Martin Coates, UFH Product Manager at RWC, discusses why it’s key to understand the different UFH systems on the market and how to choose the right system for each project.
To decide which UFH system is best for a given project, one of the key considerations is how the floor has been constructed. Is it a new build or retrofit project? What is the heat source?
This is where RWC’s JG Underfloor brand can help to ensure the right choice is made. Alongside our commitment to making jobs more efficient through product design, we also offer additional support, such as a rapid and free UFH CAD service. In addition, our team of national technical engineers are ready to advise on best practice, ensuring installers are provided with the knowledge required for every job.
Innovation to drive UFH
This is why we have introduced a new, low profile, UFH solution that complements our existing JG Underfloor heating range. RWC’s JG LowFit is designed to keep the overall floor height to an absolute minimum without compromising heat output. It works on both new build and retrofit projects and only increases the floor height slightly. The pipe fixing panels come in a range from 16 to 20mm thickness, and once installed, the overall height build up is between 19-23mm before floor coverings.
The JG LowFit range offers installers a convenient and unobtrusive UFH solution to work alongside alternative heating technologies, such as heat pumps, without compromising on performance. Its foil and mesh panels have been specifically designed to be placed over existing timber or concrete flooring, meaning installers avoid the need to spend time prising up the building’s flooring and adding unnecessary costs to the project.
The new range has options suitable for screed, non-screed, tiled and existing concrete floors, suiting almost any type of installation.
How JG LowFit UFH benefits installers
As well as easy to fit floor panels, our 12mm JG LowFit Layflat Polybutylene Barrier Pipe offers great flexibility when laying and it includes an inner barrier to prevent the ingress of oxygen molecules, reducing corrosion on metal parts within the system.
Featuring both 12mm or 15mm JG Speedfit push-fit connections, our new JG LowFit manifolds are fast and simple to install and, unlike some others in the market, do not require fitting additional reducers from 15 or 16mm connections.
This speeds installation time and reduces fittings and pipe congestion around the manifold. And as with all our manifolds, they come with a pre-fitted wall bracket and isolation vibration mount, as well as a pre-assembled air vent, fill valve and adjustable flow meters.
JG LowFit is ideal for retrofit projects, as it allows for a less obtrusive installation process, while it is another alternative for new build developments, for which we also have our existing UFH systems as a standard choice. Support is available from JG Underfloor all the way through from the initial quote, during installation and afterwards – if there are any issues at all, we are here to help.
It is important to address the concerns many people have about pipework being buried under their floors. The confidence in our products is such that we give a 50-year guarantee on many of RWC’s JG Speedfit pipework ranges and components, as well as a 2-year warranty for manifolds and controls.
Some plumbing and heating professionals still have reservations about installing UFH if they’ve never fitted it before, because they are not sure how to go about pricing it. But, again, that’s where our support comes in. All we need are certain facts like room dimensions, drawings, what the subfloor is, i.e., whether it’s concrete or timber, and so on. Once they’ve given the merchant all the facts about the project, we can provide a detailed parts list and a full list of the materials. If they’ve never fitted UFH before, we can arrange a site visit, point them in the right direction and get the correct solution. In fact, in many ways, the actual installation is the easy part.
Another point to bear in mind concerns the new regulations and the phasing out of gas boilers, which is causing some uncertainty in the market. The main thing we highlight to customers is that UFH is ideal for any new builds that aren’t using a gas boiler. UFH is perfect for both air source and ground source heat pumps because they lend themselves to a lower running temperature. We’re also working to educate installers that UFH is an option when it comes to almost any project that involves a renewable heat source – be it new build or retrofit.
For more information on RWC’s JG Underfloor range, including JG LowFit, visit: https://www.johnguest.com/speedfit/products/underfloor-heating/
