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Concrete floor heating cable attached to reinforcing mesh

Electric in-slab heating

Application

Concrete floor heating is ideally suited to homes that are occupied most of the time. The reaction time is relatively slow compared to most alternative heating systems, but a concrete slab floor can be warmed using the overnight off-peak tariff at less than half the normal rate. An insulated home on a concrete slab floor that has reached warm conditions in the morning will not require further heating during the day, unless it is poorly insulated. Fortunately, new building codes now require a good standard of thermal insulation. Used in this way, the only time the home may require occasional supplementary heat, is late evening on the particularly cold days.

An alternative to utilizing the off-peak power, is to investigate the availability of a time-of-use tariff. Most parts of Australia offer this option now for residential use. It provides for an electricity charge rate at around half of the normal day rate for all power used in the home between around 9.00 pm through to 7.00 am (varies in some regions). The trade off is that power used outside these hours (during daytime) is charged at a rate about 30% higher than normal. However, with your heating being the largest single electrical load, you can time clock this to come on in the early morning only, with the option to take the occasional boost for an hour or two in the evening at the higher rate if needed - and in a well insulated home this may never be the case. As a bonus to this scheme, you can also then make a practice of operating the dishwasher, clothes dryer and pool pump (with time clock if necessary) inside the low rate period and make further gains.

Installation

The heating layout is individually tailored to suit the customer’s plan and divided into separate zones. The cable is then fastened down just prior to the pouring of concrete.

Separate cold tail terminations are provided for later connection at the perimeter of each zone.

Heating cable being installed at a picturesque mountain site in Maleny

Can it get damaged?

The incidence of damage is very low. However, it is comforting to know that as a specialist installer, we are equipped to pinpoint damage and repair it.