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Three considerations for installation
To make the most of every installation, professional installers should pay particular attention to these three areas when taking on a new project. That’s because every home is diff erent, with its own complexities which will impact the installation of UFH – but with careful consideration, these challenges can be navigated seamlessly.
1: Heat source With new regulations on the horizon, there has been a lot of talk about heat sources. Heat pumps are growing in popularity with installations reaching an all-time high – and still growing. Meanwhile, traditional heat sources like gas boilers are coming
RESIDENTIAL HEATING & VENTILATION
“Underfl oor heating is one of the leading routes to realising greater levels of effi ciency in existing homes. With a variety of systems designed for fast and fuss-free installation, installers can play an active role in making customers’ homes more effi cient, more comfortable and more cost eff ective to run.”
under greater scrutiny, as regulations mandate that new homes built from 2025 onwards must be zero-carbon ready, eff ectively discouraging their installation in new properties. No matter the heat source, UFH can be installed in practically any home. Operating at lower temperatures than traditional heating systems, they are perfectly paired with heat pumps.
2: Manifold location When it comes to retrofi tting underfl oor heating, planning makes perfect. When it comes to the location of the manifold specifi cally, a central location is always best as this supports the operational effi ciency of the system as a whole and supports the eff ective distribution of water around the system.
As the heart of the system, the manifold will form the vital connection point for pipework to each room – or zone – being covered by the underfl oor heating system. A central location within the property
H
eat recovery from data centres is currently seeing a major growth phase in the UK. The process enables the capture of waste
thermal energy from data centres, repurposing it for district heating and hot water networks. Heat network expert, Power On believes this could be signifi cant for in the rollout of district heating at for nearby residential and commercial properties
The heat release issue
The UK has a rising need for data centres just at a time when it is also tightening sustainability regulations and requirements. It is well known publicly that data centres produce huge amounts of heat that is released to the atmosphere and that those running AI contribute to this even more. Harnessing this heat to be used elsewhere is clearly going to be a popular option with a positive public response.
District heating
District heating uses networked air- and ground- source heat pumps to provide centralised heat and hot water for towns, campuses and housing developments. These eliminate the need for individual boilers or electric heaters in each building, promoting lower electrical loads and reliable, cost- eff ective, low-carbon heating and hot water.
The win-win solution Power On’s solution to the data centre heat release
issue is to utilise the waste heat for district heating to warm the residential and commercial properties nearby. In just the same way that heat is harnessed from ground source heat pumps and transferred to the heating and hot water systems of high-density developments, the heat from data centres can be harnessed and distributed to cover local needs too. There are two savings here: one – the excess heat is not being released to the atmosphere; two – there is no need to create heat specifi cally for heating homes, campuses and towns. There is a massive
emphasises this role, reducing the length of pipe runs to each zone to ensure optimum performance.
3: Flooring Finally, the construction and fi nish of the fl oor plays a big part in performance and effi ciency when it comes to underfl oor heating. Diff erent UFH systems lend themselves to both timber and solid subfl oors, supporting the adoption of UFH in almost every home. Importantly, when working with timber fl oors, insulation needs to be considered carefully to minimise heat loss. Once the system is laid, attention can turn to the fi nish. Here, the type of fl ooring material will have a signifi cant impact on the eff ect of a UFH system. Tiles, concrete, and stone are good conductors of heat and can help homeowners directly feel the benefi ts of underfl oor heating. Carpet, on the other hand, may compromise effi ciency and heat distribution, but can still be an option if considered from the outset during system design.
Using heat recovery to bring eco-benefi ts to data centres
win for the environment from both sides. Indeed, there are further wins for data centres.
Reusing the heat directly reduces the load on traditional cooling systems. This also lowers the overall energy consumption of the data centre. Furthermore, data centres can be paid for the waste heat they deliver. Of course, there are hugely positive benefi ts for
the corporate social responsibility (CSR) reputation of the data centres. Whilst this approach is still fairly uncommon in the UK, it is common practice in many parts of Europe. Alex Randal, Business Lead for Sustainable Heat,
Power On, says: “With the number of data centres growing and climate change an ongoing and rising issue, data centres will be keen to enhance their CSR where possible and may need to do so soon under planning regulations. Having plans for heat recovery and transfer in place is likely to help to fast-track planning and will be good PR for data centres in what can sometimes be a diffi cult industry.”
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