When renovating or purchasing a home under construction, it’s important, and highly recommended, to consider your home’s cooling system. Knowing in advance what type of system to use to cool your home means you won’t have to tamper with existing systems, much less drill holes and break down walls to install split units or other cooling systems.
Therefore, if you decide to be forward-thinking from the start, it’s worth considering an underfloor cooling system, both for residential and commercial purposes, a cousin of the already well-known and more popular underfloor heating system.
How the underfloor cooling system works
Radiant floor heating allows you to heat your home in winter and cool it in summer with a single system. The system consists of a series of panels and pipes arranged in a coil that are, so to speak, “embedded” in the screed. For this solution to work, it is essential that the home be equipped with a heating system that operates with a reversible heat pump, capable of producing both hot and cold water, something that a simple boiler cannot achieve.
The underfloor cooling system works by radiation, the physical principle that a hot body always releases heat to a cold body. According to this principle, radiant cooling absorbs heat from the rooms when the internal temperature is higher than the floor surface temperature.
Requirements for installing an underfloor cooling system
As we’ve already mentioned, the first requirement for this type of system to work is a heating system that operates with a reversible heat pump.
But this isn’t the only requirement. In fact, the main enemy of living comfort in a home with a radiant cooling system is humidity, which must be controlled and eliminated using the right technologies.
The components required for this system to function are:
Radiant panels, installed on the floor or ceiling;
Polymeric collectors;
Temperature regulation system;
Air dehumidification system, designed to eliminate humidity and prevent condensation.
Among the system components, the dehumidification system must be given particular attention. As previously mentioned, this system is installed at the same time as the underfloor heating system and allows the humidity level to be maintained between 40% and 46% and at a temperature of 26-27 degrees depending on the desired comfort, keeping the temperature of the water flowing through the pipes around 15 degrees.
Pros and cons of radial cooling systems
There are numerous advantages to installing this type of cooling system. Let’s look at some of its pros and cons.
PROS:
A single system for summer and winter air conditioning;
Low energy costs;
High living comfort thanks to the even and uniform distribution of cool air throughout the home, avoiding temperature fluctuations.
Invisible and silent system, as there are no traditional split units.
Absence of machinery that can create clutter in the rooms.
CONS:
Because these systems have high inertia, they function properly and have the lowest impact on energy costs when there is a constant and long-lasting need for cooling or heating. They are recommended when you want to cool a space or room quickly.
Not suitable for all types of flooring. It’s important to remember that the more insulating the flooring, the less thermal energy is transmitted into the room. Even more care must be taken when installing parquet. It’s important that the installer or manufacturer ensure the type of finish is compatible with the radiant heating system.
Ceiling cooling system
As an alternative to underfloor cooling, especially in renovations where the floors are not affected, it is possible to opt for a ceiling-mounted cooling system.
The operating principle is the same as underfloor cooling, as are the components. The difference lies in the positioning. In this case, the radiant panels are installed either flush with the ceiling or housed within a false ceiling.
In the first solution, flush with the ceiling, the hydraulic circuit is fixed to the ceiling using support rails that are then plastered, or pre-assembled with plasterboard panels, which are then installed dry. In both cases, the thickness is minimal, 40-50 mm.
Construction and management costs of an underfloor cooling system
Choosing underfloor cooling as your air conditioning system can result in significant savings on electricity consumption. However, if the operating cost of the system is more convenient and lower than that of air conditioning, savings of approximately 25-30% can be achieved.
The same cannot be said for its construction. In fact, installing and commissioning an underfloor cooling system costs approximately 30-40% more than a radiator system, but unlike the latter, the former works in all seasons.
In conclusion, we can say that, although installing a hot-cold underfloor system is more expensive in terms of installation and labor, if the home is well insulated internally and externally, it will result in energy savings and cost-effectiveness over the life of the building.