Underfloor heating combined with air source heat pumps can provide housebuilders and property developers with a flexible and efficient heating solution. PHPD reports on how Grant’s latest Heat Pumps can work in tandem with its UFH system.
The underfloor heating market has grown significantly over the last five years, driven by the popularity of this type of heat emitter with homeowners. But there is little doubt that underfloor heating is a nice additon to any home and can add value to a property. Underfloor heating is relatively easy to install with many new system options available, allowing it to be fitted with most types of floor construction throughout the whole house, also contributing to its growth.
Evenly distributing heat upwards into a room, an underfloor system maintains optimum room temperatures while also helping the heat source, such as an air source heat pump (ASHP), to work as efficiently as possible. Underfloor heating also provides a pleasant heat throughout the room and leaves walls free for furniture.
Underfloor solutions
Grant’s wet underfloor heating range, for instance, comprises of two systems – Uflex and Uflex MINI. Both systems have been designed to be user-friendly to work with and are supplied as packs which are specifically suited to meet a property’s requirements. The Uflex MINI system has a very low profile, being just 15mm in finished floor height, and it therefore does not require significant changes to a room’s infrastructure and is especially suited to first floor installations.
Utilising self-adhesive panels, which are only 10mm in height, into which the 9.9mm pipework loops are clipped, a self-levelling compound is laid over the Uflex MINI system. The floor can be walked on the following day and heat can be introduced after three days, making this system a quick install. Furthermore, it does not require overboarding – which makes for a simpler installation as the final floor finish can be laid directly on top of the dry screed.
Alongside the supply of the underfloor pipework, components and controls, Grant UK can also provide design assistance, from initial system heat loss calculations used for quotations purposes, through to full working drawings to complete a package offering.
Greener heat pumps
Combining heat pumps with underfloor heating is proving to be a popular option. Thanks to legislation, heat pumps are becoming even more efficient. The 2014 EU Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas (F-Gas) Regulations is legislation designed to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons, with the introduction of a series of targets which are designed to limit the use of gases which have the highest Global Warming Potential (GWP).
Grant’s latest ASHP, the Aerona³ R32 heat pump, uses R32 refrigerant which has a GWP which is considerably lower than other typical heat pump refrigerants such as R410, thus complying with the upcoming legislative targets.
In addition to having a lower GWP figure of 675, R32 is a single-component refrigerant which means it has no temperature glide. Refrigerant blends that have two or more components exhibit temperature glide but as R32 only has one molecule in its formation, its saturated liquid and vapor temperatures are the same. By removing the risk for the refrigerant to suffer from glide, the system can recharge and recycle with greater ease, making it more efficient.
The Aerona³ R32 heat pump is a single phase, DC inverter driven ASHP incorporating in-built weather compensation and a base tray heating element to prevent ice formation, features that it shares with the existing models in the Aerona³ range. Monoblock in design, the Aerona³ R32 is suitable for use with S-Plan heating control systems and is simple to work with for installation and maintenance.
Currently available as a 13kW model – with 6kW, 10kW and 17kW models due to launch this month – all of the Aerona³ R32 models have high SCOPs, compact footprints and operate with low noise levels. They therefore have minimal impact on their surrounds both aesthetically and acoustically, something which is of great benefit to end-users. The heat pump is also available with a guarantee (subject to full T&Cs and status) of up to seven years.
