Floor warming and balancing control system

Abstract

A controller 1 for an underfloor heating (UFH) system communicates with a return water temperature sensor 2 disposed on a UFH manifold 3 at a common return point (15, figure 2) that is shared by all h

Claims

1. An underfloor heating control system, comprising a manifold common return temperature sensor [a], controller unit [b] and a UFH system interface [c] , the controller unit being configured to:i) sense the current state of the UFH system (using the UFH system interface [c] ) ;ii) determine whether the floors require balancing or warming according to the configuration of the controller unit [b] ;iii) control the UFH circulation pump and UFH zone actuator valves (using the UFH system interface [c]);iv) sense the UFH common return temperature at the underfloor heating manifold's common return point [a], which can be used as an approximation / substitute for the average floor slab temperature;v) determine whether the floor slabs require warming according to the configuration of the controller unit [b];vi) control the boiler / heat pump in order to warm the floors when required (using the UFH system interface [c]).

2. An underfloor heating system according to claim 1, also comprising configurable prioritisation of floor zones in the controller unit [b] for prioritised warming and balancing during asystem start-up.

3. An underfloor heating system according to claim 1, in which floor zones receiving solar gain during warmer months are balanced with other zones allowing any floor heating from solar gain to be redistributed throughout the wider system, cooling the floor zones receiving solar gain whilst warming other floor zones for comfort.

4. An underfloor heating control system according to claim 1, for use with wet underfloor heating systems, where rooms are heated through a series of pipes which are connected via a manifold to any heat source such as a boiler or heat pump.

5. An underfloor heating controller according to the preceding claims, in which the controller is connected to the internet via a network and configured to integrate with online services such as"smart" control platforms or home automation platforms for remote control, monitoring and interaction with other online services, adapting its operation accordingly.

6. A method of controlling an underfloor heating system, comprising a manifold common return temperature sensor [a], controller unit [b] and a UFH system interface [c], the method comprising :i) sensing the current state of the UFH system;ii) determining whether the floors require balancing or warming;iii) controlling the UFH circulation pump and UFH zone actuator valves;iv) sensing the UFH common return temperature at the underfloor heating manifold's common return point, which can be used as an approximation / substitute for the average floor slab temperature;v) determining whether the floor slabs require warming;vi) controlling the boiler / heat pump in order to warm the floors when required7. A set of computer program instructions which when executedcontrol an underfloor heating system, comprising a manifold commonreturn temperature sensor [a], controller unit [b]and a UFHsysteminterface[c] ,the method comprising:i) sensing the current state of the UFH system;ii) determining whether the floors require balancing or warming;iii) controlling the UFH circulation pump and UFH zone actuator valves;iv) sensing the UFH common return temperature at the underfloor heating manifold's common return point, which can be used as an approximation / substitute for the average floor slab temperature;v) determining whether the floor slabs require warming;vi) controlling the boiler / heat pump in order to warm thefloors when required

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