Installation Guide

16 INSTALLATION
Heating Cables
Warning
• Before installing and operating this product, the user and/or installer must read, understand and follow these instructions and keep them handy for future reference.
• If these instructions are not followed, the warranty will be considered null and void and the manufacturer deems no further responsibility for this product.
• The following instructions must be adhered to in order to avoid personal injuries or property damages, serious injuries and potentially fatal electric shocks.
• This product must be installed by a qualified person in accordance with this installation handbook and with the Canadian Electric Code Part I (Canada)
or the National Electric Code (U.S.) as applicable. All electric connections must be made by a qualified electrician, according to the electrical and building
codes effective in your region.
• This cable must be grounded.
• Heating cables shall not be altered in the field. If the installer or the user modifies the unit, he will be held responsible for any damage resulting from this
modification, and the warranty and the product certification will be void.
• Never energize the cable while it is on the spool. This would lead to overheating that could damage the cable and may cause a fire.
• The heating section of the cable must be entirely installed under the floor covering. The installation is characterized as a Type C (Embedded Floor Warming)
application. In order to prevent a fire hazard, do not install it anywhere else (e.g. in a wall).
• Never use the heating cable for any purpose other than heating a floor INSIDE a building.
• Always keep a 3 stud (3-1/2" – 9 cm) spacing between cable runs. A narrower spacing may cause a fire or damage the floor covering. A wider spacing
may not provide sufficient power to warm the floor.
• Never install a cable designed for a 120 V power source on a 240/208 V power source.
• Very important: never CUT the heating cable. This would change the cable resistance and could lead to a fire.
• Avoid folding the heating cable on itself, a radius of curvature less than 0.0625 inch could damage its sheath.
• Do not run the heating cable under a wall, from one room to another; an individual cable must not heat more than one room.
• Never install the heating cable under vanities, bathtub platforms, kitchen cabinets and islands or any other fixtures. Excessive heat will build up in these
confined spaces and may cause a fire.
• Ground fault equipment protection (i.e., GFCI) is required for each circuit (included in the DITRA-HEAT thermostats).
• The minimum temperature at which the cable should be installed is 32˚ F (0˚ C).
• De-energize all power circuits before installation and servicing.
• A dedicated circuit is required for each application.
• Mark the appropriate circuit breaker reference label indicating which branch circuit supplies the circuit to the floor warming heating cable system.
• The minimum installed bending radius of the heating cable is 0.5 inches.
Heating Cable Tests
Test 1: Conductor resistance test
In order to perform the resistance test, you must set your multimeter for resistance measurement and
take an ohms reading between the two power leads. If the ohms reading taken on the two power leads
varies significantly (10% or more) from the value printed on the spool, it either means that the cable has
been damaged, or that the measuring instrument is not set properly, or that it is simply out of calibration.
The ohms measurement must be recorded in your heating cable tests log (page 26).
Test 2: Continuity between the braid and the two conductors
The heating cable is protected by a ground braid. An electrical insulator prevents any contact between
the braid and the two conductors. To make sure there is no contact between the braid and the two
conductors, you must perform a continuity test. Using the continuity test (buzzer logo) function of your
multimeter, test your cable between the braid and one of the two power leads. If there is no continuity
(if the test is successful), the multimeter will display, depending on the instrument used, either “OL ” for
“over load” or “I” for “infinity”. Otherwise, if the test fails, neither “OL ”, nor “I” will be displayed and a
warning tone will be heard. The test result must be recorded in your heating cable tests log (page 26).
Test 3: Insulation resistance test
This test is meant to detect very small breaks throughout the cable insulation. These breaks often remain
undetected during the continuity test since they are not necessarily short circuits between the conductor
and the ground braid. Even though they are small, these breaks are likely to cause a current leakage
to ground. Such a leakage is usually detected by the mandatory ground-fault circuit interrupter “GFCI”
(thermostat with integrated GFCI or panel mount GFCI). When a current leakage is detected, the GFCI
trips the circuit, thus disabling the floor heating system. In order to perform the insulation resistance test,
you must, using a megohmeter (Mohm logo), take an insulation measurement between the braid and
one of the two power leads. Make sure the megohmeter range is set at 1000 V. The insulation resistance
measurement must be equal to or greater than 1 Gigaohms (1 Gigaohms = 1 G ohms = 1000 M ohms
= 1000 Mega ohms). The insulation resistance measurement must be recorded in your heating cable
tests log (page 26).
DITRA-HEAT Thermostat Floor Temperature Sensor Testing
Test the floor temperature sensors using a multimeter to verify accuracy of the sensors. Set the multimeter for resistance at 10K Ω +/- 2 (at room
temperature) and take a reading between the sensor leads. The resistance will vary according to the temperature (i.e., the colder the sensor, the higher the
resistance). Compare the measured values with the table of expected values and record in the heating cable tests log on page 26.