Should I Control My Radiant Floor With A Slab Sensor

It s possible to retrofit a replacement floor sensor into the grout joint.

Should i control my radiant floor with a slab sensor.

A floor sensor is a fixed setpoint. Some people may want to warm a tile floor. Simple up and down buttons and a display with large type make this thermostat easy to read and use. This sensor is designed to provide a thermostat with the ability to maintain a minimum slab temperature or help to limit the maximum slab temperature.

Bottom line for good hydronic radiant floor heating system temp control performance one needs to use slab outdoor air and indoor air temp feedback. Any cooler surface in contact with the slab will try to steal its heat. A slab sensor measures the floor temperature in the area where the radiant floor is located. Remember that your slab will be about 75 degrees f.

This easy to install thermostat is a direct replacement for the tekmar thermostat 509. The result of using a slab sensor is that although the air temperature may overheat under certain conditions and may underheat under other conditions the floor temperature. Your slab must vary in temperature to change its output depending on how much heat you need. If you have a floor heating system installed under a tile or stone floor and the floor sensor fails your grout joints can help.

It is impossible to control a slab with floor sensor only. The thin casing allows for retrofit installation between tile spaces if necessary. Others may want to simply make a room more comfortable. For concrete floor radiant heating systems the warm water tubing or electric heating elements can either be embedded within the slab on grade anywhere from the bottom of the slab to within 2 inches of the surface depending on the design and installation technique or fastened to the top of a concrete subfloor and then covered with an overlay.

People do it of course but it s a very poor method of control. One also needs to carefully read the installation instructions for the thermostat and properly set all the settings. A slab sensor 079 is included to measure floor temperature to protect the floor from overheating and enhance comfort. This will allow the floor sensor to get an accurate reading without adding to the floor elevation.

A floor control is also used when the primary purpose of the radiant heat is floor warming. This why the tekmar thermostat has these temp feedbacks. Mainly heated slabs radiate outward rather than downward so insulation on the edges of the slab is most important. The slab sensor 079 is commonly used for floor temperature sensing in floor heating applications.

The thermostat operates the radiant floor to maintain the floor temperature.