Panel Heating

a type of heating in which heat is transferred to a room from the hot, flat surfaces of heating panels placed in walls, in partitions, and sometimes in the floor. Heating panels are usually made of concrete and contain built-in heating elements consisting of steel pipes, through which a heat-carrying agent, such as hot water or, more rarely, steam, is circulated. Electrically heated panels are also used. Such panels contain wires of high resistivity or are faced with a current-conducting wallpaper or with rubber. The most efficient placement of heating panels is in the outer walls, especially under windows, where the effect of descending cold-air currents is neutralized and the temperature within the enclosing structure is raised. Heat loss from the panels is reduced by using an intermediate layer of heat-insulating material, such as foam glass or foam concrete.

Panel heating is especially suitable for buildings constructed from prefabricated wall panels. To keep labor costs down, the heating elements, together with the insulating layer, are embedded in each exterior panel during fabrication.

Compared to other heating systems, for example, those that use radiators, panel heating is cleaner, detracts less from the appearance of the room, uses less metal, and reduces installation costs.

The first heating systems with heaters made of pipes embedded in concrete were built in Saratov in 1905 by the Russian engineer V. A. Iakhimovich. Ten years later there were already more than 100 such systems in Russian cities. However, there were no further developments in panel heating until the 1950’s (I. F. Livchak and M. I. Kissin). Panel heating is used in modern construction for public buildings and factories with high sanitary and aesthetic standards.