A key point to be included in the building’s design was maximum energy efficiency. Accordingly, the house is equipped with radiant floor, as the main component for the HVAC system.
The radiant floor conveys carries and emits cold / heat through the tiled floor. Among many advantages, the heat is generated in the most appropriate way for the needs of human beings.
The radiators, always cumbersome, are usually placed under the windows, so that they do not block walls useful for decoration or furniture. If there is no choice, they are placed on partition walls and lined with carpentry, greatly decreasing its heat generation. The under-window location is the worst possible, since it places the point of heat beneath a zone of thermal leakage.
The fluid losses invariably suffered by radiators generate air bubbles, which are removed by air bleeds. These air bubbles leaked into the air over time are stuck to the wall and ceiling located above the radiator, looking blackish after two winter seasons.
The settings of the radiators are inevitably imperfect, and the owner / user must resort to constant thermostat settings, plus local settings for each radiator, acting on knobs and lockshield valves, if the user wants to reduce their energy bills as low as possible while enjoying the best comfort.
The other alternative to radiant floor is the heat pump, even more unnatural than the radiators.
Heat pumps are located attached to air conditioning systems, and they work by injecting hot air into the room from the height at which the air conditioner evaporator is located. Therefore, the highest temperature produced by the heat pump is found in the upper third of the room’s air volume. The room’s middle third is at the thermostat’s selected temperature, and the bottom third is almost cold, especially the last 20 cm directly above tiles level.
Hence heat pumps are likely to generate heavy atmospheres: people in the room never feel really comfortable, in the classic “hot head – cold feet” syndrome. The thermostat is unable to do its job properly, the energy consumption soars, especially electricity, and discomfort are served.
On the other hand, the radiant floor works generating an uniform layer of heat from underneath the tiles. The heat is transmitted to the upper surface of the floor by radiation, improved using high heat conductivity mortar under the tiles, and reduced below due to the concrete slab and pipes supports (thermal insulation), so that the natural exit for the heating or cooling effect is up, towards the room’s floor.
By generating heat, the air in contact with the floor warms up rises, carrying the heat. The vacuum created is occupied by the upper layers colder air, which descends. Thus, over time, a slow circulation of warm air from the ground and cold air from the ceiling is established, maintaining a gradient according to human needs.
Regarding energy consumption, floor heating requires 15-20% less energy to get the same heat conditions compared to other traditional heating methods. That is due to the moderate water’s temperature which flows inside the system (between 35 and 45°C, unlike the 70-90°C that the radiators normally need).
Pending further information in the section “HVAC system management”, let’s say that the regulation is achieved in two levels, local and central.
Locally, each room has a thermostat, installed at 1.60 meters. The living room requires two thermostats, one on each level.
Each thermostat works in connection with a controller switch. This switch selects the mode of operation (hot or cold) and the system used (primary = radiant floor; secondary = fan coil inside the suspended ceiling).
Every thermostat sends its information to the thermostatic heads cabinet, one on each floor, and from there, the fluid goes to the pertaining radiant floor section, according to the selected temperature.
See pictures gallery for Machine room .
In the machine room, through a programmable automaton, the user may select if the radiant floor is to receive or not heat from solar panels, depending on energy demand from other services (domestic hot water and swimming pools) and time of year.
Radiant floor instalation images