The part of underfloor heating that is crucial to energy consumption is undoubtedly the insulation system. Whenever we talk to homeowners about the role of insulation systems in underfloor heating, they invariably express their wish for good insulation materials.

So in fact many homeowners have the concept of insulation in mind, but insulation is really an unfamiliar field for them, so they don't know how to make the request. Today we will talk to you briefly about underfloor heating insulation.

1. What is the role of insulation material in underfloor heating?

Underfloor heating pipes are laid on the ground, when the underfloor heating is running, it will dissipate heat both to the room and downstairs, and the thermal insulation material is laid on the ground, which can reduce the downward heat dissipation of the underfloor heating and reduce the energy consumption of the underfloor heating.

It is clear from the above diagram that due to the insulation, underfloor heating heat is mainly transferred upwards into the room, thus preventing the heat from travelling downwards to the floor slab and being wasted. Therefore, the better the insulation, the lower the energy consumption of underfloor heating.

2. What are the things included in the thermal insulation material?

Thermal insulation material is based on a thermal insulation board, plus supplementary materials such as reflective film, fiberglass mesh, clips, aluminum foil tape, and so on.

Common insulation boards are mainly XPS boards and EPS boards (commercially available Nob boards).

At present, the floor heating market is dominated by XPS extrusion boards. It has the advantages of good thermal insulation performance, low water absorption, strong pressure resistance, and does not contain a source of colonial bacteria, does not emit odors and harmful volatiles.

In recent years, with the introduction of modular paving materials in Europe, EPS Nob boards have also been recognized in the market for their environmental friendliness, energy efficiency, and standardized construction.

3. What should we look for when choosing insulation?

Thermal insulation materials are recommended to focus first on environmental performance, after all, buried in the ground for a long time, if the use of environmentally friendly materials, then it is simply for the family's health mine. In addition, the insulation material should also look at the following four parameters.

Thermal conductivity: the embodiment of thermal insulation performance, the lower the better, the general requirement is not greater than 0.034w/(m-k).

Thickness: affects the effect of heat preservation, the thicker the better, the general requirement is not less than 2cm, and the conditions can use 3cm of insulation material.

Water absorption rate: affects the long-term use of thermal insulation materials, the lower the better, the general requirements of the extruded plastic board are not greater than 1%, and EPS board requirements are not greater than 2%.

Compressive strength: the embodiment of pressure resistance, if too low may cause late ground collapse, general wet requirements of not less than 150KPA, dry floor heating not less than 300KPA.

Therefore, under the precondition of meeting the environmental requirements, we should try to choose thermal insulation materials with low thermal conductivity, large thickness, low water absorption rate, and high-pressure resistance.

4. How to choose between the Nob board and extruded plastic board?

Nob board is modular installation, Nob board is through tongue and groove lap joints, to achieve seamless assembly, no gap between the insulation board directly leaks heat.

During construction, the Nob board fixes the pipes through grooves without the use of nails, which also avoids damage to the insulation layer. Therefore, under the same conditions, the comprehensive thermal insulation effect of modular floor heating is better than traditional floor heating and more energy efficient.

In addition, the Nob board also standardized the construction process, a thousand workers can make the same standard underfloor heating; while the traditional underfloor heating is more dependent on the construction staff's skills, if the construction master does not do a good job, the underfloor heating effect may be discounted. So if you are more concerned about cost-effectiveness, you can choose extruded plastic board; if you have enough budget and want to enjoy higher quality floor heating, then you can consider Nob board.

5. What should we pay attention to when installing?

Lay in accordance with the standard of JGJ142-2012. It is recommended to try to make the insulation into a whole when installing, the heat is seamless leakage, and the floor heating will be more energy efficient.

Insulation boards close to boundary insulation strips

Insulation board gaps treated with aluminum foil tape

In addition, in the construction of the insulation layer, the main materials, like insulation board, reflective film, and fiberglass mesh everyone usually does well. Some details, such as the setting of boundary insulation strips and expansion joints, and the treatment of splices with aluminum foil tape are not done properly. Check out the YouTube video for details on how it should be constructed.