U


COMFORT ZONE


ENTERING THE


When research revealed demand for underfloor heating was being held back by a perceived lack of controls, one firm decided to develop intelligent software that prevented overheating and worked alongside other sources of heat


nderfloor heating supplier Warmafloor were understandably pleased that their heating system was specified for five of the 11


apartment blocks at the London 2012 Olympics Athlete’s Village. What was even more encouraging for the


firm was that the system had been used by Triathlon Homes, the affordable housing provider that had bought 1,379 of the 2,818 homes at the Athletes’ Village. Underfloor heating is more commonly associated with luxury apartments than social housing, and the company was keen to prove to the market that underfloor heating isn’t just the choice of high-end developers. Despite this contract win, and other high-profile jobs at Westfield Stratford and Chobham Academy on the Olympic Park, Warmafloor felt the market for underfloor heating was being held back by a perceived lack of adequate controls. Market research conducted for


Warmafloor by International Business Research confirmed that the perceived slow response time of surface heating and cooling was the biggest barrier to the specification of underfloor heating. Radiant underfloor heating is different


to air source heat; it requires closer control. With conventional on/off controls it is easy to overshoot and undershoot, because of


48 CIBSE Journal December 2012 www.cibsejournal.com


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