Comfortable heating and freedom from drafts and humidity are strong arguments in favor of the new house. Heating floor, air-to-air heat pump ou Air/Water heat pump, ductable ou heated ceilings, these different solutions seem to be essential today to heat your future home. Reliable and promoting energy savings, these solutions meet the constraints of the RE2020 and guarantee comfort all year round.
What are the criteria for comfortable heating?
A uniform temperature, St.s cold walls
Whatever temperature of your accommodation, the effect cold wall significantly lowers comfort. There felt temperature by the occupants is indeed much lower when the house is poorly insulated, as may be the case in older houses. An inconvenience that is not encountered in a new construction. » The feeling of comfort comes from the type of heating employee but it is also linked to the envelope quality of the building and thermal performance housing,” explains Mathieu Saubié, general director of builder Maisons SIC. The houses built today under the aegis of the RE2020, or environmental regulations 2020, are very well insulated houses that eliminate the feeling of a cold wall. The difference in temperature between the walls and the ambient air is thus no longer significant, which avoids on the one hand the phenomenon of condensation but also the sensations of cold. No need to overheat the accommodation to feel good at home! At the key, energy savings and healthier housing.
New house: controlled humidity and drafts
The perception of comfort and heat not only depends on the air temperature. To feel good at home, it is also necessary to reduce air movement and humidity. These parameters depend on the design of the house. Again, a well-designed envelope eliminates unwanted air infiltration into the house. A mechanical ventilation controlled or CMV, which equips the new houses renews the air, preventing it from being saturated with humidity, without creating drafts.
The comfort of radiant heating
thermal conduction, thermal radiation et convection are the three modes of heat transmission. Radiators, floors or heated ceilings, the different heat emitters warm the inhabitants using these three principles, but not always in the same proportions.
thermal conduction
It is the direct heat transfer that takes place when a hot element heats up another colder element in contact with it. This is, for example, the origin of the sensation of walking comfort offered by a heating floor. Warm to the touch, it indeed warms the feet of the inhabitants.
Convection to heat the air
As the hot air rises and the cold air descends, the heat gradually diffuses around the emitter, creating an air current. This operation can also cause discomfort by contributing to the creation of temperature strata in the room. A bad heat uniformity increasing the feeling of cold.
Convenient radiation heating
Le influence it is mainly linked to the infrared emitted by a heat emitter. The most telling example is the sun whose rays pass through the air and are absorbed by bodies, objects and walls which convert them into heat. This is the most comfortable mode of heat transmission.
What comfortable heating solutions for new homes?
The arrival of the RE2020 has reshuffled the heat production cards in new homes. Today, no more gas heating which hitherto fitted the majority of new constructions. Now it's the pompe à chaleur which dominates the market. The principle of this device which works with electricity, is to recover the calories present in the outside air to transmit them inside the housing.
The Air/Air or Split heat pump
The entry-level solution is the air to air heat pump ou Pac Air/Air. The outdoor unit transmits its calories to one or more indoor units, or Splits, which blows warm air into the housing. Economical to use, this appliance quickly heats up a room. Reversible, it also serves as air-conditioner in summer to provide constant heat in the house whatever the season. At the single-family home builder Maisons Sic, this solution can be coupled on the part of the chambers by a electric underfloor heating for more sleeping comfort. This principle comes in a totally invisible solution, the ductable. The interior appliances are then replaced by discrete ventilation vents on the ceiling which diffuse the heat in the accommodation. A centralization that does not prevent regulate the heating room by room for à la carte comfort.
To find out more about duct heating, read our article. 12 advantages of duct heating in a new house in the South-West.
Advantages and disadvantages of underfloor heating
Le hydraulic heated floor is a high-end solution which now equips many new homes. In house RE2020, the heat production is generally carried out by a Air/water heat pump this time. This means that the calories recovered from the outside air are transmitted to the circuit central heating. Low temperature, heated floors are very comfortable on a daily basis by offering a homogeneous temperature in the home, while saving energy. This solution is also very elegant since it is totally invisible. Maisons Sic note, however, a somewhat long response time. The very strong inertia of the system, which is also one of its strong points, does not offer this heating solution the ability to react quickly. In the event of a sudden temperature drop, the reaction time is thus relatively long (between 3 and 5 hours). Function refreshment also may disappoint followers of the air conditioning. In fact, this function only makes it possible to gain a few degrees in the home, but without achieving the comfort of an air conditioner.
To learn more about hydraulic underfloor heating, read our article Heated floor in a new house, 12 advantages and 2 disadvantages
The ideal refreshing heating ceiling in the South West
The most high-end solution at Maisons Sic, it's the refreshing heated ceiling which perfectly meets the challenges of RE2020. It is the same principle as a heating floor, but the hydraulic tube network in which the water heated by the Air/Water heat pump is attached to the ceiling. The big advantage is the very fast reaction time. No longer drowned in a concrete screed this solution offers more proactivity one heated floort. In just 30 minutes the house reaches the desired temperature. " In the South West you can have 4/5 degrees in the morning and 23 degrees in the afternoon. We need a very reactive heating and it is the comfort that we come to offer at Maisons Sic with this heated ceiling", explains Mathieu Saubié.
Beyond that, the warmth perceived by the inhabitants is also very significant. Indeed, the influence is more important than for a heating floor or for a air to air heat pump. " The feeling of heat is present on all the objects of the house. The floor, the furniture, the sofa. A little as if a permanent sun was present in the house ", analyzes the commercial director of Maisons SIC.
Finally, the lack ofinertia also allows freshen up the house more efficiently and quickly than with underfloor heating. "The increase in temperatures predicted in the Southwest in the next few years requires solutions adapted. The four seasons require responsiveness both in terms of heating and summer comfort,” analyzes Mathieu Saubié.
Regulation/programming: switch to automatic comfort
Finally, comfort also depends on the programming and regulation. It is about defining set temperatures in each room, adapted to his way of life. There programming aims to define life scenarios to have the optimal comfort at the right time. Thanks to these simple solutions which equip all new houses today, the principle is really to heat better, without thinking about it.
To find out more, read our article 12 tips for an energy-efficient home
