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Underfloor heating design

Here we will look at the fundamental but often overlooked aspect of floor heating, that of design.

At Begetube we have a phenomenal and well qualified design team, all of whom are qualified members of the Institute of Domestic Heating and Environmental Engineers (IDHEE). The ideals outlined below are adhered to ardently by the team, and should you have any queries regarding our design or questions that have arisen after talking to others don't hesitate to contact us.

Design Necessity

We need to start at the end point here and look at what is required in a heating system.  The first thing and the most important is that it heats the room to the temperature required.  There are other factors to reason with, all connected with this first premise and your needs, whether they be economic, social, environmental or aesthetic.  This is the whole premise behind the design concept.  Guess work is eliminated and the fundamental usefulness of the heating system will then match all your requirements.  At Begetube we go through the design process for every project ensuring that the final quote you receive is accurate and based on sound engineering principles.

Design Basics - Heat Loss Calculations

Installing a heating system of any type into any building should not be done unless the heat losses have been calculated.  An obvious step one would think but it is a step that in most cases is not taken.  An accurate way of calculating heatloss is by using the 'steady state' method.  Modern calculation methods have been with us and served us well for a very long time now, they are derived from the works of Joseph Fourier in the late 1800's.  In recent years many other ideas have been used and range from mechanical calculators to straightforward guesswork, and now we have SAP reports to contend with. Steady state calculations will accurately predict the flow of heat energy from a building under any chosen parameters, and are used to calculate the required input to address the losses.  The resultant heat load can be applied to any type of heating system.  The simple equations are well known world wide and will provide recognised and essential information for heating engineers.

Quote Fundamentals

When you get an underfloor heating quote you will probably turn to the price first of all.  This is understandable as this is what affects your bank account.  Like all the reputable underfloor heating companies we are members of the Underfloor Heating Manufacturers Association (UHMA), we all have differing ways of laying out our quote though.  Each one is valid so what needs to be done next is to have a way of comparing apples with apples.  At Begetube we have prepared a [link] quote comparison sheet to help in your understanding. 

The questions raised by the sheet will help in your choice of system.  These are:

System Types and Prices

Breakdown of what is included

Design Parameters

Room by Room detail

Important notes

Technical details

Floor Structures

The make up of the floor has an effect on how we design the underfloor heating system.  This affects everything from the heatloss to the type of fixings required for the pipe (and therefore the cost).

We have a dedicated page highlighting all the aspects of the differing floor structures.

Floor Coverings

When considering the heat output of a floor we must take into account the proposed floor covering.  All surfaces will have different insulation properties and emmision rates, these can all be factored into the design.

We have a dedicated page highlighting all the aspects of the range of floor coverings.