Installation Manual for your ENVIRON II Floor Heating System
INTRODUCTION: Thank you for purchasing the Environ II Electric Radiant Floor Heating Panel. This manual contains IMPORTANT information regarding the safe use and installation of your Environ II panel, so please read through the entire manual carefully before you install or use your panel. BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER - SOME REALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION: • Environ II panels are designed for installation directly under carpet and wood laminate, on top of the underlayment pad.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: SECTION 1: GENERAL SECTION 3: INSTALLATIONS UNDER WOOD LAMINATE Understanding Your System Controlling Your System Professional Electrical Installation The Safety of GFCI Nothing On Top No Other Heaters Underneath Never In Direct Contact With Cement Special Locations Storage & Installation Temperatures How Thick Is The Panel? Testing Trouble Shooting Before You Start Compatible Laminates and Underlayments Installing The Panels Installing The Thermostat Important Points For The Wood Lami
SECTION 1: GENERAL UNDERSTANDING YOUR SYSTEM: Environ II panels are made of a pattern of a fixed-resistance heating element, “sandwiched” between two layers of aluminium foil laminate. This heating element is connected to a power supply cable, which exits the panel from one corner. The power lead is a three-core flexible cord, which consists of three conductors (hot, neutral and ground) which are individually insulated and held together within a gray or white, outer “sheath” to form a single cable.
CONTROLLING YOUR SYSTEM: WarmlyYours recommends that the SmartStat programmable thermostat control the Environ II heaters. The SmartStat come with a floor sensor that allows you to set your heater to the exact temperature you desire.
Electrical Conduit Local electrical codes often require the power leads be installed inside a metal or plastic conduit when running behind the wall from the foil mat to the control device. When using an in-floor sensor, if local code requires the low voltage wires be housed in conduit, it must be a separate conduit from the conduits used to house the power leads (high voltage).
TESTING Checking for breaks Each and every Environ II panel is subjected to careful testing before it is shipped from the factory, and is packed in a stout cardboard tube to protect it in transit. However, damage does sometimes occur in storage or transit, and sometimes during installation.
SECTION 2: INSTALLATION UNDER CARPET Subfloor Preparation BEFORE YOU START NEVER CUT OR TRIM Environ II panels to fit into a space that is too small. Prepare your subfloor as you normally would for a “normal” carpet installation. Ensure the subfloor is structurally sound and secure with no movement – screw or nail down any loose areas before fitting the underlayment. The subfloor should be clean and dry.
WARNING: RISK OF CARPET DISCOLORATION The major factors affecting discoloration of a carpet are: • • • • the nature of the fibers, the type of coloring process and it’s application to fibers, yarns, or fabric, the color range from pastels to dark colors, the temperature level if the heat is trapped under a high level of insulation such as a futon mattress, bean seat or a dog bed, • the length of time the carpet is exposed to higher temperature.
Connect the sensor wire to the designated screws on the terminal block on the front of the thermostat power base. The wire must pass outside the electrical box and follow the wall down to the floor. This is a low voltage wire and in most geographical areas it does not need to be housed in a conduit. If you choose to place it in a conduit, use a separate conduit than the conduit used for the 110-volt or 220-volt wires that power the heating element.
RESTRICTIONS ON FURNITURE PLACEMENT AND PRECAUTIONS IN USE: Always remember that you have a thin electrical appliance installed directly below your carpet! To prevent any damage to the Environ II panel, the carpet cushion, the carpet itself and anything above the carpet (including yourself!), always strictly enforce the following restrictions and precautions: · · · · NEVER pierce the carpet with sharp items such as knives, pins, tacks, staples, needles and the like; · Never use chairs on castors directl
SECTION 3: INSTALLATION UNDER WOOD LAMINATE: BEFORE YOU START Environ II panels must be fitted directly on top of the underlayment, and directly under the wood laminate flooring. (The “underlayment” is also known as the “pad”, or the “foam”.) To avoid damage to your panels during installation, care must be taken so that tools with sharp edges or points are not dropped or used carelessly on top of the panels.
INSTALLING THE PANELS Once the underlayment has been fitted in the normal manner, remove your Environ II panel from the packaging tube, unroll it completely and place it in the required position on top of the underlayment.
Ensure the positioning of your Environ II panel (and the way you have routed the cables on the floor from the panel to the control point) allows sufficient cable length to reach the connection point for the electrician to make the connections. Do not install nails, screws or staples in direct contact with the ENVIRON II heating panels and power supply cable. A staple left protruding can destroy the ENVIRON II heater cable. Do not cut wood laminate planks on top of the Environ II panels.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM YOUR SYSTEM: The actual temperature rise you experience on your wood laminate surface is affected by many variables over which we have no control, including: • Size, shape and aspect of the room (south-facing rooms tend to be naturally warmer than north-facing, etc) • Type of subfloor (concrete floors below ground level in the basement absorb more heat than a suspended wooden floor in the attic) • Type and thickness of underlayment: some underlayments have a higher “R-value” than others,
LIMITED WARRANTY continued 7. The heater should be used strictly in accordance with the following: a) Hard wire the unit into a 110 Volt ~ properly sized circuit. If a single thermostat controls several mats, please make sure the thermostat’s amperage and the circuit’s amperage are appropriate for the total electrical load of the mats. b) Should you feel no warmth on the carpet or laminate floor within 30 minutes, verify that there is power coming to the control or thermostat. Contact WarmlyYours.
