Danfoss Sports Field Heating Application guide

Document category | Product name

Electrical Heating

Sports Field Heating

Application manual

Let Danfoss do the work

Index

Danfoss Group is Denmark's largest industrial group. It is one of the world's
leading companies within heating, cooling and air-conditioning. The Danfoss
Group has more than 23000 employees and serves customers in more than 100
countries.

Danfoss is Europe’s leading brand of electrical cable heating systems and electric
pipe heating systems with over 70 years of experience. The production of
heating cables takes place in France and Poland while the head office is situated
in Denmark.

Artificial and natural grass lawns

This design guide presents Danfoss’s recommendations for design and
installation of ice and snow melting systems for sport field heating application.
It provides guidance for heating cable positioning, electrical data and system
configurations.

Following Danfoss’s recommendations will ensure energy efficient, reliable and
maintenance free solution for constant wattage heating cables with 20 year
warranty.

1. Sports field heating 4

2. System Description 5

3. System Design 8

5. Installation 11

6. Cases References 15

7. Cases 16

Our quality management
system
and compliances

ISO 9001 TS 16949

ISO 14001

Along with full compliance with EU

directives and product approvals

1. Sports field heating

For professional and international
stadiums a very high standard
of playing surface is required.
Under these circumstances it is
important to eliminate risks of poor
playing conditions or cancellation,
particularly associated with poor
weather conditions, e.g. heavy
rainfalls or ice and snow.

According to the FIFA’s Technical
recommendations and requirements,
5th edition (paragraph 4.2):
“(..) In cold climates, the playing
field should be equipped with an
underground heating system to
prevent it from freezing in extreme
winter conditions. (..)”

In some leagues, the undersoil
heating is already a standard, e.g. in
the first and second Bundesliga (DFB)
in Germany.

Benefits

• Keeps the pitch frost free – prolonging pitch

usage during the autumn season

• Defreeze the pitch after a winter break –

increasing pitch quality and making it playable earlier

• Reducing financial risks – caused by postponing

games due to poor weather conditions

• Increasing safety – helps to reduce injuries

• Increasing usage – helps to recover natural grass

after heavy usage faster

• International standards – Danfoss heating

system is bringing football pitch in line with FIFA’s
Technical recommendations and requirements

• Affordable solution - initial investment of 50%

below cost of hydronic systems

• Quick Installation time of 4 weeks (or less), to

make pitch playable again – all games meet the
schedule and no need to close a stadium for long
renovation

• Maintenance free – no need to change anything

during the warranty period, vs. Glycol in hydronic
systems which has to be replaced after 2 years (app.
8000 liters; depending on the field size)

• Reliable system – 20 years of warranty on Danfoss

heating cables for natural grass pitches and 5 years
on heating mats for artificial turf pitches

• Experienced supplier – Danfoss has been involved

in football field heating since 1995. Danfoss electric
heating solutions installed in football fields, golf
courses, cricket fields both under Natural and
Artificial grass fields. Within the past 20 years our
systems have been installed in over 40 playing fields.

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Electrical Heating · Sports Field Heating Application manual · VGHWF102 · ©Danfoss

2. System Description

Pitch heating is keeping the ground
temperature at appropriate level and
helps to maintain good quality of pitch
during the whole season.

Danfoss offers a wide variety of
heating cables/mats and thermostats
for installation in football fields, golf
courses, cricket fields, and other play
grounds where any kind of sport
activities takes place. Products can
be used for both natural and artificial
grass.

Installation of Danfoss heating cables
in natural turf ensures grass growth
and helps to prolong pitch usage by
several months.

For artificial fields the system ensures
frost removing and allows field usage
almost year around.

For bigger stadiums the appropriate
power needed to operate cables
can be easily achieved. Normally the
night light systems are operated only
when the field is in use. It is simple
to modify the wiring to provide the
desired power for heating cables at the
moment when the night light system
is switched off.

m

0,1

Surface

0

Tur f

-0,1

Sand bed

-0,2

Cables

-0,3

-0,4

-0,5

0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7 0,8 0,9

Steady state at -5 ºC ambient air temperature:

• +3 °C is evenly distributed in turf

• 89% of heat is going up

• Cable temperature is approx. 20 °C

Soil

18 ˚C

Max. 19 ˚C

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

Min. 1 ˚C

m

Benefits

• For new construction and renovation of pitches

• Approx. 2 weeks from installation start to make the
pitch playable again

• Keeps the pitch frost free during winter

• Defreezes the pitch aftera winter break

• Stimulates grass growth in cold weather conditions

Electrical Heating· Sports Field Heating Application manual · VGHWF102 · ©Danfoss

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