Emmeti Zone Controls
Getting the best from an underfloor heating system
Today it is widely accepted that controls form a necessary part of any heating system. Apart from the need to be comfortable and the convenience that a well controlled system brings, rising fuel prices make it essential that heating systems are well-controlled to ensure maximum economy.
These requirements are also now built into the legal framework that all dwellings – whether new or existing – must comply with The Building Regulations and the guidance documents issued to support them (e.g. the Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide) now offer clear instructions for the zoning of underfloor heating and the necessity for time and temperature controls to provide a comfortable, economically run home or commercial environment.
UHMA Guide: Additional guidance for underfloor heating systems on how to comply with 2010 Building Regulations Part L
In addition Emmeti have recently produced the ‘Additional guidance for underfloor heating systems on how to comply with 2010 Building Regulations Part L’ for UHMA. This document provides specific guidence on the installation of heating controls for warm water underfloor heating systems. More information can be found in our Articles section.
Zones and zone control
A ‘heating zone’ is part of a building with its own independent heating controls. Having underfloor heating with water filled pipes means that every heated room has at least one pipe circuit to heat it (larger rooms can have more than one circuit).
Each circuit is connected to a manifold and can be switched on and off by means of a small electrical valve on the manifold (called an ‘electrothermic’ valve).This means that every room can be controlled separately – each room is a ‘zone’ with its own ‘zone controls’. The Emmeti zone controls range includes a wide selection of thermostats to control temperature from simple dial operated types, electronic touchscreen versions to programmable thermostats which combine time and temperature control. Many of the thermostats also have remote sensor options enabling them to be used safely to control bathrooms.
Wiring Centres
The zone controls range also has two purpose designed wired wiring centres for operation on either 230V and 24V operation. Specifically designed for the UK market, these offer a central point where the mains supply, time controls, thermostats and electrothermic heads can all be connected together. The wiring centres also have a number of additional features:
- an isolating switch so that thermostats and electrothermic heads can be switched off to allow work to be carried out safely
- earth continuity terminals for connection of equipment requiring earthing such as circulating pumps
- LED lamps for each circuit to confirm whether they are working
- The facility to connect up to five electrothermic heads per zone thermostat
Weather compensating Controls
Because underfloor heating operates at a low floor temperature, usually between 30oC to 50oC, unless a low temperature heat source is used, the water temperature is mixed to reduce the water temperature to the right level.
Weather compensating controls allow the water to be reduced to this lower level but also varied within a suitable range to suit the outside weather conditions. For example, when it is cold outside the water is allowed to rise to the maximum permitted temperature for the floor system; when it is warmer outside the water temperature is reduced to a lower level to satisfy the reduced needs of the system.
This means that the system both feels more comfortable and is also more economical as the heat source is used less to meet the lower water temperature in milder parts of the winter.
Electrothermic heads
An electrothermic head is the means of controlling the water flow through a manifold. They are always wired. They are designed to fit onto the valves which are built into T2 and T3 manifolds and are available for both 230V and 24V operation. They can also be supplied complete with an auxiliary switch (four wire) version to operate additional equipment or provide electrical interlock.
Wireless Zone Controls
In addition to the thermostats which need to be connected to electrical cables in order to be able to operate, Emmeti also has a range of wireless controls. These enable a system to have individual zones as before but without the need to connect the thermostats with cable back to the manifold. They are therefore ideal for conversion of existing properties or adding additional controls to an existing system. The controls offered include 6-way and 2-way wiring centres, wireless thermostat and programmable thermostat, wireless antenna and remote sensor options for a complete wireless zone controls package.
