Flexible installations

with pre-insulated pipes

U P O N O R T H E R M O O R U P O N O R VA R I A

12 | 2012
 Practical, ideal and versatile for heating water supply

From practice - for practice. This is the fundamental
idea behind our flexible, pre-insulated piping systems.
The flexibility of the material, the convenient
connecting methods and the well-attested service life
and robustness of our pre-insulated pipes ultimately
ensure that you, as the expert, can complete your
projects quickly, economically and reliably. Just the
same, whether you are. Connect easily, permanently and
practically. Flexibly and quickly through the brickwork
to the main distribution point. Supplied to the right
dimensions and laid directly from the roll. Dealing with
an extensive supply network or a single connection to
one building.

Uponor Thermo Uponor Varia

Uponor Thermo is the ideal solution for distributing Uponor Varia is a flexible, pre-insulated, self-
heating water in local heat supply networks, or for compensating plastic pipe systems for transporting
connecting building complexes and single houses. heating water in buried installations. Uponor Varia is
Uponor Thermo is offered in two versions; Single and offered in two versions; Single and Twin.
Twin.
The Uponor Varia Twin version is suitable for
The Uponor Thermo Twin version also combines
transporting heating water flow and return line plus
flow and return lines in a flexible pipe system. The
integrated coloured "Dogbone", to avoid confusion.
classification of the Thermo pipes are described in EN
15632-T3 as a non-composite system with a plastic
medium pipe.
Uponor Thermo pipes have been tested and approved.

Medium pipe Cross-linked polyethylene (PE-Xa). Corrosion-resistant. Malfunction

temperature 95 °C. Design pressure 6 bar.
Insulating material Multi-layer, ageing-resistant, closed-cell PE-X foam, permanently elastic.
Jacket pipe Corrugated polyethylene (HDPE). With static verification for heavy traffic
load of 60 tons.

2 U P O N O R · F L E X I B L E I N S TA L L AT I O N S W I T H P R E - I N S U L AT E D P I P E S
Choosing the right product for the right purpose

In the following, Uponor likes to give you more
information of the both piping systems we offer
mainly for heating applications.
Difference between Uponor Thermo and
Uponor Varia
Uponor Thermo products have more insulation than
Uponor Varia products, meaning it has a bigger jacket
with more or thicker layers of foam.
The positive with Uponor Thermo products are
that since they have more insulation they are more
energy efficient. This gives them a better long term
performance from a operational cost perspective.
Which product should I use?
Since there can more to consider for a customer than
just the energy efficiency it might not be as easy as to
always recommend the best performing product.
For example, a customer might not have the need for a
product that requires a lot of insulation.
• The installation might only be temporary.
• The product is used in an application where the
temperature difference between medium and sur-
rounding soil is small or the hours of operation is
low.
• The customer is only focusing on installation cost
and not operational or total life time cost.
These factors might drive the customer towards a lower
cost product/system. In these cases the Varia product
might be the preferred option for the customer.

Uponor Thermo Uponor Varia

Benefits Benefits
• More insulation, meaning less heat loss • Lower price
• Energy efficient • Easier to handle
• Lower operational cost
Draw backs
Draw backs
• Less insulation, meaning more heat loss
• Slightly harder to handle • Less energy efficient
• Higher price • Higher operational costs

U P O N O R · F L E X I B L E I N S TA L L AT I O N S W I T H P R E - I N S U L AT E D P I P E S 3
 Heat loss of Uponor Thermo Single and Varia Single

Thermal conductivity of the ground: 1.0 W/mK

Ground cover: 0.8 m

Note
Heat loss data in the diagram are calculated with a safety factor
of 1.05, according to the requirements of the German "VDI-AG
Gütesicherung"; to take production related tolerances into account.

45
110/175

40
110/200

35
90/175
90/200
30
63/140
75/175
Heat loss [W/m]

25 75/200
63/175
50/140
32/90
20 50/175
40/140
25/90
15 40/175
32/140
25/140
10

0
10 30 50 70 90

Temperature difference [K] Thermo Single Varia Single

Example for Uponor Thermo Single 50/175 Example for Uponor Varia Single 50/140
M = Temperature of medium M = Temperature of medium
E = Temperature of the ground E = Temperature of the ground
Δ = Temperature difference (K) Δ = Temperature difference (K)

Δ = M – E Δ = M – E
M = 75 °C M = 75 °C
E = 5 °C E = 5 °C
Δ = 75 – 5 = 70 K Δ = 75 – 5 = 70 K

Heat loss: 15.1 W/m Heat loss: 18.5 W/m

4 U P O N O R · F L E X I B L E I N S TA L L AT I O N S W I T H P R E - I N S U L AT E D P I P E S
Heat loss of Uponor Thermo Twin and Varia Twin

Thermal conductivity of the ground: 1.0 W/mK

Ground cover: 0.8 m

Note
Heat loss data in the diagram are calculated with a safety factor
of 1.05, according to the requirements of the German "VDI-AG
Gütesicherung"; to take production related tolerances into account.

45

2 x 63/200
40
2 x 40/140

35 2 x 50/175

2 x 50/200

30 2 x 40/175
2 x 32/140
Heat loss [W/m]

25 2 x 32/175
2 x 25/140

20
2 x 25/175

15

10

0
10 30 50 70 90

Temperature difference [K] Thermo Twin Varia Twin

Example for Uponor Thermo Twin 2 x 32/175 Example for Uponor Varia Twin 2 x 32/140
V = Flow temperature V = Flow temperature
R = Return temperature R = Return temperature
E = Temperature of the ground E = Temperature of the ground
Δ = Temperature difference (K) Δ = Temperature difference (K)
Δ = (V – R)/ 2 – E Δ = (V – R)/ 2 – E
V = 70 °C V = 70 °C
R = 40 °C R = 40 °C
E = 5 °C E = 5 °C
Δ = (70 + 40)/2 – 5 = 50 K Δ = (70 + 40)/2 – 5 = 50 K

Heat loss: 12 W/m Heat loss: 15.5 W/m

U P O N O R · F L E X I B L E I N S TA L L AT I O N S W I T H P R E - I N S U L AT E D P I P E S 5
 Local heat distribution network with ...
Installation
made according
to EN 15632
France Network
• Ground temperature 5 °C
• ΔT = 30 °C
• Annual heating time 3 000 h/a ≈ 6 month
• Average oil price 0.8 €/l
• Heat loss with Uponor Thermo pipes = 22 170 kWh/a
• Heat loss with Uponor Varia pipes = 26 505 kWh/a
Commercial
building
Result
140 kW

4 335 kWh/a lower heat loss with Uponor Thermo

343 € annual savings in heating cost

10 285 € savings during a 30-year service time

2 x Single, 63 mm
60 m

Twin, 50 mm
100 m

18 kW

18 kW
Twin, 32 mm
10 m
Twin, 40 mm
40 m Twin, 40 mm
80 m

Twin, 32 mm
20 m

6 U P O N O R · F L E X I B L E I N S TA L L AT I O N S W I T H P R E - I N S U L AT E D P I P E S
 ... Uponor Pre-insulated Single and Twin pipes

Resume:
Depending on the yearly heating time it could be
an option to balance the invest costs with the yearly
operation costs and decide then for the piping
system "Thermo or Varia".

Boiler room

Sweden Network
2 x Single, 75 mm
50 m
• Ground temperature 5 °C
• ΔT = 30 °C
• Annual heating time 4 000 h/a = 8 months
• Average oil price 0.8 €/l
• Heat loss with Uponor Thermo pipes = 29 560 kWh/a
• Heat loss with Uponor Varia pipes = 35 340 kWh/a

12 kW

Result
28 kW

5 780 kWh/a lower heat loss

457 € annual savings in heating cost

Twin, 25 mm
13 714 € savings during a 30-year service time
20 m

U P O N O R · F L E X I B L E I N S TA L L AT I O N S W I T H P R E - I N S U L AT E D P I P E S 7
Production: Uponor AB; IC/EL, Virsbo, Sweden

Uponor Corporation
www.uponor.com

Uponor reserves the right to make changes, without prior notification, to the specification of
incorporated components in line with its policy of continuous improvement and development.