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Under floor heating by Heatec

Floor heating pages:                                                               Other pages:

 FAQ   Under tile   In-concrete   Under timber    Control                                Coldroom/freezer door heaters,  frost heave protection and condensation prevention.  Pipe tracing

 

  Under carpet mats   Running cost   Floor heating kits                                 Heated towel rails   Drying equipment   Drying/freezing trays  Propagation bed heating  Animal pen heating

 

 

 

Floor heating features
Heating tiled floors
Slab floor heating methods
Floor heating for timber floors
Programmable thermostat control
Underfloor heating FAQ
Running cost
Floor heating kits
Door heating for cold room and freezer doors
Sub-floor heating for freezers
Condensation prevention
Pipe tracing
Towel warmers
Drying of fruit and other products
Plant propagation bed heating
Heating for enclosed animals
Heating cable, compensating for the effect of thermal bridging
Thermal bridging causes condensation outside the room

Condensation prevention beneath coldrooms and freezers

 

 

Condensation beneath cold rooms in humid conditions

On humid days moisture from the air will then condense on this surface and drip down into the space below.

 

The most common method of prevention is the use of heating cables as described for frost heave prevention, usually with the cables more closely spaced and with slightly higher output eg. 20 - 25 W/sq.m.

 

Apart from the problems of condensation causing damage to ceiling panels or to vehicle paintwork, rusting of the wet steel reinforcing in the concrete can cause spalling of the concrete and structural harm.

Despite having sub-floor insulation beneath coldrooms and freezers, a small temperature reduction will be experienced on any exposed elevated surfaces below.

Condensation damage beneath a freezer, with poor floor insulation
Floor insulation is a must, beneath cold rooms

Condensation damage to a ceiling, caused by a first floor freezer above, with floor insulation used, but no sub-floor heaters.

A coldroom above. No floor insulation, and no sub-floor heaters. Its’ raining inside!

Compensating for thermal bridging

Coldroom walls

 

Where rooms lack adequate floor insulation, suitable heating cable can be selected to run along the external perimeter to prevent condensation along the floor.

 

If a partition wall is built into an existing room dividing areas of different temperature and a gap is not made in the metal skin of the panel, a similar exercise can be done to prevent condensation opposite the coldest side.

 

Condensation outside the coldroom can be overcome by the installation of a heating cable - as shown above. However from an energy perspective, it is always preferable to insulate the coldroom floor, as this saves the cost of constantly running the heating cable and reduces the load on the refrigeration plant as well.

Perimeter condensation resulting from thermal bridging
Method shown, for dealing with thermal bridging

Columns extending through cold rooms/freezers.

 

To prevent condensation forming on steel columns or other structural components projecting through the insulated panel, heating cable is attached beneath an insulated and covered section where the illustration shows condensation, to return the temperature of the projecting steel back to ambient temperature.

Information required for design and quoting:

Floor area

Room temp

Conditions below

Type and thickness of floor insulation

 

 

Condensation prevention