The thermal conductivity of four different types of wood flooring was measured to range from 0.091 to 0.125 W/mK according to the wood flooring structure, like the number of layers and wood characteristics. The wood flooring that utilized plywood exhibited a low thermal conductivity because of its lower density compared to HDF and because of the low thermal conductivity of the plywood adhesive. The thermal transfer performance was dependent on the flooring thickness and installation method. The flooring that utilized the adhesive installation method exhibited a higher performance than that the flooring that utilized the floating installation method. However, the good latent heat capacity of the wood flooring allowed it to maintain a high temperature for longer periods once the heating source was removed.
The latent heat of thewood flooring was better than that of PVC flooring. However, the energy consumption of the wood floorings was very high in terms of the rate of temperature increase for the first heating. This is because the thermal conductivity of the wood floorings was not quite different compared to the thermal conductivity of the general insulation of polystyrene, which was 0.036 W/mK. Despite this disadvantage of low energy efficiency, the many advantages of wood flooring, such as hardness, durability, fire resistance, excellent appearance, and high latent heat, have made it popular.
The heating energy efficiency depends on the radiant heat transmission to the floor-finishing surface from the heat source in the under-floor heating system. Therefore, further study will address the improvement of the thermal conductivity of wood flooring for increased energy conservation in buildings.