Electric underfloor heating

Electric underfloor heating

Jose Manuel Llavona

What really is a healthy home?

We spend much of our daily time indoors, and our home is one of them. For this reason, it is important that our homes are designed and built with the aim of promoting the well-being of its inhabitants.

What factors influence to get to have a healthy home?

The thermal insulator

A good insulation of the housing envelope implies benefits both in winter and in summer, and that is that the exterior walls, the roof and the screed must have a low thermal transmittance. An investment in these materials will mean great energy savings in the short term and its rapid amortization.

The Windows

The weak point of the envelope of a house is found in the windows, so it is important to pay attention both to its components and design and to its correct installation. Its carpentry must be of very low thermal transmittance and its double or tripe glass, filled with inert gas. The glass must be "low-emissive" so that it reflects the heat inside the house in winter and keeps it outside during the summer. 

The aforementioned materials (thermal insulation and windows) must be installed correctly, avoiding the so-called "thermal bridges", areas where unwanted thermal losses or gains can occur, due to a variation in thermal resistance.

indoor air quality

People and appliances generate heat. This heat is used by the ventilation system by preheating the clean incoming air before expelling the stale air. With this we will maintain excellent health conditions in our home (very important today).

heating

If we take into account the application of the above, the amount of energy needed to thermally condition our home would be so small that with a low-temperature system, such as underfloor heating using Cecather electric foil, all expectations would be met to have our home. comfortable.

What better feeling to be barefoot in your house in the middle of winter?

If you need information about electric underfloor heating, we will be happy to answer you. We are specialists.

What is thermal comfort?

Thermal comfort (or also called hygrothermal comfort) could basically be defined as that situation in which we do not find any thermal discomfort. That is to say, when the environmental environment produces neither cold nor heat. Technically speaking it would be the temperature that the human body perceives, not the one that can be measured with a thermometer. The thermometer would determine the ambient temperature in a space, while thermal comfort would be the arithmetic mean between the ambient temperature and the average temperature of the surfaces that surround the body, this being subjective and depending on various factors.

What factors does thermal comfort depend on?

Humidity

Keeping the humidity in our house between 40 and 65 % is ideal, since the body can adapt perfectly to these circumstances. LRadiant heating does not dry out the environment, so much so that its installation is recommended in hospitals, nursing homes and other collective facilities.

air speed

Air currents directly affect our temperature. Maintaining an air speed between 0 and 2 m/s helps us to have greater comfort. Radiant heating, due to its own heat emission, hardly produces air movements or removes dust, and with it mites, bacteria or mold.

mean radiant temperature

This represents the heat emitted by the different elements of our house, that is, the envelope, and that directly affects the global temperature. Radiant heating, being integrated into the flooring, is distributed evenly throughout the house, providing optimal heat flow for our comfort.

If you need information about electric underfloor heating, we will be happy to answer you. We are specialists.

Towards a more sustainable electric future

Global heating trends

Norway has been the first country in the world to ban the use of natural gas for heating from 2020

Norway will stop using gas for heating from 2020. It is the first country to carry out this ban worldwide. With this measure, the Nordic country plans to stop emitting 340,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year. A fact that is not much if one takes into account that it emits 53.9 million tons each year.

But it is one more step in his fight against climate change. Any building, house, facilities, companies, public institutions, all will have to be heated within three years with another way than natural gas. The Norwegian market handles several options that would be valid, including electricity. Source: the Energy Newspaper

New gas boilers to be banned in the UK from 2025

The installation of new gas-fired boilers must be banned from 2025 or the UK's net-zero climate target will be "doomed", according to a high-level commission convened by the CBI.  Source: NotiUlti

Germany sets a CO2 tax and prohibits the installation of diesel boilers

The Merkel government has given the green light to the new tax on CO2 and the ban on diesel heating. Two measures that are part of the climate protection resolutions announced in September, in which the German Executive will invest 54,000 million euros over the next decade. The goal is for Germany to achieve nationally and internationally binding climate targets by 2030. Source: Cadena Ser

Brussels prohibits coal heating from 2021

The regional government plan also proposes important measures for the renovation of buildings that also prohibit the installation of new equipment such as coal-fired heating from 2021. The possibility of extending this prohibition will be studied in the case of gas installations from 2030. Source: The Economist.es

If you need information about heating systems, we will be happy to answer you. We are specialists.

Renewable energies cause a drop in the price of electricity

Renewable energies leave decreases of up to 23% in the price of electricity

With a decrease of 23%, mainly due to the increasing rate maintained by the production of renewables, the daily price of electricity on the wholesale market (POOL) marked a historic October 2020, standing at €36.5/MWh. It is worth highlighting the setbacks of the 13% experienced in relation to the previous month, where it reached €41.96/MWh and which has made this price the lowest since at least 2010, placing 33% lower than the average for October the last five years.

Renewable production reaches 56%

The analysts of ASE Group They attribute to renewables the 'responsibility' for this reduction in the price of electricity in October. In fact, these technologies have set a double record by growing production by 56%, covering 50% of the internal demand for electricity.

Added to this is the green energy reduces space for combined cycles and prevents the rise in gas prices from impacting the POOL. Wind power, with a generation 45% higher than the average for the month of October, is at the top of the mix, with 29%, followed by far by nuclear power, with 22.5%.

The other renewable technologies also experienced a significant increase, since the heavy rains in October raised the hydraulic production up to 70% per year, with some hydraulic reservoirs that have 23% more water than last year on these dates. In addition, photovoltaics has grown by 66% and already represents 6.4% of the mix.

The second wave of COVID-19 causes a reduction in the price of electricity

Two other factors that have influenced the evolution of the price of electricity are the national electricity demand and the recovery of nuclear production in France. Although a downward trend is detected in the first of these variables, the drop is less than in the harshest months of the pandemic. Thus, in October it was 2.5% lower than that of a year ago and the cumulative cut since January stood at 4.9%.

For his part, the recovery of French nuclear production removed the strong pressure that exercised the French market last September. In October the balance with France was practically zero due to the growth in imports, which have doubled compared to last month.

It should also be noted that the second wave of Covid-19 has an impact on futures and commodities, since As the situation has worsened, the European electricity futures markets have experienced a reduction in their prices.

In Spain, the price of Yr-21 fell by 4% and stood at €43.60/MWh. Also noteworthy is the reduction of the 10% in the price of CO2 emissions.

 Fountain: fevymar

If you need information about efficient heating systems, we will be happy to answer you. We are specialists.

How much does electric radiant heating consume?

Example for a newly built single-family home of 120 m2 in Barcelona

Below, we present a study of the consumption of the radiant foil system for a newly built 120 m2 single-family home in Barcelona, prepared by Cecather technicians. 

  • Studio power: 4.8 Kw
  • Total power to hire: 6.9 Kw
  • Heating use: 704 hours/year
  • Estimated consumption of the radiant sheet: 3,377.66 kWh/year

The installation of Cecather® underfloor heating (TDH Hourly Discrimination Rate. Rate of: €0.14583/kw) would result in an expense of €492.50 /year. In other words… 2.74 euros per day. (Note.- This study has been carried out considering the worst external thermal and operating circumstances).

Example for a 70m2 flat in Barcelona

This study has been carried out considering poor insulation and an outside temperature of 1ºC. These results are considered when all heating is running during the six winter months (180 days). Heating operation at 21ºC is also considered, remembering that each degree that drops below 21ºC reduces consumption by 7%.

  • Studio power: 5.6 Kw
  • Total power to hire: 6.9 Kw
  • Heating use: 704 hours/year
  • Estimated consumption of the radiant sheet: 3,940.61 kWh/year

Installation of Cecather® underfloor heating (TDH Hourly Discrimination Rate. Rate: €0.14583/kw) the result is an expense of €574.58 /year. In other words, 3.19 euros per day.

Under normal winter and operating conditions we can consider a saving in consumption between 20/25 % on what is written.

Shall we carry out a consumption study of your electric underfloor heating project without obligation?

Differences between convection heating and radiant foil

2 very different ways of transmitting heat

How do they work?

Convection and radiant heating procedures encompass two completely different physical processes.

Convection heating heats only the air in the room in question, while radiant heating heats interior walls and objects inside the room, as well as people.

Therefore, in convection heating, the operating principle of thermodynamics comes into play. On the contrary, in radiant heat the theory of quantum mechanics is used.

Heat radiation offers a much more comfortable indoor climate than that generated by a convection heating system. Radiant heating does not develop air circulation and the air in the room does not dry out.

In addition, with radiant heating, mold will not form, which only occurs due to condensation with cooling air. For this reason, this heating system is especially suitable for allergy sufferers.

Cecather underfloor heating

The methods of radiant heat are known to us on a day-to-day basis thanks to the radiation of the sun, which heats the objects on which it falls. At home we can benefit from this method through our Cecather system and generate continued comfortable temperatures by radiant heat. Since in our case, only solid objects and people are heated. Thus, the air temperature in the room can be kept cool, which will be much more comfortable than when using convection heating.

The infrared rays used in radiant heating are electromagnetic waves. The wavelength used in our heating is in a range of 2 to 50 µm, totally innocuous values.

With the use of an efficient radiant heating system such as the Cecather system, energy can be saved in many ways. Since the air is not heated, but the objects in a room, little energy is consumed, with a necessary air exchange in hygienic terms. Convection heating, on the other hand, must heat all the air in the room to be able to reach the desired temperature again.

Here a significant percentage of the air will move, causing a constant lifting of dust particles. These stick to the mucous membranes, which is a major disadvantage especially for allergy sufferers and asthmatics and speaks against the use of convection heating.

The reduced air renewal rate caused by the calm air of Cecather radiant heat is not only allergy friendly, but is concerned with saving energy. To heat the air, traditional convection heating and a temperature difference between the air in the room and the radiator are necessary.

A radiant heating system, on the other hand, follows Stefan Boltzmann's law and behaves proportionally to the fourth power with respect to the absolute temperature.

Contrary to what happens with convection heating, Cecather radiant heating also has the advantage that it guarantees a homogeneous heat distribution and leaves no colder zone, as is the case with traditional radiators.

If you need information about electric underfloor heating, we will be happy to answer you. We are specialists.