How to connect one floor heating circuit

What a manifold group consists of

Manifold has a form of a metal or plastic pipe in which the heat carrier is collected and redistributed over the circuits. A manifold group normally consists of two water and return combs, a pump and mixer unit and ancillary equipment.

Left side. pump and mixing station with thermostatic head right side. collector connection with flow meters and drain cock.

Collector manifolds

The main differences between flow and return valves are mainly shut-off valves. On the supply comes the heated fluid from the boiler, then the fluid is redistributed between the heating appliances. The medium (water, ethylene glycol or propylene glycol) travels through the circuit, gives off heat and returns to the return comb, from where it goes back to the boiler.

Read more about the choice of coolant for the heating system in a separate article.

How it works?

Manifold valves have a larger diameter than pipes, resulting in the coolant flowing slowly through the distribution block. The distribution takes place via connectors with a smaller flow rate. There can be up to 14 branch pipes on a heating manifold depending on the number of radiators. The flow is generally fitted with regulators to change the flow of the floor heating circuits. heat transfer medium will flow into the connection with the higher flow rate and the radiators will be heated accordingly.

Options shut-off valves

To control the amount of heat carrier on the manifold using ball valves, valves, flow meters (rotameters), thermostatic pressure valves or actuators.

• Ball valves. shut-off valves with two positions: (open and closed), allows you to stop the flow of coolant through a separate pipe comb. Ball valves do not allow you to regulate the flow, so it makes sense to use them in the warm floors, where the loops have approximately the same length. They are also put in front of the manifolds.

Flow meters on top of the flow pipe and thermostatic valves on the bottom of the return pipe.

• Flowmeter (rotameter). a device that measures the flow rate per unit time. Is a transparent bulb with a stem inside, the mechanism of work is similar to the usual valve.

The coolant flows in a shorter pipe with less hydraulic resistance. The flowmeter on these loops narrows the passage, and on longer loops it expands it, so that the floor in different rooms is heated equally.

• Push action thermostatic valves are installed on the return manifold of the floor heating. They can close or open depending on the return temperature. TSG valve is equipped with eurocone that allows to measure temperature of liquid in pipe.
• The thermoelectric servo actuator is a thermostatic head, which can remotely control the operation of the valves in the comb. Actuators are divided into normally closed and normally open. In the first, in the normal position, the valve is closed and opens when voltage is applied. The servo actuator is connected to a thermostat located in the room, which responds to changes in air temperature.

Do not confuse thermoelectric actuator with RTL valves. The first reacts to changes in the temperature in the premises, the second adjusts to the temperature of the heating medium.

Thermostatic head with servo.

Connection options

To ensure the normal operation of the heating circuits and get the long-awaited feeling of comfort, you need to solve two issues:

• To supply the heating circuits pipes with a temperature not exceeding 50 ° C (maximum. 55 ° C). Overheated floors cause most people discomfort, the optimal temperature for the finish is 26 ° C.
• Ensure the required flow of the coolant in the radiators and floor heating loops. If the diameter of the supply line is too small or the circulation pump does not develop the necessary capacity, the batteries and underfloor heating will heat equally bad.

Consider several schemes that allow you to connect the water floor heating to the existing heating system. Let’s see how well the temperature and flow issues are solved in each variant:

• direct connection to the two-pipe radiator network;
• the same with the thermostatic control heads;
• tie-in to the main line of the single-pipe system with an additional pump;
• full connection with a separate pipe from the boiler.

Direct connection to the radiator network

The connection of the DH circuit into the flow and return of a two-pipe distribution system will function satisfactorily under the following conditions:

• Total heated area is relatively small. up to 100 square meters;
• The source of heat. a gas boiler that can maintain the temperature of the coolant within 40-50 ° C;
• Circulation pump, installed in the boiler room, has a sufficient capacity;
• Underfloor heating is designed for heating small rooms. bathroom, kitchen, children’s room.

Direct connection scheme has the right to life, but in general it is very imperfect. Judge for yourself: it is much easier for the water to move along the low resistance pathway further along the main line than to flow into a long pipe heating circuit.

The second point: when the serious cold weather you yourself will raise the temperature in the boiler, the surface of the floor will be heated, the room will be stuffy. Bathroom, covered with tile, will turn into a bath. Note: intense heating of the bathroom is absolutely useless, people are not there all the time.

Option of direct connection of the contour instead of a dead-end radiator of two-pipe distribution

For reference. How else do some craftsmen at home: include a TP circuit in the gap of the return line coming from the batteries to the heat source. And then wonder why the floor heating does not work with the radiators. This is caused by an increase in the flow resistance of the entire branch and a reduction in the flow rate of the thermal fluid.

Using RTL valves

Properly solve the issue of water temperature control when connecting the floor heating directly help special thermal head type RTL. The automatic valve is placed in the return pipe and is easily set to a certain temperature. The algorithm of work looks as follows:

• As long as the water temperature has not reached the set point set on the thermostatic head, the water circulates freely through the floor heating pipe.
• When the water temperature rises to a predetermined value, the thermostatic valve closes the head actuator. Circulation stops, the coolant cools down.
• After the temperature has dropped as a result of cooling down, the thermostat opens the passage and water movement resumes.

Background. European company Oventrop has long offered solutions for such cases. UniBoxes embedded in the wall. There is an RTL type thermal head inside, and the adjustment knob is outside. there are versions with two valves. one controls the flow of the heating medium according to the return temperature and the other controls the ambient air temperature.

The disadvantage of this solution is the limitation of the length of the pipeline. If the length of the loop exceeds 50 m, the RTL will not function evenly due to increased resistance. To heat medium and large size rooms, it is necessary to divide the floor heating into 2-3 loops and as many monoliths divided by expansion joints as shown in the drawing.

• Underfloor heating can be arranged in any room, without reference to the boiler and furnace room;
• the price of the product is incomparable with the cost of mixing units and additional pumps;
• if the radiators are equipped with air thermostats, the heating system will be able to work in summer. the radiators will turn off by themselves.

The described scheme is also suitable for connecting underfloor heating to a two-pipe district heating network. But keep in mind one nuance: dirty coolant can quite quickly clog the thermostatic valve or cause it to fail. On the intricacies of the RTL heads will tell the master in the next

Is it possible to connect to one-pipe distribution

To energize the underfloor heating. the favorite of many masters of one-pipe “Leningradka”, you will have your own hands to assemble a mixing unit and put the second pump, as shown in the diagram. For the normal functioning of the system it is necessary to meet these conditions:

• inside diameter of the distribution line. at least DN25, the maximum number of radiators on the ring. 5 pieces;
• Connection of the TP loop is made in the return pipe after all the batteries;
• The minimum distance between the supply and return connectors of the floor heating is 30 cm;
• To maintain the temperature in the circuit a three-way mixing valve is installed.

Note. Such a scheme is used by apartment owners for unauthorized connection of heat to the central heating of the old type. one-pipe vertical risers.

In this and other diagrams cutoff valves and automatic air vent valves are not conditionally shown, but it is necessary to put these valves

Three-way valve. a simplified design, capable of preparing water with a fixed temperature of 45-50 ° C. The pump “runs” the coolant through the loop, and the valve mixes portions of hot water from the main pipe.

In practice, the scheme is used quite rarely. The reason. instability and unbalancing of radiators connected to a single pipe “Leningradka. When the three-way valve is opened and feeds the heating circuit, the pump pressure is transferred to the main line, the water flow in the radiators changes.

Tip. If you want to assemble a reliable scheme of warm floors with your own hands, it is better to conduct separate pipelines of supply and return from the boiler. The consequences of the single pipe radiator network are unpredictable.

Conventional scheme with a water heater

When it is necessary to arrange underfloor heating in each room of a two-storey house, it is not possible to connect to the existing radiator heating. You need to lay separate pipes and install a distribution head. What connection options are practiced:

• If the length of the circuits does not exceed 50 m (including the supply to the manifold), thermostatic valves are mounted on the comb, reacting to the return temperature;
• mixing unit with manifold and two-way valve;
• same, with three-way thermostatic valve.

In the first case the operating principle is similar to how a single loop is cut in via an RTL distribution head, but the regulators are on the comb and regulate each circuit individually as shown in the picture. Circulation provides the main pump located in the furnace room or inside the gas wall boiler.

In the second version, the hot water is mixed with the two-way valve installed in the supply and controlled by the thermal head with a remote temperature sensor. The latter is hidden in the collector pipe or screwed to it from the outside.

When the temperature of the heating medium rises, the liquid from the sensor bulb presses on the valve stem and the valve closes. The scheme includes the installation of an additional pump pumping water through all loops of the TP.

Scheme with three-way valve, whose principle of operation is described above, is more advanced and designed for a solid coolant flow rate in the floor heating. The disadvantage of both options. a decent price of the equipment and complexity of installation. All the details of the comb and how to connect the heating circuits are laid out in the appropriate manual.

Layout 1. Connection of the warm floor directly from the boiler

This scheme of connection of the water underfloor heating has a heat generator, a security fixture with a pump. The heat transfer medium flows directly from the boiler to the floor heating manifold and then loops and reverses back to the boiler. The boiler must be set to the temperature of the underfloor heating.

• It is desirable to use a condensing boiler in the installation, t.к. Low temperature mode is optimal for it. In this mode, the condensing boiler has the maximum efficiency. A normal boiler operating at low temperature will very quickly break down the heat exchanger. If the boiler is a solid fuel boiler, a buffer tank is required for temperature correction, as this boiler is difficult to temperature regulate.
• A good option for underfloor heating is when it is connected to a heat pump.

One floor heating circuit connection diagram

Water underfloor heating is a very popular heating system, which can be implemented in different ways. In this material we will consider four basic schemes for connecting a water heated floor.

Underfloor heating is a low-temperature heating system, where the coolant is supplied at a temperature of 35-45o C, the norm is not higher than 55o C. In addition, underfloor heating is a separate circulation loop, which needs a separate circulation pump.

Underfloor heating has a surface temperature limit of 26-31o C. The maximum temperature difference between supply and return of the underfloor heating is allowed no more than 10 ° C. The maximum flow speed of the heat transfer fluid is 0.6 m/s.

This scheme of connection of the water underfloor heating has a heat generator, a safety fixture with a pump. The heat carrier is fed directly from the boiler to the floor heating manifold and then looped back to the boiler. The boiler must be set to the temperature of the underfloor heating.

• It is highly desirable to use a condensing boiler, t.к. Low-temperature mode for it is optimal. This is the mode in which the boiler has the maximum efficiency. The heat exchanger of a conventional boiler when working at low temperature will fail very quickly. If the boiler is solid fuel, we need a buffer tank to correct the temperature, t.к. This boiler is difficult to control in terms of temperature.
• A good option for underfloor heating is when it is connected to a heat pump.

Three way thermostatic valve diagram

In most cases, this connection scheme water floor heating we have a combined heating system, there are radiators with a temperature of 70-80 o C and the contour of the floor heating with a temperature of 40 o C. The question is how to make forty out of these eighty.

For this purpose the three-way thermostatic valve is used. The valve is installed on the supply, after which the circulating pump is sure to be installed. The return flow of the underfloor heating system heats the cooled medium from the boiler circuit which is subsequently reduced to its nominal temperature using a three-way valve.

The disadvantage of such a scheme of connection of the floor heating is the impossibility to proportionally mix cooled coolant with the hot one and as a consequence the underheated or overheated coolant can actually flow into the floor heating. It reduces the comfort and efficiency of the system.

The advantage of this scheme is the ease of installation and the low cost of equipment.

This scheme is more suitable for heating small areas and where there is no high customer requirements for comfort and efficiency, where there is a desire to save money.

In real life, the scheme is very rare because of the instability of the unbalanced radiators connected to a single pipe. When the three-way valve is opened, the heating circuit is fed and the pump pressure is transferred to the main line.

This is a mixed connection scheme water floor heating, where there is a radiator heating zone, underfloor heating, and applies pump-mix unit. The cold water is added from the underfloor heating return to the hot water in the boiler.

All mixing sets have a balancing valve which allows for the dosage of the coolant when added to the hot. This achieves a clearly defined outlet temperature of the heat carrier, i.e.е. at the inlet to the floor heating loop. This significantly increases consumer comfort and the efficiency of the system as a whole.

Depending on the model of the unit, it may include other useful elements: Bypass with bypass valve, balancing valve of the primary boiler circuit or ball valves on both sides of the circulation pump.

These are shadow-mounted kits designed to connect a single loop of underfloor heating for an area of 15-20 square meters.м. They look like a plastic box, inside of which, depending on the manufacturer and configuration, may be the coolant temperature limiters, the temperature limiters in the room and air vent.

The coolant enters the loop connected water floor heating directly from the high-temperature circuit, t.е. with a temperature of 70-80 o C, cools down in the loop to a predetermined value and a new batch of hot coolant enters. Additional pump is not required here, should cope boiler.

The disadvantage is low comfort, definitely overheating zones will be present.

The advantage of this scheme of connection of a water-heated floor in easy installation. Such sets are used when a small area of the floor heating, a small room with infrequent stay of the occupants. Not recommended to install in bedrooms. Suitable for heating bathrooms, corridors, loggias, etc.д.

Let’s summarize and reduce in the table:

Modern technology of installation of underfloor heating systems are actively used today in housing and social sphere. Thanks to them it is possible to achieve the most comfortable microclimate in the room, without spending too much money for heating. They can use electricity or liquid as the coolant, and the device circuits can not only be designed in the process of construction, but also to make the old house warmer and more comfortable.

Connecting the underfloor heating is the subject of our today’s publication. We will talk about the two most popular ways to arrange them: water, operating from a gas boiler. this is an option for private homes, and electric cable, which is also suitable for apartments.

Floors, in which the coolant is water (antifreeze), can be connected by a variety of schemes. Where does this variety come from??

There are different ways to connect a water heated floor

• the floor can be connected to the boiler directly, or it can be connected through the existing heating system;
• The boiler can operate only in the floor heating circuit or provide hot water to the house and supply coolant to the main heating radiators;

The principle of operation of the water underfloor heating

• It is important the type and capacity of the boiler, which can be built in a circulating pump. Usually these are wall-mounted water heaters. floor standing boilers have no pump and have to be mounted separately;
• In combined systems with several circuits, the temperature of the coolant must be different. In batteries, it may be 70-80 degrees, for the distribution of faucets is enough 45. And for underfloor heating is optimal at 35 degrees (maximum 55), since this heating system is low-temperature.

So it would be fundamentally wrong to generalize technology connection of the floor circuit to the boiler. Therefore, the most commonly used schemes, we will consider each individually, and you have to decide which of them is applicable in a particular situation.

This scheme is the easiest, since the boiler works only for underfloor heating. This option is most often used in baths, where permanent heating is not required, and the water for washing is heated by the heater. Or when the floor heating is the only source of heat in the house, for example, cottage.

In this case, the boiler is adjusted to the temperature of the floor, and the heated water flows from the boiler directly into the floor collector, passes through its circuit and, slowly cooling, returns to the heater. In this case, the boiler (if it is gas) is better to choose the condensing type, as it is best adapted to the low-temperature mode of operation.

Scheme of conventional and condensing boilers

In solid fuel heaters it is impossible to regulate the temperature, as in gas boilers, so for this purpose the system will have to include an expansion tank.

Note! Such a system will work very effectively when connected through a heat pump. Thanks to the special design of the heat exchanger, it can not only heat the floor, but also provide you with hot water. However, this option is not for all climates, so we will not talk about it as a common.

If you connect the floor heating directly to the boiler, the main connection point is the distribution manifold. You can find information about how it is mounted on our website.

Somewhat different in assembly and operating principle is the variant to connect the floor heating through a three-way valve, which in the diagram below is shown with an arrow.

This scheme is used in cases where in addition to the underfloor heating there is also the main heating circuit. Temperatures of the coolant in them will be different, that’s why you need a mixing valve.

For your information! If the area of the heated floor is small, you can implement a two-way valve in the system instead of a three-way valve. It has a smaller flow capacity, and the principle of mixing the coolant in it is slightly different. But in general the variant is quite reliable and well suited for a small circuit.

Scheme with a mixing valve is quite available for self-assembly, and the equipment for it does not require a large expenditure.

This is another way to connect the floor heating to the system that has circuits with different coolant temperatures. It is very convenient to use when constructing a large number of loops, in rooms located on different floors.

Connection of the floor through the mixing node

In such a system cooled coolant from the return pipe is mixed with the hot. In addition to the mixing valve, which was mentioned above, the knot for mixing the hot and cold liquid contains two headers, a circulating pump, valves, preventing the backflow of the coolant.

But most importantly, it has a balancing valve that can dose the amount of cooled coolant. Accordingly, the coolant temperature at the outlet of the node will be most stable and the floor will never overheat. This is the main advantage of this scheme over the previous version.

Mixing and pumping unit for underfloor heating

Note! The mixing and pumping unit can be purchased from the manufacturer as fully prefabricated, or you can assemble it yourself from separately purchased parts. You will learn how to do this from the step by step instructions on our website.

The structure of the mixing unit will depend on exactly how many and which circuits it serves, and what type of mixing valve is implemented in it. If it is three-way, then the assembled assembly will look like shown on the photo.

How the assembled mixing set looks like

This scheme is used when the house is already in use and the owner does not want to change the heating system in principle, redoing it completely, and the underfloor heating needs to be done only in one small room: the kitchen, the bathroom, in the vestibule at the entrance to the house.

When using this scheme, the coolant enters the floor circuit not from the boiler, but from the radiator. Its temperature in this case can not be reduced, so you have to be content with what is in the existing heating, if it is central (although it is not allowed to do this in the apartments of high-rise buildings), or to adjust the work of the boiler so as to avoid overheating the floor.

Connecting underfloor heating directly to central heating

A stand-alone module for regulating the temperature of the floor

If we compare the reliability and efficiency of all the presented schemes, the variant number three with a connection through a pump and mixing unit could be put in the first place.

Electric floors can be installed with infrared film or rod mats, but we will focus on the cable version, which is mounted under the screed. This is a modern and very reliable solution that allows you to organize the floor heating not only in a private house, but also in an apartment, as well as to heat rooms that have no water, but have electricity.

The technology of installation of such a floor is much easier than a water pipe floor. The main thing here is to connect the wires to the thermostat correctly. The basic element of this system is a heating cable, and when buying it you must find out its wattage per unit length. It is important that this figure does not exceed 21 W/m and not less than 17 W/m.

It’s easier to install a cable floor than a water floor

The second most important element, with the help of which the whole system is controlled, is the thermostatic regulator. It costs a lion’s share of the floor price, but you can’t do without it. You can save money if you buy a model with a minimum set of options. And there are many options, there are wireless, and sensor, and push-button.

You still need to choose a thermostat yourself, because it’s not included in the floor kit.

The work of installing the cable is quite simple. We present the instruction in the form of a table with pictures and Комментарии и мнения владельцев for your convenience.

Cable floor heating Electrolux Twin Cable

Table. Step by step installation instructions.

Calculation of the area of the underfloor heating

Preparatory work for installing the thermostat

Drilling a cutout for the regulator box

Allow the ground to dry and lay a thermal insulator with foil upwards, so that the heat is reflected into the room.

For your information! In this case the cable floor is mounted in the apartment, and the material based on polyethylene foam is used as a heater. But if you have, let’s say, ground floor on the first floor of a private house, you can take a thicker EPS insulation or even make two layers. The main thing is to have a foil on top.

Fixing the cable in the mounting tape

How to wire underfloor heating & radiator zones. UFH WIRING GUIDE

Pulling the end of the cable with the sensor in the corrugation

The position of the sensor should be fixed to the same mounting tape. As the diameter of the tube is too big compared to the cable, this is done using a plastic clamp.

Note! The length of the tube should be such, that its other end reaches the box of the thermo regulator. This allows you to replace the sensor, if necessary, without removing the floor covering.

Leading out the end of the cable to the thermostat

Connecting cable to the thermostat

Preparing the end of the cable for connection

Example of a cut-out process window

If your floor heating will be closed by a monolithic screed, then before you begin its implementation, in a thermal insulator, at a distance of 30-40 cm from each other, you need to cut these technological windows, like in the photo. When caulking, they are filled with mortar and permanently secure the substrate with the cable in the screed.

How to power the floor heating from the central heating system

If your apartment source of heat is a centralized heating system, the installation of a warm floor will have a number of problems. To begin with, it is forbidden by law to interfere with its operation, and not only in the Russian Federation. And no matter whether you connect the floor heating or additional radiators. the inspection instantly write you a fine, the amount which can be very large. As a result, everything will have to be legalized, or you will be required to remove the installed equipment.

It is interesting to know! If you connect the floor heating to the water supply for hot water, similar sanctions will follow, although it is usually very difficult to detect this by inspectors.

How can the energy company find out about unauthorized tapping?

• If you take the heat for your own needs, it means that your neighbors will not receive it, because the tortuous system of underfloor heating causes an increase in hydraulic resistance. They begin to complain to the authorities, after which an inspection of heating equipment is carried out in all apartments along the riser pipe, with a view to the presence of unauthorized equipment by the tenants.
• If your underfloor heating leaks and you flood your neighbors downstairs, the inspectors won’t have much trouble finding the cause. You already know the consequences.
• Energy companies have the appropriate employees who monitor the readings of apartment heat meters. The following can also be a reason for an inspection.
• Also, the check can be routine, which does not require any preconditions from the tenants of the house or readings of the devices.

So it is advisable not to cheat, and immediately ask for an official permit to the energy company. There you will be issued all the necessary documents, including specifications, which you will be guided by the installation of floor heating. Next you will need to design, install and finally commission it.

Interesting to know! If your house is an old building, in 99% of cases you will receive a refusal to carry out such work, which, in fact, makes many cheat. If your apartment has individual heating, it is much easier to solve the problem.

Connecting the manifold of the underfloor heating system

In the classic sense, a warm water floor is a system consisting of a floor heating manifold, which is connected to the heating system pipes, and a floor heating pie. The basis of the floor heating pie is the insulation and water underfloor heating pipes, through which the coolant circulates.

Why is it that in most cases you can’t just connect a floor heating manifold directly to a radiator heating main?

The underfloor heating manifold is not connected directly to the radiator heating line because the temperature of the underfloor heating circuit differs from the radiator heating system temperature by several tens of degrees. The need to maintain a low temperature in the contour of the water underfloor heating is regulated by the norms of SanPiN. When heating the floor above the maximum allowable temperature convection currents appear which raise the dust lying on the floor, which greatly increases the risk of various respiratory diseases and respiratory tract diseases of all those living in the house. As a constant high temperature in the floor, may not affect the musculoskeletal organs.

Devices in underfloor heating systems and the principle of their work

For the organization of space heating with underfloor heating, in addition to the pipeline, use a number of devices for various functional purposes, the main ones:

Blow-off valves. The typical automatic air vent has a barrel-shaped housing with a float inside and an outlet on the outside.

A float floats in the water flowing into the barrel and is connected by means of a rocker to a shutoff valve or a needle valve, which closes the outlet opening. As soon as air from the system accumulates in the cistern, it squeezes the water out and the float moves down. The rocker arm retracts the stop valve and the air is vented through the nipple. The water then rises up again and closes the outlet opening with the rocker and shut-off mechanism.

Air vent valves are also available with manual operation, when the air is bled by manually unscrewing the plug on the drain nipple.

Thermostatic valve. The devices come in two and three-input, in the latter version, the device reacts to the liquid mixed with different temperatures, arriving at each of the inputs. The thermostatic valve design is quite complex and differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. Its actuating element is a part in the form of a small barrel, inside which is placed a paraffin-like or other proprietary substance that changes its volume depending on the temperature applied.

The thermostatic expansion valve block includes a valve stem that expands with the expansion of the paraffin wax filler. As a result the damper closes the passage, reducing its cross-section and thus limiting the flow of the heat carrier. The result is a reduction in the heating temperature of the heat exchanger connected to the thermostat. Thermostatic valves are working on the temperature of the coolant, have an adjustment mechanism.

Thermostatic radiators are often equipped with thermostatic regulators of the same principle, which respond to the temperature of the air in the room. When the temperature set by the adjusting knob is exceeded, the valve closes the flow channel and thus reduces the volume of heating fluid supplied to the radiator.

The principle of automatic thermostatic valves was discussed above. There are also manual devices for mechanical temperature control, in which the cross section of the flow channel giving the coolant to the radiator pipeline varies by turning the head with a temperature scale (analog of the valve valve).

Circulation pumps. These devices are designed to pump the coolant through the contour of the floor heating, the main varieties with dry and wet rotor.

In domestic systems usually use the model of circulating pumps with wet rotor, with small overall dimensions and low noise level at work. Circulation electric pumps are devices of centrifugal operating principle, in which the water flow enters the central axis of impeller and is pushed out by its blades through the side outlet.

All circulators have an external speed switch for three positions, which allows you to control the speed of the heat carrier movement through the loop.

Average indices of circulation pumps: head not more than 10m with pumping volume of 5m cubic meters per hour.

Manifold (mixing unit). The main purpose of the manifold is to connect multiple underfloor heating loops to the system. At the same time in each of them it is possible to set their temperature parameters separately from the others.

A typical manifold consists of two tubular parts with a number of outlets (combs). To one of them are connected branches of supply (often have a red color marking) and to the other branches of return (are not colored or sometimes marked in blue). In the supply branch above each of the combs set the flowmeter with an internal scale, allowing you to manually set the volume of fluid flowing through the circuit.

Over each of the return branch combs a valve is installed with the possibility of manual or automatic regulation. If it is replaced by a similar node with a servo mechanism, you can automatically (remotely) set the temperature of each circuit heating with the remote control

Compulsory element of any valves is a bleeder, to push the fluid in the circuit in the node set the circulating pump. Many manifolds have temperature sensors in the supply and return lines, built-in pressure gauge.

Since collector distributors are designed to work with high-temperature coolant from the boiler, they necessarily have a node in the fluid from the return. For this purpose a bypass or a thermostatic three-way valve is installed in collector where direct and return flows are mixed.

Most collectors also have a temperature regulator at the inlet, together with a plug-in probe which can be used to set the volume of the inlet flow. The device protects the manifold unit and the electric pump from overheating when the temperature of the working body in case of emergencies rises. Also the thermostat allows to achieve in the mixing unit the desired temperature parameters of heating fluid flowing into the floor loops (important when its temperature is too high from 80 ° C).

Headers are designed to connect flexible elastic pipelines made of crosslinked and heat-resistant polyethylene, metal plastic. For this purpose, their branches are structurally designed for compression connections Euroconus, realized with the help of a coupling nut. With this method of installation, the pipe is put on the connector and pressed to its surface by a threaded nut through a clamping ring with a slit.

What is a bypass in the heating system of an individual house, the areas of its application. If you are interested to know more about the bypass device. you can read a separate article on our website, which tells about the purpose and types of bypasses in different heating systems, there are answers from experts.

Principle of operation of the comb for water underfloor heating, connection diagrams and regulation

Distributive comb for underfloor heating. this is not some individual part, and the whole collector unit, responsible for the correct operation of the contours of the water underfloor heating. Our material will help owners of private homes that are planning to heat with underfloor heating (abbreviated. TH). to understand in the device and the principle of action of this unit, and also to get acquainted with schemes and types of combs.

Connection diagram of underfloor heating to a thermostat

An important point in the device of a warm floor. connection of a warm floor to the thermostat. This appliance is responsible for maintaining a comfortable room temperature with the most economical use of energy.

Thermostat for the water system can also be of two types: thermo-mechanical (based on thermostatic head) and electronic, combined with a servo.

If you want, you can regulate the heat by hand, according to subjective sensations. But this is when the floor is the only source of heating, and the boiler according to the settings heats the coolant to a temperature no higher than 50 degrees. If there are hot radiators or DHW circuit in the system, the regulator should be installed.

For a big house and branched heating network it is better to buy several thermostats with servo drives.

The scheme of connection of the thermo regulator for a water heat floor looks like this: the servo drive is established on a return comb of the collector, from it the wires to the thermo regulator with the air temperature sensor are pulled.

The electric distributor box for the drive and the thermostat is located in the manifold box above the combs, the cable from it goes to the switchboard.