Step Warm Floor

[twista]

Hi,

I've just discovered that there is another type of electric UHF system, electroplastic - low voltage (24v)

stepwarmfloor

The transformer is a big box and some ugly connection 5 amp fuse blocks, and no real mention of thermostat control (although does say that is an option)

Has any used, installed or had this UHF?

Sounds like it could run at a 1/3 of the cost of something like WarmFloor or WarmUP etc.

Spec are basically 50W/m2 (instead of 150W/m2)

What you guys think?

cheers,
phil.

 

[White Room]

I'm sure Uheat will advise on this one

 

[twista]

I've just searched this site and found another thread with some people talking about it...doh.

Basically need to know how long it takes from cold to heat up (2hours or 20mins?) and the cost.

Hopefully get an email from them this week.

 

[Daz]

It looks very similar to the Magnum foil system. I tried it in my bathroom and it's okay, but I only wanted a tile warming solution and not a room heating system. As for running costs, I haven't bothered to monitor it - If you're worried about the cost of running a 24v transformer 24 hours a day, then I would suggest that you don't bother installing it!

A decent UFH, as per Uheat will be more effecient and much better suited to thermostatic control.

 

[pjrich]

No real experience of this system so I can't advise on warmup times, etc.

The amount of power you need to warm a floor or heat a room will depend on the heat loss. 50W/m2 is generally not sufficient to heat a room unless you have fantastic insulation which far exceeds current regs. Whether the system is 50W/m2, 100WW/m2 or 200W/m2 the cost to run depends on the heat loss and how well the system is controlled, not the power rating of the heating.

We offer heating from 100W/m2 to 200W/m2, depending on the floor make up and what the client wants. For example, if client wants a warm floor really quickly, then we'd recommend floor insulation on top of base floor then 160W/m2 (even 200W if they want) heating mat. This would then be controlled by a floor only thermostat so the floor temp is maintained at the desired temp without using excess energy.

A system that uses a transformer will not be as efficient as a 230V systems, simply because a transformer has losses so not all the power going in to the system is turned in to heat.

With a 230V system all the power going in to the heating elements is turned in to heat, therefore is 100% efficient.

Hope this helps

 

[Dan]

Those systems with transformers are soooooo old.

 

[twista]

Well the transformer is (at least according to their datasheet) is 96% efficient.

But really what your saying is if its 50w/m2 - its only warming the room by that much and therefore will take longer to warm up than a 150w/m2 system.

its just maths.

I understand your point about the heat loss of the room too...

Cheers for the pointers....