System KAN-therm at Football Stadiums

KAN-therm installation multisystem is a series of innovative and proven solutions in the field of widely understood installation technology. Therefore, they could not be missing on the most prestigious sports venues. KAN-therm supplied kilometres of pipes and thousands of fittings that were used to build water and heating systems, technological systems and surface heating systems at stadiums in various locations.

Today's sports stadium is not only the pitch and stands. There are also air-conditioned and heated lodges, restaurants and shops to which heat and cold should be supplied; underground car parks which should be equipped with fire-fighting systems, and hundreds of sanitary facilities to which cold and hot utility water should be delivered.

Equipping such facilities with all the necessary installations is a major challenge for designers, contractors and manufacturers of installation materials. KAN Group is an experienced producer and supplier of modern solutions and installation systems KAN-therm recognised in Europe. Since opening its business activity in 1990, KAN-therm has built its position on strong pillars: professionalism, innovativeness, quality and development. Nowadays, it employs over 800 people, it has branches in Germany, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine and Belarus. The products with the label KAN-therm are exported to almost 60 countries, the distribution chain covers Europe, a significant part of Asia, Africa it also reaches South and North America.

System KAN-therm Steel at Manchester United Stadium

KAN-therm is an optimal, complete installation multisystem which comprises the most modern, complementing one another, solutions in the scope of pipe water and heating installations and also the technological ones. It is an excellent realisation of the vision concerning the universal system thanks to the long-term experience and the passion of KAN-therm constructors, rigorous control of raw materials and final products quality and at last the efficient recognition of the installation market needs consistent with the requirements of the balanced building industry.

KAN-therm's offer for sports facilities includes not only typical indoor installations, but also a complete set of elements necessary for the installation of heating turf of football and athletic fields and floors of sports halls. These include Tichelmann collectors with connections, made of polypropylene pipes of 160–180 mm diameter and PE-RT heating pipes of 18, 20 or 25 mm diameter, with rails fixing them to the ground. An integral part of this offer are modern automation solutions, i.e. items such as snow and ice sensors, as well as temperature and digital controllers, which are an integral part of the offer.

Venues at various locations decided to choose certified quality of KAN-therm installations, f.e. Manchester United Stadium (Great Britain), Inea Stadium (Poznań, Poland), Stadium Arena (Lviv, Ukraine) or NSK Olympic in Kiev (Ukraine), and other.

KAN-therm also provides a wide range of thermal insulation in addition to heating pipes and their fastening systems for heating sports floors. For floating sports floors, the KAN-therm TBS insulation system can be used in points, where heating pipes are fixed in metal radiator fins placed in thermal insulation made of foamed polystyrene. Heating floating sports floors, on the other hand, constructed on joists, can be carried out in System KAN-therm Rail, where heating pipes are placed in special rails mounted on thermal insulation.

Wide range of applications and products makes System KAN-therm Football a complete installation system used to build a turf heating system for football pitches. KAN-therm multisystem is able to meet all the requirements set for installations by modern sports facilities. Heating the turf of stadiums prevents the formation of ice on the surface of the pitch, maintains the assumed temperature of the surface and dries it, and also allows the defrosting of the ice layer formed on these surfaces. Such solution allows the field to be used all year round and also minimizes the risk of injury to players.

System Construction

Section of the football pitch plane with natural surface

Natural surface: 1. Turf (natural grass), 2. Vegetation layer, 3. Heating pipes laid at a specified depth with calculated spacing, 4. Soil, 5. Drainage.

Section of the football pitch plane with artificial surface

Artificial surface: 1. Artificial turf, 2. Backfill (e.g. sand and ground rubber), 3. Gravel, 4. Heating pipes laid at a specified depth with calculated spacing, 5. Sand, 6. Gravel, 7. Drainage, 8. Soil.

Collectors are normally laid along the longer side of the pitch, and they are made of pipes of 160–180 mm diameter. The collector sections are connected together by means of butt welding between the two parts of the collector or alternatively by means of electrofusion sockets. Collectors are manufactured in accordance with individual technical documentation at the construction site or supplied as prefabricated finished segments. 

The Tichelman's system of supplying individual loops is used to ensure uniform distribution of the medium on the heating loops. Heating loops are connected to the collectors by means of the sliding sleeve (System KAN-therm Push). Heating pipes are laid directly in loose layers. The depths of pipe foundation should take into account the manner of turf maintenance and exclude the possibility of mechanical damage. Pipes are laid out using the installation backfill method. As a heating pipe material, high quality polyethylene resistant to elevated temperatures is used. The system should be protected against freezing by utilizing antifreeze agents such as aqueous glycol solutions.

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