Heated floor repair: causes of malfunctions and methods for eliminating them

Repairing a heated floor running on electricity can be quite a task even for a non-specialist - this system is quite simple.

You just need to take a short course of theoretical training, which is presented later in the article. After reading the manual, you can repair the system yourself.

Possible problems with electric heated floors

Here's what owners of such systems may encounter:

heating began to work worse or does not function at all;
the system does not turn off, causing overheating of the room;
During floor repairs, for example, when replacing floor coverings, the heating cable was damaged.

The reader's attention should be drawn to an important circumstance: you should not put off repairing a heated floor, even if it continues to function somehow.

First of all, because the system becomes potentially dangerous: it is likely that water has leaked under the insulation of the heating cable, through which the user can receive an electric shock (especially important for bathrooms and kitchens).

In addition, it may happen that with this problem, one of the components is overloaded and, if delayed, it may fail, as a result of which repairs will be more expensive.

Heated floor repair in Moscow

We can say that a water floor does not often have to be repaired.
This happens more in emergency situations. But if, nevertheless, the need for repairs arises, you must contact specialists without hesitation. An unsuccessful attempt to fix an accident yourself can end up costing you much more. Failure can occur in two areas:

in the heating zone;
in the distribution manifold area.

If the water floor was installed correctly and all installation rules were followed, its service life will be more than fifty years. But there are also troubles when the water pipe is damaged during the installation process. In this situation, the main thing is not to start panicking. Professional repair of heated floors is a matter that requires a serious approach. Therefore, only clear and coordinated actions of repairmen will help find a way out of this situation. GCUiER in Moscow will provide the services of specialists for repairing heated floors .

Taking professional help is the best solution for troubleshooting!

Low voltage

First of all, let's consider a situation where the heated floor, so to speak, is not to blame for anything.
Our electrical networks are still far from perfect, so instead of the required 220 V, the outlet may only have 200 V or even less.

This problem is especially relevant in rural areas.

It is clear that under such conditions, the heating cable, with all the desire and effort, will not be able to develop the required power and heat the room to the desired temperature.

There is only one way out in this situation - the cable must be replaced with a more powerful one, and the power of the new heater must be selected based on the lowest voltage. To determine it, you should take measurements with a multimeter in the morning, lunchtime and evening for several days, including weekends. There is no need to be afraid of overheating - if the voltage returns to normal, the cable will simply disconnect more often.

If you decide to install heated floors, you need to choose a system option. Warm floor - water or electric? Comparison of options and tips for choosing.

Read all about choosing an electric heated floor in this topic.

Warm floors in the bathroom require some nuances. You can only install an electric floor in an apartment, so you need to take care of the safety of the system. Read all about installing heated floors under tiles in this article.

The heating cable is damaged, troubleshooting, does not turn off

Heated floor repair - procedure

Repairing a heated floor running on electricity can be quite a task even for a non-specialist - this system is quite simple.

You just need to take a short course of theoretical training, which is presented later in the article. After reading the manual, you can repair the system yourself.

Possible problems with electric heated floors

Here's what owners of such systems may encounter:

heating began to work worse or does not function at all;
the system does not turn off, causing overheating of the room;
During floor repairs, for example, when replacing floor coverings, the heating cable was damaged.

The reader's attention should be drawn to an important circumstance: you should not put off repairing a heated floor, even if it continues to function somehow.

In addition, it may happen that with this problem, one of the components is overloaded and, if delayed, it may fail, as a result of which repairs will be more expensive.

Electric floor repair

So, there are operational irregularities that urgently need to be corrected. Let's see what reasons can cause failures and what needs to be done in this or that case.

Low voltage

This problem is especially relevant in rural areas.

It is clear that under such conditions, the heating cable, with all the desire and effort, will not be able to develop the required power and heat the room to the desired temperature.

There is only one way out in this situation - the cable must be replaced with a more powerful one, and the power of the new heater must be selected based on the lowest voltage. To determine it, you should take measurements with a multimeter in the morning, lunchtime and evening for several days, including weekends. There is no need to be afraid of overheating - if the voltage returns to normal, the cable will simply disconnect more often.

If you decide to install heated floors, you need to choose a system option. Warm floor - water or electric? Comparison of options and tips for choosing.

Read all about choosing an electric heated floor in this topic.

Repair of floor heating thermostat

Often the cause of the failure lies in the thermostat, which is also called a thermostat. This electronic unit turns on and off the power to the heating cable based on a signal from the temperature sensor. Let's consider two situations:

When the thermostat contacts are closed, the floor heats up weakly or not at all

First of all, you need to check whether the thermostat is really the source of the problem. You can do this in two ways:

With the contacts closed, measure the voltage at the output terminals to which the heating cable is connected. If it differs from the supply voltage, then our suspicions about the thermostat are justified.
Disconnect the power line and heating cable from the thermostat (electricity, of course, must be turned off first) and then connect them directly. If after this the floor warms up properly, then you really need to pay attention to the thermostat.

This element may malfunction due to the following reasons:

The wires in the terminal block are poorly secured. If the fasteners are loose, the screws need to be tightened properly.
The surface of the wires or terminals has oxidized, resulting in poor electrical contact. Darkened

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Repair of floor heating thermostat

When the thermostat contacts are closed, the floor heats up weakly or not at all

First of all, you need to check whether the thermostat is really the source of the problem. You can do this in two ways:

With the contacts closed, measure the voltage at the output terminals to which the heating cable is connected. If it differs from the supply voltage, then our suspicions about the thermostat are justified.
Disconnect the power line and heating cable from the thermostat (electricity, of course, must be turned off first) and then connect them directly. If after this the floor warms up properly, then you really need to pay attention to the thermostat.

This element may malfunction due to the following reasons:

The wires in the terminal block are poorly secured. If the fasteners are loose, the screws need to be tightened properly.
The surface of the wires or terminals has oxidized, resulting in poor electrical contact. Darkened areas must be cleaned to a metallic shine.

If the measures taken do not have the desired effect, the thermostat simply needs to be replaced. This unit is quite inexpensive, so repairing it is not justified.

Thermostat turns on and off at random

Such problems indicate a breakdown of the temperature sensor.

Typically this element is placed in a corrugated tube embedded in a screed. Disconnect the sensor wires from the thermostat, and then check its resistance with a multimeter.

It must correspond to what is indicated in the passport. If the device readings differ greatly, the sensor must be replaced.

An important circumstance should be taken into account: this sensor should be located at the very end of the tube. Before removing it, make a mark on the wire with a marker where it exits the tube. When installing a new sensor, this mark will serve as a guide: it should be in the same place where it was before dismantling. This will mean that the sensor is installed at the desired depth.

It happens that the corrugated tube becomes very bent when pouring the screed, so there is no way to pull the sensor out of it. If you do not want to spoil the floor, connect one of the following devices to the thermostat instead of the broken sensor:

An air temperature sensor that will monitor the temperature not of the warm floor itself (screed), but of the air in the heated room.
Timer: with this device you can set the frequency of turning on/off the heating element.

The duration of heating periods and pauses between them is determined experimentally.

Electric floor heating thermostat repair

Among the possible reasons why an electric heated floor began to heat poorly is the incorrect installation of the temperature sensor. Such a breakdown manifests itself as follows: from time to time the thermostat will turn off, despite the fact that the floor has not yet warmed up.

Why doesn't the electric heated floor heat? Thermostat repair, video

Among the possible reasons for this situation may be incorrect installation of the device. Most often, an inexperienced home “specialist” places it very close to the heating cable. Often the sensor lies directly on the heating wires. What else can you expect from a device in such a situation? Of course, it will “think” that the floor has heated up to the limit and will turn off for fire safety reasons. Repair of the electric floor heating thermostat can be avoided if the device is installed correctly. Correct installation implies not only correct placement of the sensor, but also adjustment of the temperature regime with an accuracy of 2 °C. A modern infrared thermometer will allow you to check the operation of the sensor.

If the thermostat is constantly on (this can be seen by the lit indicator), then you need to think about checking the heated floor, and then find out the cause of the breakdown.

Incorrect cable selection, poor thermal insulation

The inability of a heated floor to reach a comfortable temperature may be due to the use of an insufficiently powerful heating cable.

Normally, the heating time to the temperature set on the thermostat is about 30 minutes, after which the system should turn off the heater (the light on the thermostat will go out).

If the cable takes much longer to heat up or does not turn off at all, it means it does not have enough power.

Incorrect power selection is often due to the following: the owner calculates the power of the heating system, including underfloor heating, using a very common, but not very correct method - multiplying the area of the home by 0.1 kW. The resulting figures are so inaccurate that they can easily be equated to “pulled out of thin air.”

In each specific case, specific heat loss during the coldest period of the year can vary greatly, since this value depends on a number of factors:

outside temperature;
material and thermal insulation of enclosing structures;
number and area of window and door openings;
orientation of the room relative to the cardinal directions;
the amount of heat generated by the equipment.

The calculation methodology can be found in specialized literature or in SNiP dedicated to heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

A warm floor will not work well even if too thin a layer of heat insulation has been laid under the heating element. A significant portion of the heat produced will be used for other purposes - it will go into the ground or into the room below.

Incorrect installation of the system

If certain rules are not followed, even from correctly selected and fully functional components, you can assemble a poorly functioning system. First of all, this concerns the distance between the branches of the heating cable. It depends on the power and must be maintained in strict accordance with the requirements of the instructions. If the cable laying step is made too large, a so-called thermal zebra will appear on the floor surface - a temperature difference that is noticeable to users.

If, on the other hand, the cable is laid too often, it may become damaged due to overheating.

Cable options for heated floors

To avoid such mistakes, it is better to make a heated floor from cable mats. The mat is a fiberglass mesh on which the heating cable is already laid with the correct pitch and fixed. All that remains is to spread out this product, connect the individual sections and fill everything with screed.

Remember that a regular non-regulated cable (it can also be self-regulating) cannot be shortened or lengthened as you please.

As the length decreases, its resistance will also decrease, causing the current in the circuit to increase, and this, in turn, can damage the wires or the thermostat. If the length is increased, the resistance will increase and the power of the cable may greatly decrease. Length changes are allowed within 5% - 10%.

Another common installation mistake is placing the temperature sensor in the screed too close to the cable. In this case, it will turn off the system too early. If you encounter such a problem, do as described above: disconnect the sensor from the thermostat and connect a timer or air temperature sensor instead.

Mechanical damage to electrical cables

The cable may be damaged during floor repairs, or it may burn out.

In the second case, the location of the break will be hidden and to detect it you will need a special device, which is called a hidden wiring detector.

Apply power to the heating cable, and then slowly move the detector along it. The device will emit a sound signal over live areas, and after a break it will go silent.

Having reached the damaged area, it is necessary to connect the broken wires using a repair coupling.

Many unregulated two-core cables have unequal cores: one is heating, the other has low resistance and serves to complete the circuit (reverse). Therefore, before restoring a broken core, you should take a closer look at whether the structure and cross-section of the connected sections match.

In addition to the coupling (sleeve), repair kits contain a component designed to isolate the repaired area.

As a rule, this is an adhesive heat-shrinkable tube, which must be heated with a hair dryer during installation.

Those who find it difficult to install such insulation can purchase a kit with two-component epoxy adhesive - this composition insulates the restored area just as reliably, and no special tools are needed for its application.

The sleeve-coupler is pressed onto the areas to be connected using pliers. It is better to use pliers with smooth jaws than with T-shaped ones.

With this design, the tool does not damage the insulation, and the connection becomes more reliable in terms of tightness.

After repair, the resistance of not only the cable, but also its insulation is checked, for which a special device is used - a megger with a voltage of 2500 V.

Houses made of laminated veneer lumber are now popular, but such a house needs to be properly heated. Warm floors in a wooden house - an overview of existing systems and advice on selection.

You will learn from this material which laminate flooring is better to choose and which floors are best suited for laminate flooring.