ENSTO EFHTK4 Floor Heating Cable Instruction Manual

: June 4, 2024
: ENSTO

Table of Contents

ENSTO EFHTK4 Floor Heating Cable
Installation in aggregate based levelling compound
Installation instructions
Disposal
Installation
Installation Protocol
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ENSTO EFHTK4 Floor Heating Cable

ENSTO-EFHTK4-Floor-Heating-Cable

Installation in aggregate based levelling compound

ENSTO-EFHTK4-Floor-
Heating-Cable-2 ENSTO-EFHTK4-Floor-Heating-
Cable-3

Installation instructions

Ensto ThinKit heating cable is intended for installation on a non-flammable surface immediately under clink-er, parquet or plastic matting. The heating cable is not suitable for mounting on a wall. The installation must always be covered with a leveling compound. NOTE! Power below 80W/m² is only for low energy houses.

Safety Instructions

Electrically skilled person

The installation must only be done by an electrician with the appropriate qualifications.
Read this installation manual carefully before starting the installation work.
Follow the instructions in this installation manual, and make sure that the installation complies with national safety regulations, installation methods and restrictions.
The information provided in this installation manual in no way exempts the installer or user from responsibility to follow all applicable safety regulations.
This installation manual is a part of the product and must be stored in a safe location so that it is available for future installation and service.

WARNING Danger of electric shock! Risk of fire!

Improper installation can cause personal injury and property damage.
Do not operate a defect heating cable.
Do not switch on the power supply before the installation work is completed.

Delivery contents

Heating cable
Flexible plastic tube
Tape
Installation instructions

Storage

Store the heating cable and the associated components in a dry environment.
Keep the heating cable in the sales package until you start the installation work.

Planning

Plans and working drawings must be made of the installation of the heating cables. Both must be made by a suitably qualified electrical contractor or electrical designer in accordance with the manu-facturer’s instructions and in compliance with industry rules and regulations.
The working drawings must show the following:
- the cable type, rating and length
- the laying distance and the area in which the heating cable is installed
The installation must comply with the working drawings as precisely as possible.
Indicate possible changes on the final drawings.

General Installation Instructions

Heating cables must not be shortened and there must not be any tension on the connectors at the cable ends.
Heating cables must not be installed under fixed structures like closets.
It is not allowed to nail or drill a floor in which a heating cable has been installed.
It is not allowed to step on the heating cable.
The heating cable or the connectors at the cable ends must not be subjected to any mechanical stress.
The heating cable must be completely covered with a leveling compound.
The maximum output of the ThinKit installation is 150 W/m². The cable installation spacing must be at least 50 mm. The minimum radius for bending the heating cable is 25 mm.
The heating cable must not be installed in a class 0 space.
In wet areas the waterproofing must be made according to local building regulations.
The heating cable must be installed in a medium of equal thermal conductivity over the whole installa-tion area. The heating cable must not touch or overlay itself or the cold cable at any point.
The joint to cold lead and cable termination have to be in the same medium as the heating cable. They must not be bent and they must be fixed sufficiently close to the base. The cold lead must be protected with a conduit.
The heating cable must not be passed through the thermal insulation, exception the cold lead.
The heating cable must not cross a construction joint or be laid in an area where there is a danger of the slab cracking or overheating.
The heating cable must not be installed in areas where there is a danger of overheating. The distance to a sauna stove, heat storing fire place or other radiant must exceed 0,5m.
The floor materials and structures must comply with the manufacturer’s instructions and approved building methods.
The suitability of the floor material for underfloor heating must be ensured with the manufacturer.
In a floor in which a ThinKit heating cable has been installed the heating resistance must not exceed 0,125 m²K/W.
The thickness of the flooring material covering the cable must be greater than > 3 mm.
The lowest installation temperature is -5 °C.
The floor to be heated must not be covered with a thick or otherwise well insulating carpet.
The thermostat sensor is installed in a protective tube. The sensor must be positioned between the heating cables so that it does not touch the cable. The end of the sensor tube must be made water-tight.
Protect the heating cable from damage in the event of possible repair work on the installation site.

General Electrical Installation Instructions

A fault current switch with a nominal operating current of max. 30 mA must be used in installations.
A suitable thermostat must be used to control the heating.
The floor heating installation must be provided with an all-pole, overvoltage class III separating device. For example, Ensto’s floor heating thermostat switches meet this requirement. The separating device may be collective or common for all heating groups. An operating switch located in the control circuit can also serve as a separating device.
In premises where there is an explosion hazard, other consumer appliances must not be connected to the same branch circuit.
The condition of the heating cable must be inspected before and after casting by measuring the cable resistance (Rj) as well as the insulation resistance (Re) between the supply wires and the earth wire, see figure 6 on page 4.
The heating cables must not be switched on before the concrete screed has dried out. Follow the con-crete screed manufacturer’s instructions.

Installation Protocol and Warranty

Complete the Installation Protocol properly and carefully. Store the Installation Protocol in a safe loca-tion so that it is available after installation.
Proper heating cable loop resistance (Rj) and insulation resistance (Re) measurements as well as ac-cordingly completed Installation Protocol is required for validating Ensto Building Systems Finland Oy’s warranty.
In the installation of the Ensto heating cables into wet areas it is required that the water insulation that is used can be partly corrected / defragmented in the event of a possible defect. Report the damage to Ensto Building Systems Finland Oy or an installer authorized by Ensto before you take any actions to repair the installation.
The warranty period for ThinKit heating cables are 20 years from the date of purchase but no longer than 21 years from the date of manufacture. The manufacture date is located on the rating label. War-ranty terms, see the product card www.ensto.com.

Disposal

Do not dispose of electrical and electronic devices including their accessories with the house-hold waste.

The product’s cardboard packing is suitable for recycling.
When underfloor heating system is at the end of the life cycle dispose of the cables, conduits and electronic components properly according to local recycling guidelines.

Installation

Install the ThinKit heating cable according to the figures on pages 2 – 5:

Plan and draw the size and location of the heating cable. Carefully mark the positions of the connec-tion point at the “cold” end, the opposite end, and the sensors. Keep this drawing with your other electrical drawings.
Drill an approx. 10 mm deep groove for the thermostat sensor tube. Alternatively, you can use a flex-ible plastic tubing, which you extend with stiff plastic tubing to the junction box. The flexible plastic tube requires an approx. 10 mm deep groove. Do not install the top surface of the plastic tube higher than the top surface of the cable. Bend the tube so gently that it is possible to replace the sensor, if necessary (see also figure 4).
Make sure that the sensor protective tube is sealed in a watertight manner using a suitable material
e. g. electrical tape.
Make sure that the floor is level and clean it carefully from stones and other sharp objects which can damage the heating cable. Spread primer on the floor. Install the heating cable on the primer. Push the cold end of the cable into the flexible plastic tube. Extend this installation tubing to the junction box. Make sure that the connector cable do not cross the heating cable or touch it. Make sure that the thermostat sensor is in the centre of a loop, and that the sensor cable neither crosses nor touches the heating cable.
Attach the heating cable on the floor so that the heating cable will not move during casting. You can use the tape included in the package for fastening the heating cable.
Measure the heating cable’s loop resistance (Rj) and insulation resistance (Re) before casting. Repeat these measurements after casting. Enter the measurement results and other information in the meas-urement table in this instruction.
Cover the heating cable with floor leveling compound for heated floors. Make sure that the cable and the “cold” end are completely covered. Avoid air gaps between the heating cable and the leveling com-pound. You can cover the dry leveling compound with parquet (max. thickness 16 mm), cork or plastic matting (max. thickness 10 mm), or floor clinker.
Put the heating cable in place and make waterproofing in wet areas (e.g. bathrooms) in accordance with figure 8. If you install the heating cable in a room where no waterproofing is needed, ignore stag-es 6, 7 and 8. On the market there is available material in which the liquid elastic membrane for water insulation 7 and reinforcement fabric 8 are combined. In this case, one layer is sufficient. The method shown in figure 8 for achieving water insulation is based on the requirements of “Finnish Building Construction Authorities“. Follow national standards when doing water insulation.
- 1 = Concrete slab
- 2 = Primer
- 3 = Levelling compound
- 4 = ThinKit heating cable
- 5 = Floor levelling-compound for heated floors
- 6 = Primer
- 7 = Liquid elastic membrane for waterproofing (if necessary)
- 8 = Reinforcement fabric
- 9 = Powder-based tile adhesive
- 10 = Ceramic tiles
Wiring diagram for ThinKit heating cable and thermostat. Connect to the system a thermostat, which is equipped with a floor sensor and is suitable for controlling floor heating. Connect to the supply circuit a fault current switch with a nominal operating current of max. 30 mA.