ELEKTRA VCD25, VCD25/400V Installation Manual

www.elektra.eu

ELEKTRA

• VCD25

• VCD25/400 V

Heating
Cables

Instrukcja montażu

PL

Installation manual

UK

Инструкция по монтажу

RU

Applications

ELEKTRA VCD25 heating cables are intended for
prevention of snow and ice deposition on:

• driveways, roads, parking spaces and terraces,

• viaducts, bridges, loading ramps,

• stairs.

The heating cables are laid depending on the
type of surface:

• in the layer of sand or dry concrete – for the

asphalt, agstones or paving cobbles surfaces,

• directly in concrete – for the concrete slabs
or reinforced concrete surfaces.

Heat resistant PVC outer sheath

Tinned copper braiding

PET covered aluminum foil shield

XLPE insulation

Multi-wire
heating core

ELEK TRA VCD heating cable structure

3

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

Characteristics
of the heating cables

• The heating cables are produced

in ready-made units of the following lengths:

ELEKTRA VCD25 from 4.5 up to 142 m,

ELEKTRA VCD25/400 V from 8 up to 250 m,

• The cables are terminated at one end with

a 2.5 m-long power supply conductor,
and a connecting joint at the other,

• Specic heat output: 25 W/m,

• Power supply voltage:

– 230 V, 50/60 Hz for ELEKTRA VCD25,

– 400 V, 50/60 Hz for ELEKTRA VCD25/400 V,

• External dimensions: ≈ 5 x 7 mm,

• Min. installation temperature: -5°C,

• Min. cable bending radius: 3.5 D,

• Heating cables are screened, and their mains

connection via a residual current device con­stitutes effective anti-shock protection.

• “cold” power supply conductor

• double-core ELEKTRA VCD heating cable

• connecting joint between the power supply
conductor and the heating cable

1

2

3

1

2 3

4

Single-side powered
heating cables

Self-adhesive label

Note:

VCD25 heating cables are designed for the rated
voltage 230 V, 50 Hz, and VCD25/400 heating
cables – for the rated voltage 400 V, 50 Hz.

Heating cables’ power output may vary with +5%
and -10% from the label values.

!

The label features the following pictograph:

Note:

Never cut the heating cable.

Never trim the heating cable, only the power

supply conductor may be trimmed if required.

Never squash the “cold tail”.

Do not ever undertake on your own any attempts
to repair the heating cables, and in case any
damage is detected, report the damage to
an ELEKTRA authorized installer.

Never stretch or strain the cable excessively,
nor hit it with sharp tools.

Do not install the heating cables when ambient
temperature drops below -5°C.

Never lead the end joint and the connecting joint
between the heating cable and the power supply
conductor out of the surface. Both joints must be
placed - depending on the type of surface - within
the layer of sand, dry concrete or directly in concrete.

!

5

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

Note:

Heating cables must be installed according
to the Instructions.

Mains connection of the heating cables should
be performed by an authorized electrician.

!

General information

When protecting external areas from snow and

ice deposition, it is required to assess the required
heat output value per m

2

of the surface. Recom­mended heat output depends on the regional cli­mate conditions, i.e. minimum ambient tempera­ture, snowfall intensity and wind strength.

Higher output is required if the heated area is:

• exposed to low temperatures,

• exposed to wind operation from below:

bridges, stairs, loading ramps, overpasses,

• located in regions of intense snowfall.

Applying insulation layer to the surfaces exposed
to wind operation from below can improve the
effectiveness.

Ambient

temperature

Heat output

[W/m

2

]

> -5°C

-5°C ÷ -20°C

-20°C ÷ -30°C
< -30°C

200
300
400
500

6

Depending on the cable spacing, it is possible to
obtain required output per m

2

of the heated area.

Cable spacing cannot drop below 5 cm.

To protect large areas against snow and ice depo­sition, one option is application of 400 V voltage
heating cables, which would evenly load the elec­tric circuit. Application of such cables would also
facilitate installation works, limiting the required
number of heating units.

Heat output 25 W/m

[W/m

2

] [cm]

250
300
350
400
500

10

8

~7

~6

5

Controls

Properly selected control system will ensure ade­quate operation of the system only during snow­and freezing rainfall. A controller with a tem­perature and moisture sensor will automatically
recognize the weather conditions. The system will
be then kept on standby and only switched on
when actually necessary. For this purpose, DIN­bus installed controllers ELEKTRA ETR2 and ETO2
can be applied.

7

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

Snow & ice protection controls

ELEKTRA ETR2G controller – max. load up to 16
A, total output of installed heating cables must

not exceed 3600 W. As standard, equipped

with one temperature and moisture sensor with
installation tube.

ELEKTRA ETOG2 controller – max. load up to 3x16 A.
For applications in extended heating systems.
As standard, equipped with one temperature and
moisture sensor and an installation tube.
Additional temperature and moisture sensor can
be connected to this controller, which will enable
protection of two outdoor areas. Enables control
of two independent zones, e.g. garage driveway
and gutters, with one controller.

8

To maintain xed positioning of the cable and

steady spacing conforming to the calculated values,
the cables need to be attached with the ELEKTRA
TME installation tape (the tape should be posi­tioned with the distances of 40 cm) or installation
mesh of 50 mm x 50 mm grid, made of Ø 2 mm
wire.

The heating cable layout should be commenced
from the side of the power supply conductor,
in such a way to enable easy reach to the switch­board.

If prolonging proved necessary, it is to be made
with a heat shrink joint, ensuring that the con­nection is safely sealed.

TME installation tape

Installation

Stage 1: Heating cable’s

installation

Before commencing the installation of the sys­tem, it is required to assess the necessary heat
output per m

2

, as well as calculate the required

spacing of the heating cable.

In order to calculate the required heating cable’s
spacing, apply the following formula:

a- a=S/L

where:
a-a: distances between cables,
S: surface area, for the surface heated with the heating cable,
L: heating cable’s length

9

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

Cross section of pavement or driveway made from

agstones or paving cobbles

The heating cable layout will depend from the
surface type.

Asphalt, agstones
or paving cobbles surfaces

Stages of works:

• the hard concrete core base that is covered
with a layer of sand or dry concrete of the
min. 30 mm thickness (min. 50 mm for the
asphalt surfaces), and then compacted,

• ELEKTRA TME installation tapes or installation
mesh are laid on the layer of the compacted
sand or dry concrete, the heating cable faste­ned to them,

• the cables are completely covered with a layer
of sand or dry concrete,

• the nishing surface works follow – stage 4.

ELEKTRA VCD
heating cable

Compacted
base

Sand
or sand-cement sub-crust
min. 30 mm

Paving cobbles
or flagstones

Temperature

and moisture sensor

in installation tube

10

Example of ELEKTRA VCD25 heating cables as laid

in the garage driveway made from paving cobbles

11

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

When protecting garage driveways against snow

and ice, it is not necessary to heat the entire
surface, but only the tyre tracks. The temperature
and moisture sensor should be placed within the
heated area, but not directly in the tyre tracks
under the car tyres’ path – in order to avoid snow
accumulation and unnecessary operation of the
heating system.

It is also necessary to heat the oor drain (drain­age) in order to ensure the outow of water origi-

nating from snow melting. For this, use ELEKTRA
Self Tec

®

33 self-regulating cable. Place the cable
at the through bottom, enter the cable’s end into
the drainage down to 0.5 m – 1.0 m deep.

The heating circuit should be connected to the
power source in the electric board of the drive­way, so that it is switched on simultaneously
with the remaining heating circuits.

Driveway

Garage

Heating
cable

Linear drainage heating

12

Concrete surfaces

Concrete surfaces require expansion joints.
Unreinforced concrete slabs should be divided
into expanded areas of the surface no larger
than 9 m

2

, reinforced concrete agstones into

areas no larger than 35 m

2

. The length of the
heating cables should be selected so that they
do not cross the expansion joints. Only the
power supply conduits (“Cold Tails”) can cross
the expansion joints. The Cold Tails are installed
in a metal protective conduit of the length of
approx. 50 cm.

Unreinforced concrete surfaces

Stages of works:

• the compacted base is levelled,

• ELEKTRA TME installation tapes or installation

mesh are laid on the compacted base,
the heating cable is fastened to them,

• the concrete slab works follow – stage 4.

Cross section of pavement or driveway

made of concrete slab

ELEKTRA VCD

heating cable

Temperature

and moisture sensor

in installation tube

Compacted
base

Concrete slab
min. 50 mm thick

Expansion
joint

13

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

Reinforced concrete agstones

Heating cables can be fastened to the reinforce-

ment of the ferroconcrete agstones. Alternatively,

the installation mesh of 100 mm x 100 mm grid
made of Ø 4 mm wire can be applied, which
would facilitate maintaining steady spacing of
the cable, conforming to the calculated values.

Applying thermal insulation layer to ferroconcrete

agstone surfaces exposed to wind operation

from below (ramps, bridges, overpasses) can im­prove the system’s effectiveness.

VCD

heating cable

Roadway layer

(e.g. resin, quartz)

Reinforcement
of the ferr

oconcrete

flagstone

Metal mesh

Layer of plaster,
e.g. acrylic,
on plastering mesh

Thermal
insulation

Cross section of a suspended loading ramp

14

Stairs

Heating cables are laid in steps, placed in dedicated
previously chiseled grooves, and then covered
with concrete. The grooves are optimally made
at the stage of stairs construction. This method
of installation would greatly facilitate later

surface nishing works and would not cause

surface elevation.

If such elevation is acceptable (e.g. in any al­ready existing stairs), then the cables will be

placed directly on the steps and xed to their

surface with the ELEKTRA TME installation tape
or installation mesh.

As substeps are not heated, outermost segments
of the cable need to be positioned as close to
the step’s edge as possible.

15

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

Example of the heating cable layout on the steps

Laying thermal insulation on the steps and land­ings of the stairs will increase efciency (by short­ening the warm-up time), which will decrease the
system’s operation costs.

80 mm

80 mm

80 mm

16

Stage 2: After the heating

cable has been laid

At this stage, it is necessary to undertake the
following steps:

• stick into the Warranty Card the self-adhesive

label, positioned on the power supply con­ductor of the heating cable,

• in the Warranty Card, prepare asketch of the

heating cable’s layout positioning,

• fed the power supply conductor of the heat-

ing cable into the switchboard,

• perform the measurements of:

- heating wire resistance,

- insulation resistance.

The measurement results of the heating
core’s resistance should not vary from the
one given on the label with more than -5%
a n d +10 % .

The insulation’s resistance for the heating
cable, as measured with a tool of the rated
voltage 1000 V (e.g. megaohmmeter), should
not be below 10 MΩ. Enter the results into

the Warranty Card.

When the surface has been nished, repeat

the measurements and compare the results
to ensure that the heating cable has not been
damaged while surface installation works.

17

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

(brown

or black)

(yellow-green)

Power supply conductors

Ohmmeter

Megaohmmeter

(brown

or black)

(blue)

Heating wire’s resistance measurement

Insulation resistance measurement

18

Stage 3: Temperature and

moisture sensor’s
installation
preparation

• establish the optimal positioning for the tem-

perature and moisture sensor – aplace which

would be especially vulnerable to prolonged
low temperatures and increased moisture

deposition (e.g. in ashade or exposed to

wind operation) – place here the installation
tube of the sensor on the prepared hardened
base,

• feed the protective conduit with the so called

“draw wire” from the installation tube to
the switchboard (after the surface has been
completed, the protective pipe will enable
feeding the temperature and moisture sen­sor’s wire),

In case of asignicant sensor’s distance from

the switchboard, or bending of the protective
conduit, it is necessary to:

• install an additional sealed electric box “on

the way” to the board, or

• install the protective conduit with atwisted

pair screened control cable, min. 3-pair (e.g.
LIYCY-P 3x2x1,5) – the sensor’s wire with the

control cable is to be connected with aheat

shrink joint.

Note:

The protective conduit should be run

in such away to enable the future exchange

of the temperature and moisture sensor,
if required.

!

19

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

Stage 5: Temperature and

moisture sensor’s
installation

The temperature and moisture sensor should be
installed in the installation tube after the sur­face has been completed. Then, the sensor’s wire
should be fed into the protective conduit installed
before the surface has been completed, with the
so called “draw wire”. Under the sensor, the wire
excess should be deposited (min. 30 cm) for the
future sensor replacement, if required.

Ground temperature and moisture sensor ETOG-56T with

installation tube (for soil, concrete agstones, paving

cobbles etc.) can be used for heating control of drive-

ways, trafc routes, etc.

Stage 4: Finishing

surface works

During surface works, level the installation
tube, so that it is positioned 5 mm below the
level of the surface. Due to this, the water will
be deposited on the temperature and moisture
sensor.

20

Stage 6: Temperature

controller’s installation

The heating cable connection to the domestic
electric circuit should be performed by an author­ised electrician.

The connection of the:

1. mains,

2. power supply conductors of the heating cable,

3. temperature sensor,

should be executed according to the diagram
included in the temperature controller’s Instructions.

Example of temperature and moisture sensor’s

installation in the surface

installation tube

protective

conduit

5 mm

sensor’s wire laid with
approx. 30 см excess

sensor

ller
e.g. concrete

surface

compacted base
under the surface

21

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

Single-phase electric circuit

Connection diagram of VCD25/230V

heating cable with temperature

and moisture sensor

and ELEKTRA ETR2G controller

ETR2G

230V

sensor cable

heating cable

grey

pink

yellow

white

brown

green

N

NL

PE

L

L

PE

L

N

22

ETR2G

heating cable

grey

pink

yellow

white

brown

green

Three-phase electric circuit

Connection diagram of VCD25/400V

heating cable with temperature

and moisture sensor

and ELEKTRA ETR2G controller

L3

L2

L1

L3

L2

N

NL

PE

L

L

sensor cable

three-phase

circuit

23

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

Anti-shock protection

The electric circuit of the heating cable should be
equipped with a residual current device of the
sensitivity level ∆ ≤ 30mA.

Warranty

ELEKTRA company grants a 10 year-long
warranty (from the date of purchase) for the
ELEKTRA VCD heating cables.

24

Warranty Conditions

1. Warranty claims requires:

a. that the heating system has been executed

in full accordance with the Installation In-

structions herein, by a certied electrician,

b. presentation of the properly completed

Warranty Card,

c. presentation of the proof of purchase of

the heating cable under complaint.

2. The Warranty loses validity if any attempt at

repair has been undertaken by an unauthorised
installer.

3. The Warranty does not cover the damages in-

icted as a result of:

a. mechanical fault,

b. incompatible power supply,

c. lack of adequate overload and differential

protection measures,

d. discord of the domestic heating circuit

with the current regulations in force.

4. Within the Warranty herein, ELEKTRA com-

pany undertakes to bear exclusively the costs
required to cover the necessary repairs to the
heating cable itself, or to exchange the cable.

5. The Warranty covering the purchased commer-

cial goods does not exclude, limit or suspend
other Buyer’s rights resulting from the incom­patibility of the goods purchased with the
agreement of purchase.

Note:

The Warranty claims must be regis tered with the
Warranty Card and proof of purchase, in the place
of purchase or the ofces of ELEKTRA company.

!

25

ELEKTRA

Heating Cables

The Warranty Card must be retained by the Client for the entire warranty

period of 10 years. The Warranty period starts on the date of purchase.

PLACE OF INSTALLATION

Address

Zip code City / town

TO BE COMPLETED BY AN INSTALLER

Name and

surname

Electrical authorisa-

tion certicate n

Address E-mail

Zip code City / town

Phone

n :

Fax

The Warranty claims must be

registered with the Warranty

Card and proof of purchase,

in the place of purchase

or the ofces of ELEKTRA

company.

ō

ō

Heating cable’s core and insulation’s resistance

after laying the heating

cable, before the surface

works commence

Ω

MΩ

after the surface

has been completed

Ω

MΩ

Date

Installer’s signature

Company’s stamp

Note: Heating core’s resistance measurement result should not vary from the label with more than -5%, +10%.

The heating cable’s insulation resistance, as measured with a megaohmmeter of the rated voltage 1000 V, should not

drop below 10 MΩ.

!

Note: The installer is obliged to provide the user with the post-realisation documentation

!

Heating cable’s layout and power supply conduit connection to the switchboard – sketch