Maintaining your underfloor heating – how to look after it the right way

Your underfloor heating will keep you and your home toasty warm during the winter months. Underfloor heating can be a significant investment, so you should make sure you are maintaining it correctly. Maintaining it correctly, you will ensure that it is operating correctly and can avoid any technical faults and prolonging its lifespan, saving you money in the long run. So, how do you maintain your underfloor heating, so it continues to keep you warm year after year.

Check the Pressure of Your System

Checking the pressure of your system will enable you to determine whether everything is working as it should be. Sure, there can still be issues that don’t affect the pressure but if your pressure has dropped then this could indicate a problem. All in, you should have a pressure of between 1-2 bar.

Check the Water Colour

It is normal to see some discolouration in the water but if your flow meters water is brown or dirty then this could indicate that you have sludge in the system. If this is the case, then you should have your system flushed and an inhibitor should be added.

Excess Air

You will have an air vent located on the top bar of the manifold and this can be used to remove excess air. This is something that can be done on an annual basis, but it can make sense to have an automatic air vent installed as this will ensure that any trapped air is removed without you needing to do a thing.

Check that the Boiler is Being Fired Up by the System Independently

To do this, you should stop all demands on the boiler and then turn on one zone of your underfloor heating one by one by increasing the thermostat. When you do this, it should cause the pump, the actuator valve, and the zone valve to activate.

This step should be repeated to ensure that the right signals are being sent by the thermostat when there is a request for heat. This should be done when the rest of the system is cold, enabling each zone to be tested individually.

Check Thermostat Programming

If you have a digital thermostat as part of your system, then you should make sure that it has been programmed so that it operates efficiently with the right heating pattern. This will ensure that it matches the needs of your home and how it is used.

Turn The Heating on Periodically

It is advised that you run your heating system periodically. This is due to the water being passed through the manifold and a mechanical pump powers it, sometimes, if this is not used for a prolonged period, it can result in the pump seizing up. This commonly occurs through the summer and so, when the winter arrives, you then notice that there is a problem. Therefore, by running your system periodically, you can help to prevent this problem from occurring.