Underfloor heating for animals
Heat Mat were approached for their assistance in providing a heating system for Whipsnade Zoo's brand new Cheetah enclosure.
The Cheetah enclosure contains a number of rocks that the zoo wished to encourage the Cheetahs to sit on, and they decided to achieve this by heating the top of the rocks to provide more comfort to the big cats.
The solution we decided upon was to use our 7mm heating cable that is fully approved for outdoors use, and is more commonly installed to provide frost protection and snow melting on paths and driveways. We recommended installing the system at roughly 210 Watts per square metre and then covering the heating cable with a screed to offer protection from the elements and the cheetahs!
The 7mm system is quick to install and can provide outputs from 30W/m² up to 400W/m² as required. As there was no build height to allow for insulating tilebacker board beneath the system, we recommended the use of multiple layers of our thermal i-primer to prevent excessive downward heat loss.
Due to the unusual nature of the inhabitants of the enclosure we took the decision to use temperature sensors embedded within the screed as these could not easily be damaged. Finally, we utilised our CPS clock thermostats to offer complete control over each rock independently.
Read more about the Cheetah enclosure at Whipsnade Zoo.
The above scenario is representative of the diverse scenarios that Heat Mat can provide systems for. We have many enquiries from the zoo and veterinary sectors each year and Heat Mat's Technical Department always welcome a new challenge.
Published: March 2008
