 Warmboard®
Remarkable
new heating.
Warmboard® is an exciting, efficient new technology based on an
ancient method of heating. It's an advanced approach that's cleaner, more
energy-wise, more dependable and often more affordable.
Warmboard solves two major
challenges in home design: what heating technology to use and where to design
the space for a heating system. The solution is surprising, but smart: in the
floor. By serving as both an excellent, quiet sub-floor and a heating system
without equal, Warmboard lets an owner achieve two ends in a single solution,
and a lot more.
How Warmboard works.
Warmboard is a 3-in-1 system:
- A unique, premium,
tongue-and-groove engineered Comply panel in standard 4' x 8' sheet size,
1-3/32" thick, that forms the base of a home's floor.
- An efficient method that
converts these subfloor panels into a heat-distribution system.
- A time-proven, reliable
heat-distribution technology that radiates heat through the home.
Radiant heat is one of the
oldest, best ways to get warm and stay comfortable. Even the Romans relied on it
over 2000 years ago. Today, Warmboard takes the science of radiant heat to a new
level. Heat from tubes of circulated water is conducted through the tubing into
the panel and across an aluminum top layer, then radiated into living spaces.
The radiant heat energy travels through the air, but instead of heating the air
(inefficient), the energy is stopped by solid objects and warms them. The warmth
from the floor's surface and the solid objects combines to create a comfortable
heat balance that matches a body's external temperature (85°), keeping
occupants warm (efficient). The air feels cleaner, fresher and more comfortable.
Technical Details and
Specifications.
Design and Construction Information on Warmboard
 Dual
purpose—structure and heating.
As a structural building element,
Warmboard is an APA-rated subfloor panel composed of rotary-cut veneers and
other wood products. Three layers of veneer sandwich two layers of composite
fiber, which is dense-pressed into one unified board. It can be sawn, screwed,
nailed, glued and otherwise used in conventional platform framed construction,
much like plywood or oriented-strand board. It offers all the structural
requirements of a subfloor diaphragm in conventional construction. As a
component of a radiant floor heating system, it has a top surface with a modular
groove pattern that is 12'' on-center. A sheet of 0.025'' 1100-0 alloy aluminum
that matches the groove pattern is permanently bonded to the surface. Fastened
to joists, these panels provide continuous serpentine grooves typically required
of radiant heat flooring systems.
Chief construction advantages.
Warmboard is compatible with
conventional framing, unlike most other radiant-heat floor systems, which are
added to an already-framed floor and interfere with conventional construction.
Weighing a fraction of most radiant systems, Warmboard's low mass means fast
response time, ease of control and high energy efficiency. Of all materials
available to distribute heat across a surface, Warmboard's aluminum surface is
clearly superior. Its high conductivity promotes rapid and efficient heat flow,
and its high emissivity efficiently radiates this heat to all air spaces above
the floor. In sum, Warmboard yields higher BTU/sq.ft. output with lower
water-supply temperatures. Owners also gain greater freedom in choosing carpet
or other high-R-value finish floor goods.
Two panel types.
Warmboard panels are provided in
two versions: those with straight grooves and those that turn the grooves by 90°
or 180°. The turn panels have three variations: left-hand turn, right-hand
turn, and double-end turn. Unzoned designs call chiefly for straight panels.
Turn panels are used at outside walls only. By using turn panels along the
boundary of zones in the middle of a floor diaphragm, most zoning strategies can
be accommodated. For non-standard building geometries, short lengths of custom
grooves can be added using a 5/8'' core box router bit. Contact your Warmboard
distributor for a router jig to achieve this custom grooving.
Uses PEX tubing.
Warmboard is designed to be used
with ASTM standardized 1/2'' cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) tubing. The tubing
is pressed into an elastomeric bonding compound placed into the groove to ensure
efficient heat transfer and prevent tube movement within the groove due to
expansion and contraction. The special Warmboard installation tool is
recommended to achieve proper tubing depth alignment.
Physical Properties and
Thermodynamics.
Warmboard has a structural weight
of 3.2 lbs./sq.ft. and an APA-rated span of 24'' on center. At 12'' tube
spacing, thermal flow characteristics are approximately 8.13 times as great as
gypsum concretes. These ratings allow Warmboard to meet or exceed all APA
requirements for Sturdi-Floor and all RPA guidelines for radiant floor systems.
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