Commissioning

The commissioning of a RADIANT FLOOR SOLUTIONS system would normally be carried out once the heating plant is operational.

In general as with any other form of heating, care needs to be exercised in the initial heating of a new building to minimise any damage as a consequence.

Heat should not be applied to the standard concrete floor screed for a period of 28 days after laying to ensure that the floor has reached sufficient strength to resist cracking and curling. In most instances there would be a much longer interval before commissioning which should ideally take place after all floor finishes have been laid.

Dependent on the form of controls in use, which should be fully tested and operational, the heating should be set to raise the building temperature slowly until design conditions are achieved. The exact rate at which this can be carried out will depend on the rate at which moisture present within the building can be vitiated to outside and during the initial phase good ventilation is essential. Other conditions such as external temperature and degree of building closure will have an effect on the period of time required.

As an approximate guide the system should be set to circulate water at 25°C for the first 24 hours and thereafter increased at the rate of 5°C per day until the internal design temperature is achieved.

In the spring and summer the design will be reached much quicker than in winter which takes into account the different building requirements.

It is important that during the initial heating phase the plant is allowed to operate 24 hours per day. When the design conditions have been met the controls can be set to the required settings.

For special floors such as polymer and epoxy-resins the above times can be shortened and we can advise on these if required.

Underfloor heating systems tend to have longer pre-heat times than other forms of heating but equally can be switched off much earlier and this should be reflected in any clock settings. During normal off periods night set back is much more efficient and a set back of 8°C would be the normal setting. In a modern well insulated building the temperature decays at a much slower rate and as such the energy applied during the night set back period is often less than full re-heat from a cold condition.

In either case frost protection is required particularly for buildings unoccupied in winter.

Specific settings required will depend on the precise type of controls which can include weather compensation, optimisation both on and off or full energy management. We or our installers can advise on specific application if required.