REGULUS®-system is a precursor of many unique solutions in the production of radiators for central heating.
We attempted a wide launch of our own trench heating system already in 2000, but the market was not ready for widespread use of this type of product.
Construction back then was cold, compared to current standards, programmable electronic control of the heating system was in its beginnings, dominated by traditional distribution of heat, via risers or elaborate ducts running directly from the boiler. Manifolds were still little known, the dominating heat source was gas-fired boilers without modulation and solid fuel boilers, panel and finned radiators could be found on most walls.
The trench heaters from western brands available on the market back then were not priced for a wider range of investors. The group of installers who have been in contact with this product and could configure it properly in the system and install in the floor was narrow. Also, it was rare to find trench heating in the systems designed. It was an uncharted territory.
In the second half of the last decade there has been a rapid increase in the interest in floor heating and in trench heaters along with it. One can say that heaters moved from the wall to the floor, although such solution makes sense only in well-insulated homes or homes built using warm technology.
The driving force behind the search for new solutions in heating was not only the trends but also rising energy costs. Initially, trench heaters were included in the heating system as an additional heating element. In such cases, their heating power was not critical, what was important was the type of platform blending into the interior, and the length and depth of the duct set possible to be used. Trench heaters were included into the heating system as a fast-acting component, dynamically supporting the underfloor heating dominant in the whole house.
Currently, trench heating is used as independent heating, capable of covering the heating needs of the building with an allowance. It is also particularly keenly used in spaces used periodically and in buildings equipped with large glass windows.
The appearance of trench heating in the designs resulted in the need for rapid development of the offer, creating sets significantly different in heat output with relatively small dimensions and having significantly more impact on changing the dynamics of the heating process. Trench heaters provided with fans supporting heating have been introduced. The variable capacity of the fan, apart from the high efficiency of the heat exchanger, is the main factor differentiating the heating power of the duct heater. The use of a stronger, more efficient fan can significantly increase the power of the duct set installed without increasing its size, by up to several tens of percent. Such a solution should not be feared, because the fan operation is very quiet, and there are also low voltage options – 12 V.
The growing interest in this type of solution is connected with the development of low-temperature heat sources such as condensing boilers or heat pumps.
Passive or nearly passive construction is on the grow, and heating needs of buildings are constantly lowered. Emerging heat yields such as sunlight, as well as operating equipment providing so-called internal gains, have a significant share in the heat balance of the interior spaces, and the large heat accumulation of well-insulated buildings causes that the user should and is able to very precisely control the amount of energy produced and consumed for heating purposes. Temporary, as long as possible, total shutdown of the heating process, e.g. during the absence from home, is possible thanks to the use of a heat emitter working dynamically, i.e. a fan-assisted trench heater.
Despite the trend for underfloor heating, which is characterised by a giant thermal inertia,
both REGULUS-system wall-mounted radiators and trench heaters still are and will be a highly desirable product, used more and more often, precisely because of their controllability and precision in dosing thermal energy. Construction of houses with low thermal needs is on the grow, user demands for thermal comfort are increasing, and in our climate, with the predominance of the transitional spring-summer period, using only floor heating can result in an uncomfortable and unhealthy overheating of the house.
The next step in the development of heating technology will certainly be the increasing use of wall-mounted or trench fan coil exchangers not only with the heating function but also used for cooling.
In our climate zone, a constant dilemma will be how to cheaply produce heat, how to optimally store it, how to distribute it precisely to the rooms, without unnecessary losses, reaching optimally high thermal comfort.
The time of smart homes is coming.