controlling and balancing the system. The manifolds we use are of the very highest quality and are designed to provide uninterrupted service day in day out, without requiring maintenance or attention.

Our manifolds are manufactured in Italy from a single piece of extruded brass and are heat treated. The factory assembled components are pressure tested as part of a final quality assured production process.

Each manifold is individually stamped for traceability and quality purposes.

The assembled manifold includes automatic air eliminators, pressure/temperature gauge and isolating valves.

Each pipe outlet has a flow meter for calibration.

Click here for more information

Pipes

Underfloor heating pipe is a specialist pipe transferring heat in the most efficient, eve and comfortable way into your floors. It is absolutely essential to use high quality pipe - remember it is buried throughout the floors of your property - failure of pipe is not an option.

We only use PE-Xb aluminium core -based pipe as it is amongst the most reliable pipe on the market (it carries a 50 year guarantee) and in terms of efficiency it provides a higher.

Click here for more information

Insulation

Floor insulation is an integral part of your property and is extremely important in providing thermal efficiency, comfort and economy.

Increasing the thermal efficiency of your floors, keeping the heat in, reduces the energy required by your system, saves you money and reduces your carbon footprint.

Floor Insulation is an essential factor when considering the performance of your underfloor heating system. There are several issues you need to consider, such as thermal and structural performance of the insulation along with practical issues such as porosity, site damage on installation and underfloor pipe fixings.

Click here for more information

Screed

Floor screeds are used with underfloor heating to distribute heat across the floor and to increase efficiency by acting as a thermal store. They also provide a protective layer around the underfloor heating pipes.

As screed transfers heat very well, this gives an even temperature in the floor, keeping the room comfortable with no cold spots.

Screed provides a thermal store through its mass; it stores the energy and releases it slowly over time. Thermal mass increases efficiency by building up the energy store and then using small bursts of low temperature energy to keep the floor and hence the room at a consistent temperature.

There are several points to consider when specifying screed such as compressive strength, floor thickness, screed finish, speed of installation, curing and drying times.

All screeds should be laid to the British Standard BS8204 detailing approved methods and finishing tolerances.

Supplied by the main screed manufacturers; there are two main types of floor screed used with underfloor heating:

* Traditional sand/cement.
* Free Flowing Anhydrite based screeds.

Click here for more information