The influence of thermal bridges on the operation of underfloor heating system

Abstract

The work determines the influence of the presence of thermal bridges within the pipes of underfloor heating on its performance: thermal efficiency, surface temperature and heat losses. Three types of building partitions with thermal bridges are considered: the external wall, the external wall with the insulated and uninsulated balcony slab. The analysis was made for variable heat resistance
of thermal insulation and floor finishing layer, variable pipe spacing, temperature of the heating medium and outside air. The calculation was carried out with the use of computer software using boundary element method (BEM). It was found that considering three types of thermal bridges in the floor heating model does not significantly affect the thermal efficiency of the floor heating and its average surface temperature. The effect of considering the thermal bridges on the amount of heat losses to the room below was observed.