Gone are the days when economics was ignored. Today everything is different. Energy carriers are getting more expensive every year and now it's time to look for the most profitable and economical home heating. We will talk about this in our material.
Every developer dreams that the heating system of a private house is economical. You can save on 3 key things:
- Financial. Make an inexpensive heating option
- Savings in terms of heating system
- Savings in terms of modern technologies
Before installing heating, you need to decide:
- What will the house be used for? Will you live in it permanently or come periodically. The payback period of the heating system depends on this. It may be useful to mount an economical heating option.
- What is the key for you: to save on heating now or lay the heating of a private house in the future.
- Decide which fuel will perform a key function
Savings on finances
Let's just remember: saving money, you will never get the most economical and profitable heating of a private house. This is the main mistake of all developers. You invest in the construction of a large house, in finishing the outside and inside, but most often you forget about such fundamental things as heating.
Heating costs money, but reasonable savings can still be made. You can mount the good old and proven . It will be affordable and you will provide your home with warmth in the cold season. But it will not be the most economical heating system.
About the most profitable home heating system
Now it remains to find out which heating system of a private house is the most economical. In this nomination, water heated floors win with a decent margin. And that's why:
- Underfloor heating is at least 30% more economical than radiators (subject to special conditions for temperature control and boiler installation for low-temperature systems);
- Warm floors heat from the bottom up, while radiators heat the ceiling first;
- Underfloor heating works at a low temperature. The high limit is 45 degrees.
- Warm floors can be heated by anything.
That's what they say all over the internet. In fact, all modern systems are about the same in terms of efficiency. It does not matter what you mount, it is important how exactly you will regulate it all. The more precisely the heating system is adjusted, the more economically it functions.
The most important point, due to which savings are achieved on warm floors, is thermal insulation. Manufacturers recommend using a density of 35, a thickness of 10 cm on the first floor and 5 cm on the next.
In practice, 5 cm on the ground floor is quite enough. Unless of course you live in a region with a lot of cold.
What a warm floor looks like, you can see in our video:
The second point due to which you can get the most economical heating at home is temperature control. By installing room thermostats with a manifold, mixing module, you can save up to 50% compared to radiator heating.
You can make the adjustment and simpler, and the underfloor heating system as a whole.
What fuel is more profitable?
Gas is the most economical energy source for heating a private house. Gas heating does not require constant human intervention. What can you say about coal heating.
Gas is not available everywhere. Therefore, one often has to choose either coal or electricity. Plus electric heating - turned on once and forgot. Coal must be constantly thrown into the boiler.
Modern economical technologies
With the help of modern technologies, we can achieve the most economical home heating. But we still classify these technologies as unreasonable, because their payback is quite long. From 10 years and above.
One such technology is a heat pump. With the help of earthly resources, it is able to produce at least 4 times more energy than it consumes itself. If you need a 20 kW boiler for your home, then a heat pump with a power of only 5 kW is suitable for heating. The heat pump is powered by electricity. The pump is also 3-4 times more expensive than a first-class gas boiler with high efficiency.
Solar collectors can be used as heating. It does not require any energy consumption at all. When properly installed, solar collectors are able to heat underfloor heating and provide you with the necessary amount of hot water. But then again, it all comes down to finances.
These technologies are our future. There will come a time when both the heat pump and the solar collector will be available to everyone.
As a result, we get that using a warm floor + temperature control + heat pump (or collector) we can get the most economical home heating.
If you are looking far ahead and confident that you can afford such expenses, then you definitely will not regret installing all this at home.
More ways to save
Additional savings from heating can be obtained by installing control equipment:
- If you have radiators, thermostatic heads will not be superfluous. They are installed on the radiator supply instead of conventional valves. They perform a simple function - at the desired room temperature, they shut off the flow, when the room cools down, they open it back. The adjustment is relevant only for heating systems with forced circulation
- If you have underfloor heating, then it will not be superfluous to install a collector with servo drives and put a thermostat in each room. The servo drive is interfaced with the thermostat and when the required temperature in the room is reached, it shuts off the supply of coolant to the underfloor heating circuit
These two life hacks allow you to achieve additional savings on heating.
At the present time, many owners of suburban private houses or cottages are increasingly having to look for an alternative to gas as the main type of fuel to heat their homes. The reasons are different: for some, natural gas becomes too expensive, some have the opportunity to use other energy sources, and for some, main gas is simply not available due to its complete absence nearby. Then the question arises - what is the economical heating of a house without gas and what kind of fuel is better to use then?
Alternative energy carriers
There is no single answer to this question, since each individual case has its own nuances. For example, on your land plot there are many old large trees that are just asking for a firewood boiler.
Option two: in exchange for certain services, the customer is ready to supply you with diesel fuel or coal for a long time. It is clear that in such situations you will lean towards these types of energy carriers and not pay attention to others. In the long run, this will be a mistake, since sooner or later such sources will run out and you will have to look for other ways to heat a country house or buy the same fuel, but at a generally accepted cost.
Let's try to develop some kind of universal method for determining the optimal energy carrier for heating a home, which will suit each individual case. First, we will make a reservation that the technique will help determine for ourselves the cheapest heating without gas, we do not take it into account.
Just as we do not take into account various high-tech and exotic types of heating that are inaccessible to ordinary citizens. This includes heat pumps, solar panels, windmills and various types of machine and vegetable oils. Then how to heat the house if there is no gas and the above sources? We have at our disposal: 
- ordinary firewood;
- eurofirewood;
- pellets;
- coal;
- diesel fuel;
- liquefied gas in cylinders;
- electricity.
For each of these energy carriers, it is necessary to calculate the costs for the entire cold period, then it will be clear what is cheaper to heat the house.
Important! Before starting calculations, it is necessary to bring the units of measurement of the amount of fuel into line, that is, to prevent confusion between volume (m3) and mass (kg). It is recommended that all types of energy carriers, except electricity, be reduced to units of mass - kilograms.
Calculation of heating costs
To find out what is the most economical heating of a country house, it is recommended for clarity to draw up a simple plate of this form:
In this table, the second column is filled in based on the cost of each type of fuel in your region, or your individual price is entered in it. The third column for the convenience of calculations is already filled. The cost of 1 kW of thermal energy is easily determined by dividing the price of 1 kg of fuel (column 2) by its specific calorific value (column 3).
The fifth column is filled in based on the fact that the average heat output in a private house with an area of 100 m2 per season is 5 kWh, and the duration of the heating season is 180 days (5 x 24 x 180 = 21600 kWh).
It is clear that the designs of houses are all different and the area will be different, as may be the length of the season in your area, so you will need to make appropriate adjustments. Multiplying the data in columns 4 and 5, we determine the estimated costs for the season.
However, these values do not take into account the efficiency of the equipment, the values of which are given below. Dividing the estimated costs by the value of efficiency, in the last column we get a direct answer to the question - the cheaper it is to heat a house other than gas.
For those homeowners who already have gas boilers installed in their homes, you can add another line below for comparison, filling it with data on natural gas, based on actual fuel consumption and its price.
It would seem that now everything has fallen into place and you can safely make a choice in favor of one or another energy source for economical heating. But this approach is one-sided, because there is still such a thing as convenience and complexity in maintaining and operating the heating system of a private house.
The choice of energy carrier, taking into account ease of use
The comfort of operation of boiler equipment that supplies heat to water heating is an important factor, since any extra trouble and inconvenience is your time and money. That is, the total costs increase indirectly in proportion to how much effort is put into keeping the system running. In some cases, economical heating systems after the first season no longer seem so economical, and sometimes you want to pay extra money, just not to mess with such problems.
Unlike financial indicators, ease of use is the same value for each type of fuel, so it can be found out immediately, which will help you make a choice. Convenience will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- complexity of repair or maintenance of the boiler plant;
- necessity and convenience of warehousing;
- comfort in daily operation (the need to load fuel, and so on).
To find out which of the energy carriers will provide comfortable and economical heating of a private house, we will compile a second table, where for each of the criteria we will put down all types of fuel on a five-point system, after which we will summarize.
Service
Electric boilers do not require any maintenance other than occasionally opening the lid and dusting or cleaning the contacts, for which they receive the highest praise. Some actions are required if you heat a country house with liquefied gas. Once every 2 years, it is recommended to check and, if necessary, clean the igniter and burner, which is why propane is a solid four. Pellet boilers get 3 points for requiring several times a year to clean the combustion chamber and once a chimney.
Accordingly, wood and coal units need to be cleaned frequently, as they become dirty. The worst in this respect is the case with diesel fuel, since often its quality leaves much to be desired, which is why the frequency of service is unpredictable.
Warehousing
It is clear that electricity does not require storage space, while liquefied gas and diesel fuel may require some space. But when economical heating of a private house with firewood is organized, then a lot of space for a warehouse will be required. The same goes for pellets, as they need a dry room or a special silo. As for coal, there is a lot of waste, dust and dirt from it, therefore - the lowest rating.
Ease of use
And here, economical electric heating turned out to be at its best, since it does not require any intervention during operation. Pellets and liquefied gas must be replenished periodically, 1-2 times a week, or even less often. A little more attention should be paid to diesel fuel, more for supervising work than for the purpose of adding fuel.
Well, and most of all, autonomous heating in a private house on coal and wood traditionally delivers the most trouble, here loading into the combustion chamber is needed from 1 to 3 times a day.
In the last column, by summing up, the results are summed up, according to which the most comfortable and convenient is heating a country house in winter with the help of electricity. If this result is considered in combination with financial costs, then electricity may not be the worst option.
Conclusion
An integrated approach to the issue shows that the most economical heating systems for summer cottages and country houses can be the most troublesome during operation. Therefore, do not rush and carefully weigh and calculate everything, and even better - install an electric boiler in combination with any other.
Most have an impressive area, and due to the fact that Russia is a non-resort country in which summer reigns all year round, this very area needs to be heated somehow in the winter. For these purposes, there is a whole arsenal of diversity, but due to the large volumes, many options hit the pocket hard. If you approach this issue correctly, it turns out that electricity is the most economical way.
Read in the article
Types of electric heating of a private house
Heating by electricity can be divided into several categories: spot, general, combined. Below, the varieties and principles of operation of electrical appliances of such a plan are described in detail.
Spot heating with space heaters
The domestic market can offer a huge range in the segment. The pricing policy will allow you to choose models of both economy class and premium units. In order not to get confused in the options, they are divided into subgroups:
- . Based on the work of needle or x-shaped heating elements.
The body of these devices is mainly made of stainless steel, but there are models that are made of glass or stone. The geometry of the box suggests the presence of holes for air intake at the bottom and a grate for ejection of a hot stream at the top.
Such devices are equipped with all kinds of regulators. Which provides complete protection against overheating, tipping over, short circuits, etc. Some instances have additional privileges: electronic control, touch screen, remote control, moisture protection, dust protection, and more.
Installation can be done on the walls, or with the help of wheels.
- Thermal fans. Very comfortable and easy to use, have small dimensions and low weight. The standard power that most fan heaters have is 2 kW, they are enough to heat a small room in just 10 minutes.
The device works thanks to a fan that drives air to a heated coil, which, in turn, heats the flow and transfers it to the room. Such devices have a number of disadvantages, such as: heats while blowing, high power consumption.
In stores you can find devices with additions in the form of an ionizer, sleep timer,. Such electric heating is the most economical without.
- . They have a lot of advantages, which ensures comfort during their operation. The excellent directed heat dissipation generated by the infrared emitter will be able to fully warm you not only indoors, but also outdoors.
The design is a concave aluminum reflector with a special heat-repellent coating that concentrates and directs all thermal energy in a certain direction. There are models that have a moving base that provides heating at 90, 180 or 360 degrees.
- Oil heaters. An old acquaintance who managed to warm more than one generation of families. Its ability to heat up more than 100 degrees, while consuming an acceptable amount of energy, has won many fans. The mineral oil that is inside the heater does not expand when heated strongly with a heating element, which increases the operating temperature.
Description of popular models and systems for heating
To fully determine the most profitable models, you need to analyze a whole ton of material about the characteristics and performance indicators. Of course, there are a large number of TOPs on the Internet that describe the most popular models of heaters in their segment (one of the best TOP 10 electric heaters is presented here), but in fact the choice can be limited. This is done according to the following criteria:
- Required power;
- Mounting method;
- Safety protection class;
- Required additional features;
- Case dimensions;
- Design;
- The budget for the purchase;
Having made a list, you can easily choose the appropriate option.
Overview of electric boilers for heating private houses: prices for the most popular models
Here is a list of the most popular manufacturers who have distinguished themselves by excellent quality and excellent performance. Heating in a private house with an electric boiler (cost in the table below) is considered an alternative in the absence of a gas main.
Table of electric boilers
| Image | Manufacturer | Number of circuits | power, kWt | Area, m2 | price, rub. | |
 | EVAN-S1-3 | one | 3 | 25 | 7 500 | |
 | RUSNIT 204 | one | 4 | 30 | 9 600 | |
 | Ferroli Zews (Zeus) 6 | two | 6 | 60 | 29 500 | |
 | Protherm SKAT 9KR | two | 9 | 90 | 31 000 | |
 | Wespe Heizung W.H. Foreman 8 | one | 8 | 80 | 15 000 | |
 | Zota - Econom 7.5 | one | 7.5 | 70 | 10 000 | |
 | Vaillant eloBLOCK VE 6 | two | 6 | 65 | 33 000 | |
Heating the house with electricity. The most economical way for you
All explanations about savings will be considered on the example, which has an area of 100 m2.
What happened in the end? The total cost without solar panels is 70,000 rubles. Power consumption is 14 kW / h, for a day of operation of two boilers at a street temperature of -10, consumption will be about 90 kW / day. The cost of a kilowatt of light is 5.38 rubles, which means 90 × 5.38 × 30 = 14526 rubles per month. If we count with installed solar panels, then the amount of expenses will be 11,500 rubles.
This is one of hundreds of options, what to choose is up to you.
Note! To understand how to heat a house with electricity economically, you need to know some tricks. One of them is the installation of a three-tariff meter.
Overview of the latest solutions in electrical heating systems
It can be immediately noted that all the latest developments are very expensive, but they have a good tendency, they quickly pay off.
- Solar collectors that heat water. Such panels are placed on the roofs of houses from the sunny side. They show themselves very effectively in sunny regions. They have a fairly high efficiency and the maximum level of environmental friendliness. And the downside is the impossibility of operation in the dark. In most cases, they are installed as .
- Solar systems. Heat pumps that suck heat from the environment (air, ground and water) and transfer it to the heat carrier. An excellent option for heating, but very costly at the initial stage. The equipment takes up a lot of space. Payback period from 2 years.
- Electrode boilers designed for (owner reviews and approximate prices are on many forums and sites). A small device in the form of a pipe, heats up water, passing through itself. The coolant must contain salt. Charged particles accelerate to tremendous speed inside the pipe and heat the water with their friction. A very efficient technology. A negative nuance is the discrepancy between the power and the heating area declared by the manufacturer.
findings
Heating a house with electricity is the most economical way only if you approach it wisely. By investing more money when installing units, you will save a tidy sum in the future. Moreover, in today's world, where the level of pollution is off scale, the use of environmentally friendly technologies is a very important point for both you and future generations. Remember this.
Heating a house in the winter cold results in serious expenses. Do you want to learn how to save? I propose to compare several popular types of heating equipment, evaluate their efficiency and figure out how you can reduce heating overheads.
Direct comparison by cost per kilowatt-hour
Let's find out what the price of a kilowatt-hour of heat will be when using different sources of thermal energy.
Here are the approximate prices at the time of writing (January 2017):
- main gas- 0.7 rubles;
- Dry firewood- 0.9-1.2 p.;
- Pellets- 1.4-1.5 rubles;
- Coal- 1.5-1.6 rubles;
- Propane from a gas tank- 2.3-2.5 rubles;
- Propane from cylinders- 2.8-3.0 rubles;
- Diesel fuel- 3.2-3.6 rubles;
- Electricity- 4.0-5.0 r.
The cost of a kilowatt-hour of heat in each region will be different, as it depends on local prices and utility tariffs. For example, in Sevastopol, where I live, electricity is 40% cheaper than in Moscow (up to 600 kWh per month - 2.96 rubles / kWh versus 5.38), and pellets are twice as expensive (15,000 rubles per ton against 7000).
The conclusions are absolutely clear. The undisputed leader in terms of cheapness is main gas.
How to economically heat the house in his absence?
At a distance from the gas mains, it is most profitable to heat with firewood. They are closely followed by pellets and coal.
Cheaper, even cheaper
Comrades, choosing a heat source is not our whole task. The same source can be used in many different ways, and some of them will be noticeably more economical than others. I will talk about several solutions that will allow you to significantly reduce your heating costs.
Facade insulation
Any heating systems only compensate for heat leakage through the building envelope, windows and ventilation. Losses through walls account for up to 35% of their total amount, through the roof and windows - 25% each, through the floor - up to 15%.
There are many ways to insulate a country house; I will describe only a few of the most popular.
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Styrofoam coat(mounting on cement glue and dowels - "fungi" of foam sheets with their subsequent puttying on a reinforcing mesh). |
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Mineral wool fur coat(the scheme of insulation is the same, but with a different heat-insulating material - mats of glued mineral wool). It compares favorably with the foam plastic minimum fire hazard. |
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Insulated ventilation facade. Mineral wool is attached to the walls and covered with a windproof membrane, and on top of it - a metal or plastic cladding fixed on a frame made of galvanized profile or bar. |
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Insulated screed. It is laid on a concrete floor slab or boardwalk over a layer of dense foam or expanded polystyrene. |
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Insulated floor over wooden beams. The insulation is placed in the gap between the beams, on top of the flooring hemmed from below or laid on the cranial bars. From above, it can only be covered with waterproofing (in a cold attic) or flooring along the logs (in a residential floor or an exploited attic). |
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Bulk insulation. The gaps between the beams or the slab floor are covered with 20 - 30 centimeters of expanded clay or metallurgical slag. |
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Energy saving windows. Glass with the thinnest metal coating is opaque in the infrared spectrum and reflects thermal radiation towards the heated room. |
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Roof insulation. Mineral wool or polystyrene is placed in the gaps between the rafters and covered with a vapor barrier. |
The roof of my attic is insulated with two materials - a 50-mm layer of mineral wool and foam plastic of the same thickness. An attic with an area of 60 m2 with panoramic energy-saving windows of 26 squares to maintain comfortable + 20C in -20 on the street has enough heat power of 4 kilowatts.
How we save: by reducing heat losses that the heating system must compensate.
Savings: insulation coefficients used in thermal engineering calculations vary from 0.6 to 4. The difference between the extreme scenarios (a house with an outer foam plastic coat and energy-saving windows on the one hand and an uninsulated warehouse with profiled sheet walls on the other) is more than 6 times. This is how you can reduce heating costs due to insulation.
Condensing gas boiler
Condensing gas boilers are the most economical boilers for heating a private house.
How are: the boiler has two heat exchangers. One of them takes heat from the products of combustion of the main gas. The second is for them. The condensate is discharged into the sewer by a drain pipe.
Reference: the main combustion products of hydrocarbons are carbon dioxide and water.
How we save: by using the total heat of combustion, including the heat of condensation of water vapor. As you know, the evaporation of water requires energy. When steam condenses, this energy is released and, in our case, is utilized by a heat exchanger.
Savings: 11 - 13%. Taking into account the heat of combustion of gas, this allows marketers to declare an incredible efficiency of 107% for condensing boilers. Of course, the calorific value of the gas is taken as 100%, without taking into account the condensation of water vapor.
pyrolysis boiler
The already economical heating with wood can be made even more economical when using a pyrolysis boiler. As a bonus, the owner receives an increase in the interval between kindling from 2-4 to 10-12 hours.
How it works: in a pyrolysis boiler (gas generator), the combustion of fuel is divided into two stages. At first, firewood smolders with limited air access and high temperature. In the process of pyrolysis, only a small amount of ash remains from them, and the bulk of the fuel is converted into CO (carbon monoxide) and volatile hydrocarbons.
Once in the afterburner, superheated combustible gases are mixed with fresh air supplied through the injectors. At the same time, they ignite and completely burn out. At the outlet of the boiler - the notorious CO2 and H2O.
How we save: due to complete combustion of the fuel (and, accordingly, maximum efficiency) while limiting the thermal power. In a classic solid fuel boiler, a blower damper (often equipped with a thermostat) is used to adjust the power. With a limited air flow, part of the fuel literally flies into the pipe - gaseous hydrocarbons do not have time to burn out in the furnace.
Savings: up to 30%. This is how the efficiency of a classic boiler drops with incomplete combustion of fuel.
Solid fuel boiler and heat accumulator
How to save on heating using solid fuel and a classic boiler?
Install a heat accumulator in the gap of the heating circuit.
How it works: a heat accumulator is a large insulated container with branch pipes for connecting to several heating circuits. It is used, as the name suggests, to store heat.
A tank with a volume of 3000 liters, when water is heated from 40 to 80 degrees, will accumulate 175 kWh of thermal energy, which is enough to heat a house of 90 square meters during the day.
The heat accumulator closes two heating circuits with forced circulation:
- The first one connects it to the heating boiler;
- The second unites the tank with heating devices.
How we save: due to the operation of the boiler at rated power and with maximum efficiency. The resulting heat is stored in a heat accumulator and used to heat the house for the next few hours.
As a bonus, the owner will receive more rare kindling of the boiler - depending on the volume of the tank and the area of \u200b\u200bthe house, from once every 12 hours to once a day.
Savings: the same 10 - 30% that are lost during the operation of a classic solid fuel boiler with a forcibly limited power.
Electric boiler and heat accumulator
How to make electric heating cheaper?
A combination of an electric boiler, a two-tariff meter and a heat accumulator already familiar to us will allow us to heat a house relatively cheaply.
How it works:
- The buffer tank in this case also closes two circuits that combine it with the boiler and heating appliances;
- At night, the boiler turns on by a timer and heats the water in the tank;
- During the day, the accumulated heat maintains a comfortable temperature in the house.
How we save: due to the consumption of electricity during the operation of a cheaper nightly tariff.
Savings: I will give Moscow prices. If at a one-rate tariff for a kilowatt-hour of electricity you have to pay 5.38 rubles, then at a two-rate tariff at night the same kilowatt-hour will cost 1.64 rubles. Savings - 70%.
Warm floor
Underfloor heating can be implemented in several ways:
- pipe laying with a coolant in an insulated screed;
- Laying the heating cable in a layer of tile adhesive under the tile;
- Film heaters under parquet, laminate or linoleum.
Regardless of what types of fuel are used for heating, underfloor heating is positioned as economical heating.
How we save: by lowering the average temperature inside the house. With convection heating with radiators or wall convectors, +22°C at floor level will be at +27 - +30 under the ceiling. The average temperature is 25-26°C.
Do you often walk on the ceiling or rest on it? Me too no. Gravity, you know.
The obvious conclusion is that heating the air under the ceiling is absolutely useless. It only leads to an increase in thermal energy leakage through the roof or ceiling: the heat flux is directly proportional to the temperature difference on both sides of the building envelope.
In the case of a warm floor, when it is heated to +22, it will be +16 under the ceiling. The average temperature is +19. By lowering the average temperature, we reduce heat loss.
Savings: Depends on the weather outside. Jokes aside. At 0C outside, a decrease in the air temperature in the house from 25 to 19 will save 24%, and at -10 - only 15%.
infrared heating
Heating your home with electricity can be made cheaper by using infrared heaters. They may be:
- Devices with a high-temperature heating coil in a quartz tube;
- Film heaters installed for finishing walls or imitating paintings, photographs, wall panels, etc.;
- Glass, ceramic or metal panels.
The key difference between IR heaters and convection ones directly follows from their name: most of the heat is transferred to the environment not through direct contact with air, but due to thermal radiation.
How we save: by placing such a device under the ceiling, we will make it heat the floor and the furniture standing on it. They, in turn, will begin to give off heat to the air in the lower part of the heated volume. As a result, we get an analogue of a warm floor, but at a much lower cost.
The temperature distribution is the same as in the case of a warm floor.
Moreover, the devices can be easily installed with your own hands after finishing the fine finish. When installing a warm floor, you will have to at least remove the finish coating.
Since infrared radiation will heat not only the floor, but also all the people in the room, the comfortable temperature will drop even more than when using a warm floor - up to 14-15 degrees.
Savings: at 0C outside, a decrease in the average temperature in the room from 25 to 15 degrees will save 40%.
Solar collectors
If solar panels are designed to generate electricity, then solar collectors are used to heat water. The collector can be flat or tubular; the best models of these devices utilize up to 85% of solar heat.
The main problem with these devices is that they only work during daylight hours. Not only that: the amount of heat that the collector produces varies depending on weather conditions. That is why solar heat is used only as an additional source of energy for heating.
To accumulate thermal energy in heating systems with solar collectors, our old friend, a heat accumulator, is used.
How we save: due to the utilization of absolutely free thermal radiation of the Sun.
Operating expenses - 0 rubles, 0 kopecks.
Savings: in central Russia on a clear day, a kilowatt of heat can be removed from a square meter of collector surface. With a day length of 8 hours, the theoretical maximum amount of thermal energy received from an area of 1 m2 is 8 kWh. A collector battery with an area of 60 m2 is capable of generating 8*60=240 kWh per day.
Even one collector with an area of 2 m 2, which produces 8 kilowatt-hours of heat per day, will reduce the cost of electric heating with a heating element boiler by 800-1000 rubles per month.
All this is in theory.
In practice, the picture is not so rosy:
- On a cloudy winter day, the collector power drops to 100 watts per square;
- Devices with a total area of 60 m2 will cost 600-700 thousand rubles at current prices. Solar heat is cheap at the stage of operation, but not at all when buying equipment.
An interesting fact: a few years ago, the energy sector in Europe headed for solar collectors and other alternative heat sources. In particular, in Cyprus the total collector area is 800 m2 per 1000 population. In Russia - 0.2 m 2 per 1000 people.
Heating with heat pumps
Heat pumps run on electricity and, despite this, are a source of very cheap heat.
How is this possible?
Let's study the work cycle.
- The compressor compresses the freon gas. With excess pressure, it turns into a liquid and heats up;
- The heat exchanger removes excess heat from our hot guy. It is utilized to heat the air in the house (directly or through a coolant);
- At the expansion valve, the pressure of the refrigerant drops sharply and it evaporates. At the same time, the freon temperature instantly drops by several tens of degrees;
- In an external heat exchanger, the gaseous refrigerant is heated by the external environment;
- The heated gas is compressed by the compressor - and the cycle repeats.
The outside environment can be much colder than the air inside the house. The main thing is that freon should be even colder when passing through the heat exchanger.
What media can serve as a source of heat?
- street air. The best models of air source heat pumps are able to heat a house at -25 outside;
- Priming. Deeper than the freezing level, its temperature is above zero all year round. Heat exchangers can be immersed in wells or laid in trenches;
When laying horizontally, the area allotted for the collector should be three times the heated area.
- Water. The heat exchanger is placed in a non-freezing reservoir (preferably a flowing one). Groundwater can also serve as a source of heat: it is taken from the well and, after cooling, is discharged into the second, drainage well.
How we save: due to the fact that for every kilowatt consumed by the compressor, the pump pumps 3-6 kilowatts of heat into the house. This feature reduces the cost of a kilowatt-hour of energy to the level of a wood-burning boiler - with incomparable ease of use. The heat pump can operate offline, without any maintenance, indefinitely.
Savings: compared with a direct heating device - the same 3-6 times. The exact value depends on:
- Outdoor heat exchanger temperatures. The colder the environment, the less heat can be taken away from it;
- Internal heat exchanger temperatures. With its growth, the heat transfer of the pump per kilowatt of power decreases.
That is why heat pumps usually use underfloor heating or low-temperature radiator heating.
The main source of heat in my house is inverter air conditioners, a type of air source heat pump. A usable area of 154 square meters is heated by 4 devices with a total peak thermal power of 14 kW, consuming from 1.2 to 4 kW, depending on the street temperature. About 1500 kWh of electricity per month is consumed for heating needs.
Conclusion
I sincerely hope that my recommendations and experience will help the reader to choose an economical and affordable heating scheme. As always, the video in this article will give you the opportunity to get acquainted with additional information. I look forward to your comments. Good luck, comrades!
Unlike residents of apartments, owners of private houses face many tasks in organizing the efficient operation of water supply, electricity, and. Modern manufacturers offer more and more simple and profitable technologies and ways to provide a private house or cottage with heat. One such know-how was electric heating. In this article, we will tell you how to organize electricity heating at home cheaply.
It is believed that the most profitable type, in terms of price, is a gas boiler and metal radiators. Unfortunately, not all homeowners have access to this method. The territory of our country is not completely gasified, ecologically clean areas are especially far from the network gas.
Advantages and disadvantages
Just for those houses near which there are no gas mains, electric heating will be a competent and profitable solution. Such an alternative home heating has obvious advantages:
- + no need to burn anything to get heat
- + no need to regularly replenish fuel supplies
- + no need to carry anything heavy and lay it in the firebox
- + fuel itself flows through the wires
The electric heating system of a private house also has disadvantages:
- - significant power consumption
- - constant growth of housing and communal services tariffs
- - the risk of power outage without warning
- – the need to purchase an autonomous generator in case of an emergency shutdown of the system
At the stage of designing a house, it is worthwhile, together with specialists, to develop such an effective system that will make heating a country house with electricity economical, efficient and safe. Low price sometimes becomes the main factor when choosing the type of home heating. Thanks to new technologies, despite the increase in energy tariffs, electric heaters are becoming more efficient.
What is the best electric heating?
The concept of electric heating includes a large class of technical means and methods.
To date, the home heating system can be of two types:
- With direct heat dissipation
- With intermediate coolant
First option provides for the use for heating of such devices as: an electric convector, a spiral, infrared or quartz heater, a thermal electric fan. Such household appliances, for all their convenience and ease of use, have a significant drawback - a very high consumption of electricity.
This does not include the underfloor heating system, which should be discussed separately. It will really help to create a comfortable temperature in the house or in the country at no extra cost.
Second option- this is a system in the "heart" of which an electric heating boiler is installed. It heats the coolant to the required temperature and distributes heat through the pipes. Any construction forum will help you find real reviews about the use of such heating systems.
If we consider in comparison a solid fuel, liquid fuel or pellet boiler against an electric one, then the latter wins significantly. The main "trump card" of the latter is a high efficiency. Due to the installation of automatic temperature controllers on batteries, the economic effect becomes even higher. In addition, well-organized electric heating of a private house is durable, easy to use daily and quiet. Very attractive is the fact that the organization of electric heating does not require any permits for installation.
IMPORTANT: You can make the use of electricity for heating cheaper by installing a two-tariff meter. So the cost per 1 kWh at night will be much lower.
Seven ways to organize inexpensive heating of a private house with electricity
Electric convector
The principle of operation of convectors is to circulate air through the heating elements. According to the laws of physics, warmer air rises and mixes with colder air. So the heating of the room occurs evenly.
The advantages of such devices are in the heating rate and efficiency of 80%, compact size with high power. In addition, a variety of operating modes and a built-in thermostat allow efficient use of electricity only when the ambient temperature drops.
Separately, it is worth highlighting the mobility that a convector heater has. By moving it to the coldest areas of the room, you can quickly and evenly heat the entire space.
Bold plus in the piggy bank convectors- permission to use in damp rooms. Water protection allows you to install such an electrical appliance even in the bathroom or toilet.
Like any household appliances, in addition to significant advantages, convector heating also has disadvantages: the inclusion of all appliances in the network immediately entails an excess of the permitted power.
IMPORTANT: When installing a relay that regulates the sequential start of heaters, the possibility of exceeding the permitted power is eliminated. Such a solution will maintain a comfortable temperature in a private house and reduce costs.
Tubular electric heater
The principle of operation of the system is to transfer heat from the heater to the liquid heat carrier in pipes. Traditionally, the coolant is water, oil or antifreeze. In simple words, it is a device that works by analogy with an electric kettle or boiler. A heating element immersed in a liquid. When used to organize economical electric heating of a private house, such devices show high efficiency and minimal heat loss.
Often tubular electric heaters are called oil coolers or heaters. In times of scarcity, such devices were even made by hand. Photos and videos of homemade radiators can be found on construction forums.
The main advantages of tubular heaters are their reliability. They are not explosive and are not afraid of external influences such as vibration and shock. In addition, their design is so diverse that it allows you to harmoniously fit the device into any interior.
Tubular electric batteries have one significant drawback - a high price. The point is the high cost of the metal from which the heating elements are made.
Electric floor heating
A modern way to heat large areas without the use of radiators. The easiest to install underfloor heating comes in the form of ready-made heating mats, which must be distributed over the surface, connected and hidden under a layer of screed. The warm floor has a big plus - due to the fact that the heat in the room is distributed evenly, the number of dust particles in the space of the house decreases.
Electric boiler with heating element
The growing popularity of such boilers lies in their high reliability, safety and relatively low price, especially in comparison with induction or electrode boilers. However, such a heating system cannot be called: “The best electric heating” and it cannot be called cheap either. Boilers of this type use thermoelectric heaters - not the most economical devices in terms of power consumption.
IMPORTANT: Before installing a boiler with a heating element, check with the power grid company for the maximum possible load on the wiring in your home.
Induction electric boiler
A two-winding transformer is hidden inside the device. The eddy currents that arise in it move behind a short-circuited coil, which is the body of the induction boiler. At this moment, the secondary winding receives a certain amount of energy and converts it into heat, which heats up the liquid coolant.
Boilers with induction are distinguished by 100% efficiency, resistance to voltage drops, rapid space heating and durability. They simply do not contain parts that can break!
Electrode heating boilers
The principle of operation of heating devices of this type is as follows: the role of heating elements in it is performed by electrodes. They are immersed in a liquid coolant. During the passage of electric current through the electrodes, heat is released. Thus, scale does not form inside the boiler, which greatly simplifies its use in everyday life.
In addition to the absence of scale, the electrode boiler lasts much longer than a tubular heater and has a compact size that is suitable for use in a small area dwelling.
Uninterrupted operation of the device is possible only when the correct liquid is poured into the electric boiler. If it is water - then after multi-stage filtration, if antifreeze - then only the brand of the same name with the boiler.
Infrared heater
The principle of its operation is based on the fact that not the heating element, not the coolant, but the surrounding objects are heated. From heated objects, the air in the room also warms up. In simple words, an infrared heater works like a microwave oven.
Such heaters are rightfully considered one of the most budgetary. Particularly popular are heaters made in the form of panels. The panel can be installed on the wall or on the ceiling both in a private house and in non-residential premises.
Due to the increased heating area, a private or country house heats up many times faster than when using other heaters.
IMPORTANT: Infrared panels can be combined with an electrode boiler. For example, use infrared heating during the period when the heating season has not yet begun or has already ended, and it suddenly got colder outside.
Today, there is a wide range of options to achieve the necessary comfort inside a residential building using electric heating.
Manufacturers offer a wide range of different devices for organizing home heating with electricity. To get a warm house and save money is real, one has only to create a single reliable system in which elements for heating and possible heat losses are rationally taken into account.
