A thermostat for in-floor electric heating includes ground fault protection.
In-floor heating systems in North America are principally radiant electric systems with an electric resistance wire embedded in concrete. These systems are very robust since they are protected against damage by the concrete but, when faults occur, it is important to localize the damage to avoid having to remove the whole floor. Repair technicians now use infrared imaging systems to find the approximate location of the damaged wire. They can then remove a small area of concrete and repair the damage with a shrink tubing sleeve.
Instructions
1. Gather together all documentation on the electric in-floor heating system. Find out where the main power and the heating wires are connected to the thermostat. Find the resistance specified for the floor heating wire and, if possible, the resistance that was measured during installation. Find the insulation resistance that was measured for the system. Check the power supply to the thermostat with the multimeter and make sure it is being supplied with the required voltage.
2. Switch the system on and take thermal images of the floor with the camera. Check to see if there is any heating. If there is, check the images to see if they show some warm coils with the rest remaining cold or if they show normal heating with one or more hot spots. Remove the concrete from the point where the the warm coils stopped heating or where there were hot spots. Expose the heating wire and repair any breaks or insulation damage with splices and shrink tubing from the repair kit.
3. Switch off the power. Disconnect the power leads and the heating wire leads from the thermostat. Check the heating wire resistance and the insulation resistance at the heating wire leads and compare the values to the specified values and the actual values measured during installation. If the resistance values are correct, connect the power leads directly to the heating wire leads and switch on the power. Take thermal images of the floor. If the images look normal, replace the thermostat.
4. If the resistance readings show a discontinuity, apply a high voltage to the heating wire for about five seconds to create an electric arc across any possible break in the wire. Take a thermal image of the floor. Repeat until the arc has heated up the floor sufficiently to show up on the image. Remove the concrete at that point and repair the wire with a splice from the repair kit.
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