Current system options

Heating cable

Heating with a heating cable appeared in the underfloor heating system earlier than all other devices. Despite this, this type of heating remains popular, successfully competing with modern heating elements.

The principle of operation is that a special conductor is placed on the prepared surface, which converts electrical energy into heat. To make such a system, it is necessary to pour a concrete screed over the cable, with a thickness of 2 to 5 cm. When the solution hardens, you can proceed to finishing work. It is recommended to lay ceramic tiles on top of the heating cable. How to carry out installation of underfloor heatingRead in the corresponding article. As for parquet, laminate and linoleum, their use is limited and is negotiated on the packaging individually.

The advantage of heating cable is as follows:

• Low cost;
• It maintains heat even after shutting down, which somewhat saves electricity.

At the same time, the disadvantages of this type of ground floor heating are:

• Low electrical safety;
• The complexity of repairing the system (it will be necessary to break the concrete screed);
• Difficulty in correctly calculating the length of the conductor;
• It heats up and cracks if it does not fit snugly into the screed, as well as if furniture is placed on top of the connector mattress.

Most often, this type is used when installing heating in the bathroom, kitchen and bathroom.

Thermostats

A more advanced type of electric underfloor heating are special heating mats. Products exist in two types: convection and infrared.

Thermal mats are an advanced model of cable, which in this case is fixed on a mesh basis. The material is sold in ready-made rolls, their width can vary. As in the cable, screed or adhesive tiles up to 2 cm thick are poured over the thermostat (note that the thickness in this case is less). As a finishing material, it is also recommended to give preference to ceramic tiles.

Advantages of this type of electric underfloor heating:

• less labor-intensive styling;
• Simpler calculation of the required material area;
• reasonable price;
• The thickness of the screed should be less.

The main disadvantages are:

• Difficulty in repairing the damaged area in the screed;
• Fire hazard (in fact, as with a conventional wiring route located in the wall).

Film coating

The improved type of floor heating is a special film with a thickness of less than a millimeter. Laying of underfloor heating film necessarily carried out “dry”, that is, without the use of concrete screeds. That is why the option with ceramic tiles on top disappears. Most often, a wooden board or laminate is placed on top of the film.

The advantage of such a coating:

• Spends less electricity;
• Does not require special installation skills;
• Preparatory work is reduced to a minimum – you only need to level the surface;
• Suitable for underfloor heating.

Among the shortcomings are:

• Increased cost of materials;
• The film is afraid of water, which requires the creation of high-quality water resistance;
• Fire risk is higher than other types of underfloor heating (due to the lack of fireproof concrete screed);
• It is damaged during large mechanical loads (if a heavy cabinet or sofa is crushed from above);
• Cools down instantly when turned off.

Basic mats

Well, the last type of heating elements for floor heating – carbon floor heating represented by core mats. This type of heating system is represented by electrical conductors based on carbon fiber. Carbon mats are often used for installation under tiles, laying them in tile glue or screed 3 cm thick.

Of the advantages of this option of electric heating, I would like to highlight:

• High corrosion resistance rate.
• Fire safety of this type of heater;
• Bars can be used in rooms with high humidity;
• Even if one of the bars is damaged, underfloor heating can work;
• Self-regulating properties, which eliminate overheating of the rods and premature failure.

There is only one drawback – the base mats are always laid in the screed.

Which types should I prefer?

As you already understood, depending on whether the tile will be a floor covering or parquet, a suitable type of electric underfloor heating is selected.

For wooden painting (in the bedroom, living room or hall), it is better to use economical infrared film. To make a warm floor in the bathroom or in the kitchen, you need to give preference to heat. We do not recommend using a heating cable, as it is difficult to stack and more time will be needed to solidify the 5 cm screed. In addition, these 5 cm will negatively affect the ceiling height, making it lower.

That’s all I wanted to tell you about the types of heat-insulated electric floors that exist and the scope of each model. We hope you now know which type of heating is best to choose for your application conditions!