Structural Drying Equipment

A dehumidifier pulls moisture out of the air. It does nothing about the water still bound inside a concrete slab, a screed floor or a masonry wall — that has to migrate to the surface before it can be removed, and a cold structure releases it slowly. This category covers the equipment that supplies the missing half of the process: surface heat applied directly to the wet structure, so the moisture keeps moving while the dehumidifier keeps taking it away.

What is collected here is built for restoration work, not for warming a room. The mats are laid flat on the floor or fixed to a wall, run silently at low power from an ordinary 230 V socket, and are rated IP65 for wet and dusty sites. Paired with a MID-compliant energy meter, the electricity they consume can be documented job by job — the figure an insurer accepts when the drying is billed on.

What heating adds to structural drying

Structural drying after a flood or a burst pipe is usually planned around the dehumidifier, and for good reason: it is the machine that takes water out of the building. But a dehumidifier only works on the air. The water that matters most after a serious water loss sits inside the construction — in the concrete slab, under and inside the screed, in the joints of a masonry wall — and it can only be removed once it has travelled to the surface and evaporated.

How fast that happens depends heavily on temperature. Warm material holds its moisture less tightly and releases vapour faster than cold material, so a slab sitting at 12 °C in an unheated basement dries far more slowly than the same slab kept warm. Surface heating mats close that gap: they put controlled heat straight into the wet structure, the moisture keeps migrating outwards, and the dehumidifier has a steady supply of vapour to remove.

How heating mats work in a drying setup

The mat is laid directly on the wet floor, or fixed to the wall, over the area with the highest moisture readings. It is plugged into an ordinary 230 V socket and heats the surface underneath it by contact — there is no fan, no hot air stream and no noise. The dehumidifier runs in the same room and removes the vapour the heated structure gives off.

Temperature is handled inside the mat. A bi-metal thermostat caps the mat at 130 °C, and a one-time thermal fuse at 160 °C cuts the power permanently if the thermostat ever fails. On concrete, the structure pulls so much heat away that the mat typically runs at approximately 70–80 °C under load — the operating temperature of the mat, well below the thermostat limit, and not necessarily the temperature measured inside the construction. The integrated thermostat and thermal fuse mean no external temperature controller is normally required.

A practical detail that is easy to miss: the thermostat reads the temperature of the mat, not the structure. Cooler and wetter areas generally draw heat away for longer, while drier or thinner sections allow the mat temperature to rise sooner.

Advantages over drying with dehumidifiers alone

  • Heat where the water is: the energy goes into the construction, not into warming the room air and escaping through doors and windows
  • Keeps moisture moving: a warm structure keeps releasing vapour, so the dehumidifier does not run out of work halfway through the job
  • Low running cost: 150 to 400 W per mat, compared with the several kilowatts drawn by hot-air heaters or heat-drying systems
  • Silent and low-profile: no fans and no airflow, so the mats can stay in place in occupied homes, offices and shops
  • Built for wet sites: IP65, Class II double insulation and a silicone surface resistant to moisture, chemicals and cleaning agents
  • No external controller: the integrated thermostat and thermal fuse mean no external temperature controller is normally required

Which structures heating mats are suited for

The mats are made for dense mineral materials that hold water and give it up slowly:

  • Concrete slabs: ground-bearing slabs and basement floors, where water can stay for months without active drying
  • Screed floors: cement and anhydrite screeds, including areas where the floor covering has been removed after a leak
  • Masonry and brick walls: wall sections wetted by rising flood water or a leaking pipe, with the mat fixed to the surface
  • Stairs, corners and edge zones: small, awkward areas where large drying equipment cannot be placed

Do not place the mats on finished floor coverings unless the manufacturer of both the covering and adhesive confirms their suitability for the expected mat surface temperature. In most restoration jobs, place the mat directly on the exposed substrate.

Where the mats are used

Water damage restoration

Restoration contractors use the mats alongside their dehumidifiers on flood and leak jobs, placing them on the areas that stay wet longest. Several mats can run side by side to cover a larger floor or a whole wall section.

Insurance jobs with documented energy use

On insurance work, the electricity used for drying is often billed on to the insurer or reimbursed to the property owner. Run through a MID-compliant plug-in energy meter, the consumption of each mat can be read off and documented job by job.

Occupied buildings and commercial premises

Because the mats are silent and do not move air or dust around, they suit drying in homes that are still lived in, and in offices, shops and public buildings that must stay open during the work.

Choosing sizes and planning a job

The range covers three sizes: Small (400 × 600 mm, 150 W), Medium (235 × 1000 mm, 250 W) and Large (470 × 1000 mm, 400 W). The Medium mat's narrow format suits strips along walls, thresholds and stair treads; the Large mat covers open floor areas; the Small mat fits corners and tight spots. Mix sizes to cover the wet zone rather than the whole room.

Plan the electrical load before you arrive on site. For the HXP plug-in energy meter, keep the connected load within its 3.5 kW rating: up to eight Large mats (3.2 kW), less when a dehumidifier or fan is connected to the same meter. Spread the mats across circuits on larger jobs.

For surfaces the standard sizes do not fit, other voltages or plug types, the mats can be made to order — see custom products or contact us with the area you need to dry.

Frequently asked questions about structural drying equipment (FAQ)

Do heating mats replace a dehumidifier?

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No. The mat heats the structure so that moisture moves to the surface and evaporates faster; the dehumidifier is still what removes that moisture from the air. Used together, the two shorten drying time — used alone, a heating mat would only move the water from the wall or floor into the room air.

How hot does the mat get?

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On concrete, the mat typically runs at approximately 70–80 °C under load. That is the operating temperature of the mat, not necessarily the temperature inside the construction. An integrated bi-metal thermostat limits the mat to 130 °C, and a one-time thermal fuse cuts the power permanently at 160 °C if the thermostat fails. The integrated thermostat and thermal fuse mean no external temperature controller is normally required.

Can the heating mats be used on walls?

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Yes. On floors the mat is simply laid flat without fixing. On walls it must be held in firm contact with the surface using suitable mechanical fixing or clamping, since heat transfer only works where the mat touches the structure.

How much electricity does a heating mat use?

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The Small mat draws 150 W, the Medium 250 W and the Large 400 W. Running around the clock, that is roughly 3.6, 6 and 9.6 kWh per day — the actual figure is often lower because the thermostat switches the mat off when it reaches its limit. A plug-in energy meter gives the exact consumption per mat.

Can I document the power consumption for the insurance company?

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Yes. Connect each mat, or a group of mats on one extension, through a MID-compliant plug-in energy meter and note the reading at the start and end of the job. MID-certified meters are accepted for billing purposes, which makes the figure usable in an insurance claim.

Can the mats be used on parquet, vinyl or other floor coverings?

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Do not place the mats on finished floor coverings unless the manufacturer of both the covering and adhesive confirms their suitability for the expected mat surface temperature. In most restoration jobs, place the mat directly on the exposed substrate — the concrete or screed underneath.

Are the mats safe to use on wet sites?

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The mats are rated IP65, double insulated (Class II) and have a silicone surface resistant to moisture, chemicals and cleaning agents. They are made for damp building sites, but should not be placed in standing water — pump out or vacuum standing water before drying starts.

Can I get heating mats in other sizes or voltages?

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Yes. Besides the three standard sizes, the mats can be made in custom dimensions, with a different power density, or for other voltages and plug types. Send us the surface you need to dry and we will return a no-obligation quote.

Heating mats or heat-drying systems?

Heat-drying systems (sometimes called heat drying or thermal drying) blow hot air into the room or into cavities, often at several kilowatts per unit, and are typically used to dry large volumes quickly. Heating mats work differently: they deliver a few hundred watts by direct contact to the specific surface that is wet. They do not replace a heat-drying system on a large, fully flooded building, but on the typical water-damage job — a wet slab, a soaked screed, a damp wall section — they provide a lower-power, targeted complement for localised wet areas.