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Head Office
Thermo-Floor Ltd
Unit 1
Babsham Farm
Chichester Road
Bognor Regis
PO21 5EL
TEL:
+44 (0)1243 822058
FAX:
+44 (0)1243 860379 |
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Midlands and
North
Midlands Regional Office
33, Station Road
Lutterworth
Leicestershire
LE17 4AP
TEL:
+44 (0) 1455 203205
FAX:
+44 (0) 1455 550703
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UNDERFLOOR COOLING |
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FLOOR AND WALL COOLING
Principle:
With floor / wall heating the temperature of the surrounding
surfaces is raised resulting in the most comfortable way of
heating we know at this moment, namely, radiant heat.
With floor / wall cooling this principle is reversed. Cooled
water flows though WTH underfloor heating tube which reduces the
temperature of the surrounding surfaces creating a comfortable
inner climate without the disadvantages that air cooling systems
have, such as drafts and air pollution and expensive ducting. An
additional advantage of floor / wall cooling is that the
external construction of the building accumulates less warmth,
reducing the heat built up.
Design:
When designing a system for floor and wall cooling one must take
into account the following.
One aspect of floor / wall cooling to consider is the
condensation of moisture on cooled surfaces. At high relative
humidity the cooling capacity of the system is limited to this
“dew point”.
A “dew point” sensor reduces the risk of condensation. This
control also ensures that the cooling capacity is greater when
relative humidity is lower.
In spaces where high cooling capacities are necessary (e.g.
poorly insulated properties) the floor / wall cooling may be
insufficient. In these circumstances the floor / wall cooling
must be considered to be “top-cooling” - the reduction of the
room temperature by a number of degrees, but not necessarily
sufficient to achieve the desired ambient.When designing a
floor / wall cooling system you must ensure that direct sun
light though glass areas is prevented as much as possible. In
the summer the radiant heat of solar rays though glass is mainly
responsible for increasing the temperature in buildings. This
then increases the required cooling capacity. The surface heat
of the solar ray is removed directly by the cooling effect and
as a result no heat is accumulated in the floor and walls. Solar
rays that are falling directly onto a cooled floor / wall can
increase the cooling demand up to 100 to 150 W/m˛. This will
mean the cooling system is running at its maximum, hence the
importance of shielding the sun from entering the building.
When a good quality dew point control is used there is no need
for the manifolds to be insulated.
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