Energy prices are steadily rising, so an increasing number of suburban residents are thinking about how to inexpensively and efficiently heat their homes. Most often, homeowners are concerned about what heating options are available for a private home and country house, which boiler has the highest efficiency, which boiler to choose for the heating system, how to properly install the heating system, what types of heating without gas exist and which ones are the most economical.
FORUMHOUSE advises a different approach. First, we decide on the type of fuel, and then we select a heating system “for it.”
From our material you will learn:
- What are the costs of a heating system?
- What type of fuel can be called the most affordable;
- What does a convenient heating system mean?
- Can heating with electricity be cheap?
- What can become the basis of an economical heating system.
Choosing the most profitable home heating
Every developer dreams of having an economical heating system for a private home. You can save on 3 key things:
- Financial. Make an inexpensive heating option
- Savings in terms of heating system
- Savings in terms of modern technology
Before installing heating you need to decide:
- For what purposes will the house be used? Will you live there permanently or visit periodically? The payback period of the heating system depends on this. It may be useful to install an economical heating option.
- What is key for you: saving on heating now or investing in the heating of a private home for the future.
- Decide which fuel will perform the key function
Solar collectors
Unlike solar panels, collectors are designed to heat water. There are two forms of solar collectors - flat and tubular. The most efficient models of these devices can process up to 85% of the energy received from sunlight - and this is a fairly high figure.
However, collectors also have a number of disadvantages. First of all, it is worth noting that solar collectors can only work during the daytime. In addition, even during the day, the efficiency of the device can vary depending on external conditions - cloudy weather significantly reduces the efficiency of the collector.
Savings when using these devices are achieved through solar energy - it is absolutely free, i.e. direct heating costs are zero. If we look at this issue from this angle, we can make the erroneous conclusion that solar collectors are the most profitable heating system possible. During a long sunny day, a collector battery with an area of 60 m2 produces up to 240 kW/h per day. Even a small collector under suitable weather conditions can significantly increase heating efficiency.
Saving on finances
Let's remember right away: by saving money, you will never get the most economical and profitable heating for a private home. This is the main mistake of all developers. You invest money in building a big house, in decorating the outside and inside, but most often you forget about such fundamental things as heating.
Heating costs money, but you can still save money wisely. You can install the good old and proven gravity radiator heating system. It will be affordable and you will provide your home with warmth during the cold season. But this will not be the most economical heating system.
Liquefied gas
In terms of cost per kilowatt of energy, liquefied gas ranks third.
There are different ways to deliver and store it, but the smaller the volume, the more expensive the final price. Therefore, a gas holder is needed for a permanent home, and for a small dacha, which is rarely visited in cold weather, you can get by with several 50-liter cylinders. When using a gas holder, the price of a kilowatt of heat from burning liquefied gas is 2.3-2.5 rubles, the use of cylinders raises the bar by 50 kopecks.
You can also heat yourself in different ways.
The simplest system is direct combustion of gas to produce heat without heating the intermediate coolant, pipework and radiators. For this purpose, gas convectors and infrared heaters are used. Their operating principle and design are different, but they have one thing in common - availability of equipment, compactness and operation from bottled gas. The disadvantage is the power limitation and heating of only one room. For example, infrared and catalytic gas heaters from AYGAZ have a maximum power of 6.2 kW.
With such a compact infrared heater you can heat up to 40 m2 Source vps-region.ru
On a note! You can get professional advice on autonomous gasification of a private home directly from specialists
The gas tank allows you to build a full-fledged autonomous water heating system, and the frequency of refilling depends on the volume of the container, heating area and operating mode. In terms of ease of operation and maintenance, the system ranks second after electric heating. But it requires significant initial investment for the purchase of a gas tank, its installation (usually underground) and the laying of communications (pipes for connection to the boiler and electrical cable for the tank heating system).
Another difficulty for a gas tank is choosing a location. It should be located close enough to the house and be accessible for gas refilling Source rosavtonomgaz.ru
About the most profitable home heating system
Now it remains to find out which heating system for a private home is the most economical. In this category, water heated floors win by a decent margin. And that's why:
- Heated floors are 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 bottom to top, while radiators heat the ceiling first;
- Heated floors operate at low temperatures. The high limit is 45 degrees.
- Warm floors can be heated with anything.
That's exactly what they say all over the Internet. In fact, all modern systems are approximately the same in terms of efficiency. It doesn't matter what you install, it's important how accurately you adjust it all. The more accurately the heating system is adjusted, the more economically it operates.
The most important point by which savings are achieved on heated floors is thermal insulation. Manufacturers recommend using polystyrene foam with a density of 35, a thickness of 10 cm on the first floor and 5 cm on subsequent ones.
In practice, 5 cm on the first floor is quite enough. Unless, of course, you live in a region with extreme cold.
You can see what a heated floor looks like in our video:
The second point by which you can get the most economical home heating is temperature control. By installing room thermostats with sulfur actuators on the collector and a mixing module, you can save up to 50% compared to radiator heating.
You can make the adjustment simpler, and the underfloor heating system as a whole.
Main types of heating units
Autonomous heating can be automated. The following coolants are used:
- Steam.
- Electricity.
- Hot water.
- Air.
High-quality installations operate on solid fuel, gas cylinders, and diesel fuel.
All types of heating have disadvantages. If the user analyzes all the options in terms of the cost of the coolant, then the most expensive fuel is diesel fuel, the most affordable is gas.
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 period is quite long. From 10 years and above.
This technology includes a heat pump. With the help of earthly resources, it is capable of producing at least 4 times more energy than it consumes itself. If you need a boiler for your home with a power of 20 kW, then a heat pump with a power of only 5 kW will be suitable for heating. The heat pump runs on electricity. The pump also costs 3-4 times more than a first-class gas boiler with high efficiency.
Solar collectors can be used for heating. There is no energy consumption required at all. When properly installed, solar collectors can heat heated floors and provide you with the necessary amount of hot water. But again, it all comes down to finances.
Our future lies in these technologies. The moment will come when both a heat pump and a solar collector will become available to everyone.
As a result, we get that using a warm floor + temperature control + a heat pump (or collector) we can get truly the most economical home heating.
If you are looking far ahead and are confident that you can afford such expenses, then you definitely will not regret having all this installed at home.
Solid fuel boilers with heat accumulator
A standard solid fuel boiler can also be made quite economical by equipping it with a heat accumulator. The device of this design looks simple: the battery is an insulated container with pipes for connection to the heating system. The heat accumulator, as its name implies, accumulates the thermal energy generated by heating equipment.
The efficiency of the storage device largely depends on its volume - for example, a 3000-liter battery that has accumulated a sufficient amount of energy can independently heat a house of 90 m2 throughout the day. The battery tank acts as a kind of jumper between the boiler and heating devices.
Additional ways to save
Additional heating savings can be obtained by installing control equipment:
- If you have radiators, thermostatic heads will not be amiss. They are installed on the radiator supply instead of conventional valves. They perform a simple function - at the desired temperature in the room, they shut off the supply, and when the room cools down, they open it back up. The adjustment is only relevant for heating systems with forced circulation
- If you have heated floors, then it would be a good idea to install a manifold with servo drives and install 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 coolant supply to the heated floor circuit
These two life hacks allow you to achieve additional savings on heating.
Summarizing all of the above
Weighing all the pros and cons, all the pros and cons, we can definitely say the following: if the house was purchased with gas heating already connected, then of course it is not worth changing it.
If you are not ready to invest almost a million rubles in your house so that it has gas, and the speed of heating the rooms is also important to you (in this regard, gas heating loses to electric heating), it is better to give preference to electric heating.
The fact is that electrical systems do not have this drawback, especially if you use a boiler-air system. The whole trick of quick warming up is convection - room air is taken in by the system, then heated and returned to the room, taken in again, and so on in a circle. Such systems are characterized by very high efficiency - and produce more heat than they consume energy.
Increase equipment efficiency and reduce bottom line costs
For autonomous heating of suburban real estate, steam heating is increasingly being chosen. This option is the most affordable and reliable. Boilers with a water circuit can be equipped with multifunctional automation, which will control the operating process of the system.
It is necessary to try to draw up an economical heating project, selecting the power of the equipment and the location for installing radiators. A multi-tariff meter will help save the family budget. If you install water heating yourself, you can save on paying for specialist services.
Using a reliable solid fuel boiler at home
Should I add antifreeze?
When the temperature drops to freezing, water expands by about 11%. It's easy to imagine what happens to the pipes. Antifreeze added to water significantly increases the viscosity of water and reduces the degree of expansion. In other words, antifreeze is a salvation for the heating system.
Prudent owners who do not live in a country house in winter should definitely take care of filling up with antifreeze.
But in pursuit of the safety of the heating system, do not forget about the safety of the water supply system. If it is a tee, have time to drain the water before it gets cold. Then the water pipes will not be damaged. Antifreeze in the heating system will be useless if the country cottage has warm water floors.
The best option is to maintain the heating of a country house on duty in winter at a level of 9 - 12 degrees.
Antifreezes last an average of 5 - 8 years. Then acetic acid is released, which eats up the radiators. Don't forget to change it on time.
Conclusion
Calculate everything carefully: the area of the room, average temperatures, the availability of gas and solid fuel, the number of days a year when you stay in a country house.
Whatever your heating choice, good building insulation will keep the inside of the house warm. Consider using several heating methods at the same time: this will protect you from unforeseen situations. Do not neglect regular inspections of equipment in order to increase its service life and personal safety.
The most profitable and affordable way to heat a small country house
It is possible to use the most economical property heating by choosing a solid fuel installation. This is an alternative to gas equipment. Only a team of specialists can install and put it into operation. For stable operation of a solid fuel boiler, it is possible to use briquettes, pallets, firewood, and coal. A well-laid pipeline allows you to maintain a comfortable temperature in the house even on cold winter days.
More useful and educational information is presented in the video:
Average score of ratings is more than 0
Share link
Comments There are no comments yet, but you could be the first...
