In-Screed Heating Cables for Large Areas
In-Screed Heating Cables for Large Areas
Heat Mat recently worked with and supplied an innovative heating solution for a large sports hall.
Underfloor radiant heating is particularly suitable for rooms with a high ceiling height as people benefit from the heat emitting from the floor without the need to heat all of the air in the room. One example of this was a project we supplied to heat a large sports hall.
The sports hall was a new construction and the architects were keen to provide a highly energy efficient form of heating. To meet these requirements we specified a thick layer of Celotex™ insulation directly beneath the heating system to minimise downward heat loss. The output required was roughly 125KW so the architects specified a system running at 415 volts as they believed this was most suitable.
We manufactured a bespoke 415 volt batch of our in-screed heating cables and supplied metallic fixing strips to enable these to be simply attached to the base in an even and time efficient manner. The system was then covered in a thin layer of screed/levelling compound before the final floor covering was installed.
Due to the high output of the system it was not possible to simply turn the whole floor on and off in one go, as this would result in power surges and spikes. After reviewing the various options available with the site electricians it was decided to batch the cables into groups of 8kW and run these through 1 minute delayed relays. These relays allowed the system to be switched on progressively over the course of 15 minutes and prevented problems from power surges.
The whole system was controlled by one room thermostat through the relays and the total material and installation cost for the heating was significantly below the alternative warm water system that was first proposed. As an added advantage our electrical system was very fast reacting in comparison to the alternative water based system and also required less build height in the installation and no ongoing maintenance.
The above scenario is representative of the diverse scenarios that Heat Mat can provide systems for. We have many enquiries from companies with similarly large challenges for which Heat Mat's Technical Department always strive to find the most appropriate solution.
Published: March 2008
