Water Underfloor Heating & Solar Power Electricity

Water is heated by one or more heat sources such as Solar Collectors, Heat Pumps, Fire Places with Water Heat Exchangers and more. The heat generated from the heat sources may be used directly to the underfloor heating pipes or stored in a storage tank or geyser. The hot water is then pumped via feed and return pipes to one or more manifolds hidden in the home which in turn have special pipes which placed in the floor as per special design. The hot water in the pipes are regulated via actuator valves on the manifold and room thermostats distributed throughout the house. Should heating be required in any room according to a set temperature on the thermostat, a signal is passed to the actuator to open and pump to start circulating hot water via the manifold to the embedded water pipes in the floor, until the desired temperature is reached in the room. The thermostat having reached the set temperature then sends a signal to stop the pump circulation and the actuator valve is closed.

Advantages of using a water based underfloor heating system

Energy Efficient
Water may be heated very efficiently using one or more heat sources at a fraction of the price of electrical underfloor heating
Healthy
Underfloor heating is the best form of heating available with no dust particles being moved around the house. No electromagnetic fields such as in electrical underfloor heating
Control
Water underfloor may be controlled via a simple wired thermostat controller to a sophisticated wireless system that controls the heat throughout the home all year round. The system needs no constant intervention and once programmed will give your home comfort all year round.
Versatility
The water underfloor heating may be adapted, using heat pumps, to be used for cooling during summer time. The system may be integrated to provide hot water for domestic use, water underfloor heating, pool and jacuzzi heating, Hydronic heated towel rails, Fan Coil Units, Radiators.

Components of the Hydronic Underfloor Heating Systems used by EcoSmart™
Water heating options
•	Solar Hot Water Systems
	• Flat Plate Collectors
	• Vacuum Tube Collectors (see Solar hot water systems)
•	Daikin Heat Pumps (see Heat Pumps)
•	Fire Places
	• Wood Burning Fire Places with Water Heat Exchangers • Pellet Burning Fire Places with Water Heat Exchangers • Pellet Burning Boiler Systems (see Fire Places)
•	Condensing Boilers
	• Gas Condensing Boilers • Oil Condensing Boilers

Water Storage
	• EcoTherm Solartherm Geysers with Heat Exchangers
	• EcoTherm Solartherm Geysers with specially designed Inlet and Outlets
	• EcoTherm Solartherm Geysers

Thermostats
	• Wireless Thermostats with receivers by Viega or Uponor
	• Wired Thermostats by Viega

Manifolds
	• Manifolds • Manifold Feed and Return Pipes • Manifold Actuators • Manifold Pipes

Circulating Pumps
	• Grundfos Brass • Wilo Brass

Solar Controllers
	• SRC686C6/SRC686CQ • Geyserwise

Copper Piping and fittings

Insulation
	• Insulation to the Floors • Insulation to the Walls • Insulation to the Ceiling • Insulation to the Pipes

Should the entire home be heated. With a water underfloor heating system any portion of the home may be heated no matter how small. It must be noted that heat will travel from a warm area to a colder area. This could lead to the heat source which may have been designed for a small area being undersized, and therefore being overworked which may lead to early malfunction. Can any underfloor pipe be used. Using the incorrect pipe will lead to early disintegration. The best pipe to use is manufactured from (polyethylene) PEX and should have an oxygen barrier layer to protect all metal components in the Underfloor Heating System such as pumps, manifolds fittings, valves etc. How many pipes are required for a house. The Underfloor heating pipes must be designed professionally. For instance, if a pipe is to long the energy will be used in the initial part of the room and the remainder of the room will take much longer to heat up. This will lead to uneven temperatures in the room and in the home. How many heat sources can be used. Any amount of heat sources may be used. The more heat sources are used, the more electrical energy will be saved. The homes that have been designed and installed by EcoSmart™ have mostly used Fire Places which save the most electrical energy, Solar collectors mostly for the domestic water, and Daikin Heat Pumps used when the other heat sources are not being used. The Daikin heat pumps are currently the best in their class and especially the Altherma range which EcoSmart™ are the biggest user in Africa. Can any geyser be used. The geyser sizes are extremely important and must be sized correctly firstly for domestic use according to the design of the house. The Buffer tank is also specially sized and designed according to the area to be heated as well as the ancillaries being heated such as Hydronic heated towel rails, pool, Jacuzzi, Fan coils, radiators etc. The inlet and outlet sizes of the geysers and buffer tanks are vital to effectively feed the correct amount of water without causing lack of water, water noises, etc. How long will the water underfloor heating system last. The system consists of different components which have different Warrantees or Guarantees. EcoSmart™ only use EcoTherm Solartherm Geysers which have a 10 Year Guarantee and a life expectancy in excess of 50 years. (Best under the Sun) EcoSmart™ use imported Viega underfloor heating pipes which have a minimum 50 year life expectancy. The solar collectors have a warrantee of 10 years with a life expectancy far beyond. We expect pumps to last for 15 Years although they have a 1 year warrantee. How much electricity will I save This is totally dependent on various factors such as • Insulation used throughout the house as described above Insulation is the single most important factor in the home for cooling and heating. If the home is insulated properly the energy costs are greatly reduced. • Number of heat sources used as above such as Solar, Heat Pumps and Fire places/boilers • The more heat sources other than electrical elements are used the more savings will be realised. • System design and system control EcoSmart™ will professionally design all aspects of your home for heating and cooling with a totally integrated system. The savings you will realise are described in detail in the different product we professionally install.
• Interesting Information about water underfloor heating systems from EcoSmart™
•	Underfloor heating pipes if used with water at ambient temperatures only would in all probability last hundreds of years. The pipes deteriorate more rapidly due to the temperature changes in the pipe when heating is turned on and off. The PEX pipes used by EcoSmart™ are specially manufactured with an oxygen barrier layer for a minimum life expectancy of 50 years. When using the incorrect pipe the life expectancy may be reduced to 10 years or less.
•	Insulation of your home is extremely important. We can deduce that if a room is insulated with thick enough insulation in the floor, walls, and ceiling and with double glazing etc. The room could be heated with a candle.
•	EcoSmart™ design and manufacture EcoTherm Solartherm Geysers firstly for domestic use. The geyser size and inlet and outlet sizes are also designed for optimum flow rates eliminating lack of flow when more the one outlet is used simultaneously. The old example of someone running a bath and someone else having a shower, with the flow in the shower slowing down to a trickle. The same design and manufacture is performed on the buffer tanks. This has to be designed professionally as for instance heating a home with many underfloor heating pipes cannot be fed with firstly a geyser with a 22mm outlet or an incorrectly sized feed pipe. Using incorrect pipes in both the domestic and buffer tank environment will lead to amongst others water noise when water flows too fast.

Water Underfloor Heating systems