When apartment owners in new buildings decide to install heated floors, the question arises - which heated floor is better to choose?
There are two options here: electric and water heated floors. The electric floor works due to the heat, which are located under the finishing floor covering, and the water floor - due to the pipes through which the coolant flows.
In this article we will try to answer the question, which heated floor is better to choose - water or electric?
Why water flooring is not recommended for apartments
The main advantage of a water floor over an electric one is that it is cheaper. Both its installation and operation will require less money to be spent than its electric counterpart. But there are nuances due to which a water floor is not recommended for apartments:
- The housing office may not give permission.
- Due to the water-heated floor in one apartment, the water pressure in the entire riser system of the high-rise building drops.
- Neighbors are having problems with hot water supply.
Therefore, despite the reasonable price, water heated floors are rarely installed in apartments in new buildings. The exception is a completely autonomous heating system, which requires the installation of a boiler (this also requires permission from the Housing Office).
It is prohibited to connect water heated floors to the hot water supply system. As a result, your neighbors will receive chilled water, and you will bear administrative responsibility.
Starting a business installing underfloor heating
To really start working and make money installing heated floors, you need to study in detail all types of heated floors so that you can subsequently choose and recommend the best option to the customer. It is best to start your activity by installing a heated floor that the customer has already purchased. Installation of the thermostat is paid separately. The initial investment in this business is minimal. You will need to have your own personal transport and the ability to properly install a heated floor system.
The next step is your registration as an individual entrepreneur and choosing a tax system. Read advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Initially, start working according to the simplified taxation system (simplified taxation system). To start promoting your business, you can place advertisements in newspapers, radio and television. And the cheapest, but 100% option for attracting customers is to negotiate with the sellers of construction stores who sell the goods. You can give them business cards and pay 5% for each attracted client, which will make them interested in this issue, and the flow of clients to you will increase.
Promotion and expansion of your business for the production and installation of heated floors
As soon as you have a constant flow of customers, and you have built up a base, and your income will only increase every month, then you should think about the production of heated floors. You can purchase material for the production of heated floors from regional dealers.
For installing a floor without a thermostat with a room area of 10 square meters, you can earn about $200. It is best to purchase material from trusted dealers, because you will receive all complaints about the quality of the material and installation.
High-quality material for the production of heated floors is the key to your success and stable income. You will be able to provide your customers with warranty services and be responsible not only for the correct installation, but also for the installation material. This is the most important stage in the production process of a heated floor system.
Manufacturer organizations not only supply materials to construction companies, but can also supply their products to certain individuals. In order to become an official representative of one company, an initial payment is required. With start-up capital, you will need to rent premises, hire qualified personnel and purchase a truck to transport products. This is a new stage in your business that can bring enormous profits. The profitability of this business reaches 80%, which takes it to a new level.
Electric floor: choosing the best option
In the case of electric heated floors, things are simpler. There will be no problems either with the housing office or with the neighbors. The only drawback is the price. During the heating season, the amount of electricity bills will be impressive (compared to paying for a water floor).
Electric heated floors come in two types:
- wired;
- film
The wired version is mounted inside the screed, and the film system is laid on the finished screed.
A significant advantage of an electric floor: both options do not have a noticeable effect on the thickness of the floor screed.
Advertising your underfloor heating installation business and reaching a new level
After you have selected staff and rented premises, you need to make a loud statement about your company. If earlier you could limit yourself only to announcements and broadcasts of your advertising on the radio, now you need to think about a large-scale advertising campaign. Create a website for your company or hire someone who can promote it in search engines.
The key to your success is advertising, satisfied customers and the best prices for production and installation of underfloor heating systems. You can also install heated floors at large enterprises, such as a poultry farm. In this case, installing a heated floor for a poultry farm will be much cheaper than heating a huge room in a different way.
Installation of heated floors is a rather interesting and profitable business idea; if you want to expand, it can be combined with the business of installing suspended ceilings - this will significantly increase the flow of customers.
Wired electric floors: pros and cons
An electric floor can be installed in a one-room apartment in a new building as an addition to the main heating system or to quickly warm up the floor in the bathroom and toilet (with high-quality waterproofing of the floor).
Pros of the wired option:
- the price is lower than film;
- application for any room;
- availability;
- simple controls.
Among the disadvantages of this system, experts highlight:
- high energy costs;
- problematic installation;
- high load on the power grid.
Hydraulic floor heating system
A water, or as heating engineers call it, a hydraulic underfloor heating system is a coil of pipes through which the heated coolant moves. Its temperature must be sufficient to heat the floor within the normalized values, which are determined by SP 60.13330.2012. The heating circuit is located in the thickness of the floor “pie”, concrete screed or under the floor covering. The thickness of the screed varies from 40 to 80 mm. Connects to the autonomous heating system. It is used as the main or auxiliary CO of apartments and private houses.
Important! It is prohibited to connect hydraulic underfloor heating systems to the central heating main without permits and a design. Violation of the ban will result in serious administrative penalties.
Electrical system in the form of heating mats
A type of wired option. A heating mat is a thin heating cable that is fixed to a fixing base, presented in the form of a fiberglass mesh with a certain pitch. This design is intended for installation under the finishing floor covering in a layer of tile adhesive.
Pros:
- ease of control;
- easy installation.
Minuses:
- price;
- electricity costs.
Materials with high thermal conductivity, including ceramic tiles and natural stone, are used as finishing floor coverings.
When installing mats, no screed is installed. They can be laid on old flooring.
How to achieve success with online advertising? Experience of the company "Gallery of Warm Floors"
“Heated Floors Gallery” is the first company to sell film heated floors in Bryansk. The head of the company, Alexander Pluzhnikov, tells how advertising on the Internet and analysis of its effectiveness helps to better understand buyers in the market.
Website: https://www.gtp-br.ru Website age: 4 years Business age: 8 years Promotes the website in the Web Center since October 2013 Uses contextual advertising since September 2014
About business
— How did the idea of opening the “Heated Floors Gallery” come about?
— We wanted to find a modern and promising direction for business. We were looking for something that wasn’t bulky and didn’t involve large warehouse spaces. And purely by chance, sitting at the computer, we saw information about the infrared film field. This was the very beginning of the development of the dealer network. It turned out that this is indeed a new product. There was no such technology in Russia before. Warm floors, I believe, have moved from the category of luxury to the category of ordinary building material. Now he is perceived differently. And, last but not least, this is thanks to us. The company conveys to people the information that this is now available to everyone: there is no need to spend fabulous money and cover up the entire apartment, because you can get by with one square meter exactly where it is needed. Floors don't take up much storage space. One box can fit 10 square meters. meters. Often people come and say: “Oh, we thought we had to hire a truck, but it turns out we can carry them in our hands.”
— Which heated floors are most in demand?
— Most often they buy it for tiles because they are cold compared to other coatings at standard room temperature.
— How developed is the underfloor heating market in Bryansk now?
— Previously, the market was represented by several, mainly European, brands. Now the situation has changed dramatically. Very tough competition, many brands. They periodically appear and leave the market. The market is much larger now than it was in 2007. This is due to the fact that building materials have moved from the luxury category to standard positions. We are the only company in the city that provides complete and detailed advice on underfloor heating, even over the phone. We are trying to solve the client’s heating problem, and not just sell a heating element.
— What factors should a buyer consider when choosing heated floors? What you should pay attention to?
— We need to pay attention to reliability. Warm floors are not like a light bulb that can be replaced at any time. This is a heating element, in most cases built under the floor covering. And replacing it is an expensive undertaking. Nobody wants to look for the location of the damage, and this also requires special equipment. Warm floors are needed in the bathroom. This is a damp room and the energy from the heated towel rail is not always enough. Because of this, moisture often does not dry out after using the bathtub, and mold may appear. In addition, it is recommended to additionally install forced exhaust.
— What floors at an affordable price would you recommend for an ordinary family?
— The best price/quality ratio is Thermo heated floors (Sweden). Some may claim that I am an interested party. Yes, this is true, because we are official representatives of the company, and that is why I am personally confident in the quality of our products. If you find a negative review on the Internet, send me a link by email.
About attracting clients
— How did you attract your first clients?
“We started by printing out leaflets, delivering them to the entrances ourselves and throwing them in mailboxes. We tried absolutely all types of advertising: radio, various newspapers and magazines, directories, television (they aired on a local TV channel for a year and a half), placed on billboards, sent out mailings (including SMS). I always tracked the effectiveness of each type of advertising. We even conducted marketing research among our customers to find out from what source they learned about us. For a long time we hung in one of the best newspapers in the city. It worked until the Internet appeared in every home.
— Do you think your website is convenient for customers?
— When creating the site, we wanted to make it convenient and contain a lot of information. This is probably not entirely correct from the point of view of creating a website, and I was guided only by personal experience in selling heated floors. I think that at first it was not entirely comfortable. After Yandex.Metrica was installed on the site (by the way, I didn’t even know that such a thing existed until Alexander Bashkevich told me one day), we began to understand where people go, what pages they leave from, how quickly and Why. They leave because they don’t find the information they need. Now the site has become better, as changes are being made to it based on user behavior from Yandex.Metrica.
— The site has been operating since 2011. 4 years have passed since the opening of the business. What was the reason for the need to create a website?
— We realized that we needed a website after advertising in print media stopped working. Now the Internet has become more accessible, there are now many providers. And we have a product about which you first need to get information. And we went to the Internet. By the way, our competitors started advertising after us.
— Who is in charge of the website in the company?
— I am in charge of the site. We have not grown to such a size that we can hire a separate person for this work.
