Main menu: (access keys 1 to 8)

Latest News

Case Studies

Our seminars

Warmafloor UK Limited offer a Seminar on Underfloor Heating and Cooling

The Way Forward

Course Speaker:

Michael Lamb (CIBSE) who has 20 years experience within the Underfloor Heating Industry and was Chairman of UMHA (Underfloor Manufacturers Heating Association).

Target Audience, Including Competence level

Consulting Engineers, Architect's, Plumbing Engineers, Designers. Previous knowledge of the subject not necessary.

Duration and location of the Course

Lunchtime sessions, held throughout the UK at your premises or other location as arranged by you.

Course Fee Not applicable

A brief outline of the Course

The course outlines the Government's drive to reduce Co2° emissions from buildings. By incorporating highly efficient Heating and Cooling Systems means that the optimum method of energy exchange within the occupied space is achieved by the incorporation of embedded coils. This enables the engineer to utilize low temperature warm water to do the heating and high temperature cool water to cool the space. Using careful design the same coil circuitry can be employed within the structure, to do both the heating and the cooling throughout the year. Clearly, this has huge capital cost benefits to a building and is arguably the most environmentally sensitive solution to condition the space.

There are increased demands on buildings to provide suitable comfort levels for occupants, under a wide range of thermal loading conditions. Offices, Hospitals, Schools etc, are some of the building types where heating loads from occupants, equipment and solar gain are so high that cooling requirements dominate the heating requirement.

Underfloor heating and cooling uses the mass of the structure as part of the energy exchange to achieve comfort levels in delivering energy exchange in either mode,to the occupied space.

The concept of Underfloor Heating and Cooling

The general idea behind the system, is to separate the use of air and water for building conditioning, air for ventilation and water for heating and cooling. The system was developed due to the high investment , operation and maintenance costs for pure air conditioning systems.

With the increasing dependence for internal climate control from external conditions due to high performance facades, high insulation standards, improved solar protection measures and building control systems, the building heat loss is less important as a building design parameter. Thus, cooling loads gain importance due to high densities of technical devices and occupants in modern office buildings, therefore, in some buildings the demand for cooling can occur throughout the year.

Considering these facts, the design of conventional air conditioning plant based on peak heating and cooling loads, becomes inefficient, whereas, by using underfloor heating and cooling a far better and more accurate method of energy exchange can be provided to give higher comfort levels and a much better system efficiency.

Underfloor Heating and Cooling System Description

The screed or structural slab is pre tempered, using water pumped through embedded polybutylene pipes. The system is supplied with compensated water, based on external ambient conditions, to maintain the space, in either the heating, or cooling mode. Local variations, through occupancy or orientation, will be controlled by a two-port line valve strategy, on individual room thermostats giving direct conditioning to the space.