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Why Choose a Trench Heater? Advantages

May 20, 2025

Why Choose a Trench Heater? What Are Its Advantages?

Floor-to-ceiling windows, popular in modern architecture, offer a wide view and abundant natural light in addition to their aesthetic appearance. While these windows provide a visual connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, they also act as a boundary. However, large glass surfaces typically have low insulation values. This can lead to the interior becoming undesirably cool, especially in cold weather.

Benefits of Heating with Trench Heaters

Trench heaters create a warm air curtain in front of windows, preventing cold air flow and the effect of cold radiation. This minimizes cold drafts from glass surfaces and eliminates the risk of condensation on windows.

In other heating systems, a temperature difference of 2-3°C can occur between the window fronts and the interior of the room. This difference negatively affects comfort. Trench heaters reduce this difference by creating a warm air curtain in front of the windows, ensuring homogeneous heat distribution.

Compatibility with VRF Systems

VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) systems provide cooling and heating, but in winter, when the outdoor temperature drops below +5°C, they enter defrost mode, which can hinder the efficient operation of the indoor unit. In such cases, trench heaters can be used as a supplementary heating system to provide comfortable heating in indoor spaces.

Temperature difference between window front and indoor environment

Combined use of VRF and trench heaters

How Trench Heaters Work

Trench heaters are used in front of windows or under the floor. Their copper-tubed, aluminum-finned heat exchangers are heated by hot water from central systems or combi boilers. This heating process creates a warm air curtain in front of the window through convection, preventing cold drafts. This cycle also maintains the room temperature at the desired level, creating comfortable living spaces.

Advantages of Trench Heaters

Saves space: Placed in the floor, eliminating the need for wall radiators.
Fast heating: Instantly creates a warm air curtain in front of the window.
Prevents condensation: Prevents fogging on glass surfaces.
Dual-function use: Can offer both heating and cooling functions in the same device.
Aesthetic harmony: Adds an aesthetic contribution to the space with different color options.
Ideal for low temperatures: Especially compatible with heat pump systems.
Reduces air turbulence: Provides healthier heating for those with allergies.

What is a trench heater?

Trench heaters are essentially radiators placed in the floor under a walkable grille. They emit heat like radiators but do not take up space in the room. They are used in front of windows or at terrace exits in homes with large glass surfaces to quickly block cold entering from these areas and provide efficient heating.

In modern architecture, bringing natural light indoors and enjoying the view are priorities. For this reason, many newly built homes prefer large and bright spaces such as large glass facades, open kitchen-dining areas, winter gardens, and terrace passages. However, while inviting the outside in, you also invite cold air currents.

This is where trench heaters come into play, offering an ideal solution. These systems are installed directly in front of glass surfaces and act like an air curtain. Cold air currents from outside are balanced by the warm air emitted from the trench heater. This reduces the risk of condensation and ensures a homogeneous temperature in the environment.

So, can't this task be achieved solely with underfloor heating?

Answer: Not always. Especially in large glass facades, even if the building is well insulated, extra heating support is needed to balance the cold from outside. Traditional radiators can close this gap, but they take up space and disrupt architectural integrity. Furthermore, they cannot provide efficient heating because they cannot be placed in front of windows.

Trench heaters, on the other hand:

Are almost invisible,
Are installed recessed into the floor,
Provide aesthetic and technical advantages in glass facades,
Provide fast heating and prevent condensation,
Increase indoor comfort.

Especially in projects where aesthetics are paramount in architectural design, trench heaters stand out as a superior choice in terms of both performance and appearance.

Can I cool with Trench Heaters?

Trench heaters can be used not only for heating but also for both heating and cooling. The heat exchanger coils of cooling trench heaters are much larger and have stainless steel condensation pans. Additionally, the tangential fan diameters used in these devices are larger to accommodate cooling. For this reason, cooling trench heaters are slightly larger in width and height compared to heating trench heaters.

Similarly, these trench heaters placed in front of windows direct the cooled air towards the glass and cool the environment in a displacement ventilation manner. They can be used as a 4-pipe or 2-pipe system. They can be integrated with a heat pump system, providing heating in winter and cooling in summer from the same device.

This eliminates the need for additional cooling air conditioners on the wall or in the suspended ceiling. It offers a much more compact architectural solution.

STEKON Trench Heater Architectural Options

STEKON trench heaters offer different color and surface options for aesthetics and functionality. Models available in aluminum or bronze anodized finishes ensure perfect harmony with the environment. The visible parts of the trench heaters can be painted with RAL codes to match the room's decoration.

Products can be manufactured curvilinear according to the characteristics – diameter of your structure.

Additionally, perfect integrity can be achieved with 90° corner piece manufacturing as shown below.

In conclusion, trench heaters offer solutions that are compatible with modern architecture, energy-efficient, and aesthetic, enhancing comfort in living spaces. Thanks to the thermal curtain they create in front of windows, they prevent cold air currents, condensation, and ensure homogeneous heat distribution. STEKON's fan-assisted and fanless models meet different needs, standing out with features such as quiet operation and low energy consumption. If you are looking for both an aesthetic and efficient heating solution for your living spaces, choosing trench heaters would be a smart decision.