THERMOSTATS
Individual room temperature control
Individual room temperature control comes as standard with underfloor heating. A room may consist of one or more underfloor heating loops yet is still only one heating zone. For example, a large living room may have two or more circuits but only one thermostat is required.
As well as being to advise how many thermostats you should be looking to install we can also supply a range of different models, ranging from simple dial units to digital display thermostats that can be accessed remotely via the internet.
Thermostats can be supplied with thimble sensors specifically for bathroom installations. Floor sensors are also available for maintaining certain floor surface temperatures – something that is particularly useful for timber floors.
Thermostat – A rough guide
Unlike traditional radiators, an underfloor heating system usually requires a thermostat in each room. Not to be confused with pipe circuits as depending on size, a room or zone can consist of more than one pipe circuit. The pipes of each circuit lead back to a manifold. At the manifold, each circuit has an associated valve which can be opened and closed to regulate the flow of warm water to it. These valves are controlled automatically by actuators which in turn receive their signal to operate from a room thermostat.
The diagram below illustrates the theory.
Wired thermostats
The diagram here illustrates each thermostat linking back to a wiring centre as is common for most wired thermostats on the market. Certain thermostats must be wired together in a chain – this method of installation is called daisy chaining. It is important to know which wiring system a chosen thermostat requires at first fix electrical stage so the initial wiring can be installed.
Wireless thermostats
As the name states, wireless thermostats use radio waves to transmit signals to their respective receivers. Wireless thermostats rely on batteries for power that generally last for a couple of years. They are particularly useful in refurbishments where running new thermostat cables is impractical. Although wireless, accurate positioning according to the manufacturers guidelines is important to ensure correct functionality.
Programming
Programmable thermostats mean that individual rooms can be programmed to be heated at specific times. This is useful for certain situations and certain systems. Traditional pipe in screed systems are usually programmed to reduce in temperature (but not switch off) at night. This control method is called night setback. Dry, panel-based underfloor heating systems such as the Jupiter IDEAL range heat up and cool down quickly and do not require a night setback. These systems can be controlled like a conventional radiator system – switched on half an hour before you wake or need the heating on. With this in mind it is possible to use the boiler or associated channel programmer to control the heat on and heat off times. In this case the room thermostats are purely controlling the room temperature and do not switch the boiler on or off.
Control Type
Dial Thermostat
Electronic Thermostat
Smart Thermostat
Alternatively our underfloor heating system can be controlled by other more complex building management systems (BMS).