Five doubts in interpreting geothermal floor

With the prevalence of geothermal heating methods, the floors that are used exclusively for geothermal heating are gradually increasing. Not only products, but also new technologies and concepts are emerging, making it hard to distinguish between true and false. The reporters surveyed the market and interviewed relevant experts and found that the salesman’s arguments were more or less misleading in terms of materials, thickness, pavement, and cushions. Therefore, please also try to avoid these “man-made” doubts before buying.

Do you wonder if a solid wood floor can be used for geothermal heat?

Floor salesman told reporters that there are only two types of solid wood floor heating, because only the hardness of this material is large enough to be used in geothermal environment. While in the home of the North Fourth Ring Store, another world brand of flooring brands directly played the "geothermy king" - a real billboard that resists geothermal pure solid wood floors. The reporter saw from his brochure that the floor was subjected to “unique high-temperature pyrolysis treatment technology” to solve the problem of easy deformation and easy cracking of traditional solid wood flooring under geothermal environment, and the thermal conductivity was greater than 8°C/h. National standards, so it can be fully used in geothermal environment. In addition to ash, there are ash wood in the flooring category.

Mr. Wang, who purchased the floor on the spot, said that for the use of a solid wood floor as a floor heating floor, he also had doubts as to whether pure solid wood flooring is more easily deformed.

Experts say that special treatment can be used

According to Wang Jun, an expert member of the China Forest Product Industry Association and vice president of the Jilin Provincial Forestry Academy, because of the geothermal environment, the floor needs to absorb certain heat. When the moisture in the air is absorbed into the wood, the wood will expand. When it is dry, the wood moisture goes back into the air, causing the wood to shrink. "Common wood floors are prone to cracking and shrinking joints and cannot be used in geothermal environments." Pure solid wood flooring that can be applied to geothermal environments must be specially treated. Currently, there are two ways: 1. High-temperature carbonization, that is, the raw material of the floor is subjected to high-temperature heat treatment at 160° C. to 230° C., so that the moisture absorption function of the wood is reduced or the influence on the change of the air humidity becomes insensitive. 2. The wood is completely sealed with paint, that is, paint is used to seal the external surface of the wood including the backboard and the mouth, so as to prevent the wood from contacting the air and eliminate the influence of humidity on the floor.

If pure solid wood flooring is used in geothermal environment, installation should pay more attention. After the floor is sawn off, the newly generated section, whether cross-section or longitudinal section, must be sealed with wax to ensure that the floor is completely closed; the floor should be installed once as much as possible to prevent the seal of the floor lock from being applied during the repeated installation of the floor. Destruction of the floor causes the floor to deform as the humidity of the air changes. In addition, it is necessary to check whether the ground is smooth and smooth before installation, if any convex sand particles are to be disposed of and cleaned. "The main reason is to prevent the moisture-proof coating of the moisture-proof film and floor from being damaged by sand particles."

Doubt two bamboo flooring really heat-resistant deformation

In front of the booth of Blue Jing Li Jia Chun Hong Zhu, the salesman introduced that this product has been specially treated and is suitable for use in geothermal environments. “Our production requires high-temperature carbonization, so no matter how high the temperature, we are not afraid of it.” But the consumer, Mr. Zhang, still said that the geothermal floor that I usually hear is laminate flooring and engineered wood flooring. It is true for bamboo geothermal flooring. Do not know if he can do the job, he said he did not have the bottom.

Experts say the risk of cracking shrinkage

Bamboo flooring usually has two structures: one is an ordinary bamboo floor (sequentially arranged); the other is a three-layered bamboo flooring (vertical arrangement). Judging from the amount of deformation, the deformation of ordinary bamboo flooring is smaller than solid wood flooring, but it is much larger than solid wood flooring and laminate flooring. Therefore, in geothermal environment, the use of ordinary bamboo flooring is a greater risk.

However, Wang Jun said that if it is a three-layer structure of bamboo flooring, and three-layer solid wood composite flooring is very similar in dimensional stability, can be considered solid wood composite flooring, can do geothermal. However, the moisture content of the surface layer should be controlled below 8%, otherwise there will be cracking of the floor surface. “If the bamboo flooring is carbonized, the stability will be better and the risk will be relatively low.” But experts still recommend that bamboo flooring be used for geothermal purposes. The risk of surface cracking and shrinkage seams will be higher than that of reinforced and solid wood flooring in the future. "Of course, if bamboo flooring is used in geothermal environments, if a humidifier or the like is used to ensure that indoor humidity is maintained at 50% to 60%, bamboo flooring is not a problem."

Do the three thicknesses affect the thermal conductivity?

In general, the smaller the thickness of the floor, the greater the heat flow. When asked whether the thickness of the floor affects the thermal conductivity of a geothermal floor, a certain brand salesman stated that as long as it is a geothermal floor, it generally meets the thermal conductivity requirements. "No matter how thick the thickness is, since it is a geothermal floor, there should be no problem affecting the thermal conductivity."

This answer certainly cannot solve the consumer's doubts. Mr. Wang, who is interested in pure wood flooring, said that the thickness of such flooring is generally about 17mm. He does have some concerns that it will cause poor thermal conductivity. Mr. Zhang also said that the thick floor has a good foot feeling, but it will affect the indoor temperature, so I do not know how to choose.

Experts say there is not much difference in continuous heating

How to balance between thickness and heat conduction? Wang Jun said that in general, the greater the thickness of the floor does have a certain impact on the conduction of heat, but "the impact is not great." No matter whether the thickness is 8mm or 12mm, it can be used in geothermal environment. In contrast, 8mm laminate flooring heat conduction faster than 12mm, but in a continuous heating environment, the difference between the two heat conduction is not obvious; 12mm foot feeling is better, the cost is higher. For places of continuous heating, in Beijing and other places where the room temperature is not very cold, if the heating system can guarantee the basic requirements of room temperature, you can choose a slightly thicker floor, 12mm-15mm are no problem. If you are in a particularly cold place such as the northeast, you can consider 8mm thick floor, so that the thermal conductivity is better.

Wang Jun reminded that, under geothermal conditions, the floor withstands relatively high temperatures. With the increase of temperature, the release rate of formaldehyde on the floor is accelerated. Therefore, floors with low formaldehyde emission should be selected as far as possible. "Try to choose the brand floor, not only the product quality is guaranteed, but also good after-sales service."

Do you doubt whether four or three layers of solid wood are most suitable?

Three-story engineered wood flooring is known as the most suitable geothermal heating by many sales personnel. Is this true?

Experts say the risk of cracking shrinkage

Wang Jun explained that as a geothermal floor, it is best not to choose too wide or too long floor, the greater the size of the floor, the greater the gap in the geothermal environment. Especially in the case of three-layer solid wood laminate flooring with wide faces, if the surface layer has high moisture content during production, surface cracking will occur under geothermal conditions. Therefore, when producing three-layer solid wood flooring for geothermal heating, the moisture content of the surface layer must be strictly controlled.

Under geothermal conditions, when the moisture content of the local slab changes, the amount of slat expansion is different, and rib-like ripples appear on the floor surface of the floor. If the thickness of the three-layer parquet flooring surface is more than 3mm, this phenomenon will not occur. Therefore, three-layer solid wood composite flooring with a thickness of 2 mm or less must not be used as a geothermal floor.

Doubt five shop what mat is best

When referring to geothermal floors, many salespeople mentioned floor mats. And they say that their home is good. Salesman of Conlon floor said that they use cork mats made of pure natural oak. “No deformation, environmental protection, and good insulation performance.” The sales staff of the World Friends of the floor said that they used plastic foils with “foil-enhanced thermal conductivity”. Another one is using ordinary plastic film. Which kind of floor mat is good?

Experts say 2 mm plastic film is better

Wang Jun said that the foil sticks directly to the floor heating and plays a role in reflecting heat. Not only can it not conduct heat, but it also hinders the volatilization of heat energy. If the floor mat is too thick, it will lead to elasticity, too much elasticity, the floor will move up and down, cause the locks to rub against each other, will produce a sound when walking, so it is not desirable. Under normal circumstances, the choice of 2 mm thick plastic film can not only play a role in shock absorption, but also can well block the moisture, and not too thick, will not affect the heat conduction.

Tang Zhaoqun, deputy secretary-general of the Floor Professional Committee of the China Forest Products Industry Association, said that regardless of the material used for the floor mats, such as cork and plastic film, the most important thing is to prevent moisture. It is necessary to ensure that the floor is isolated from the floor and prevent moisture from invading the floor and causing deformation.

Tang Zhaoqun said that at present, there is only one industry standard for "floor heating wood flooring" for geothermal floors, and there is no mandatory national standard. Consumers can refer to the standard number of the floor implemented on the package at the time of purchase. Is there an industry standard? "Of course it is not ruled out that some companies sell floors that can meet this standard as floor heating."

>>>Related Links: Geothermal Floor In Use Considerations

Installation and maintenance should be in place

1. Not too dry

The normal ambient humidity of the floor should be above 40%, and the optimal humidity is 50% to 60%. Because the environment is too dry, it will also lead to the shrinkage of the laminate flooring in the winter. Therefore, under the geothermal environment, adjusting the humidity of the room reasonably is the most effective way to prevent the deformation of the floor.

2. Careful maintenance

When using multi-layer engineered wood flooring for geothermal heat, the surface layer thickness of the floor is more than 0.6 mm, and the surface compressive strength is relatively weak. If the stool legs of the room are not protected, when people sit on the stool, they will put the floor. The surface is crushed.

3. Temperature should be controlled

Prior to installation on the floor, the geothermal system should be pressure tested to prevent damage to the floor due to leakage from geothermal lines. The water supply temperature of the geothermal system should not exceed 60°C. In the initial stage of geothermal heating, the temperature should be raised gently. The temperature of the water supply should be controlled at about 10°C higher than the prevailing ambient temperature, and should not be higher than 32°C; it should be operated continuously for 48 hours; The water temperature rises by 3°C every 24 hours until the design water supply temperature is reached. The maximum temperature of the ground directly contacting the floor cannot exceed 42°C.

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