Overview of gas boilers: algorithm for selecting the gas boiler

Mandatory set of “amenities” necessary for each house includes

Three elements: electricity, heating and cold water with sewage .

And, if necessary, everything, except the source of permanent electricity, can be

organize and inside the house. Not everywhere will be able to do so with water supply

central

heating

,

characteristic of many cities and towns in our country, a luxury for most

households

Even in very civilized countries, many of them make do with

individual. Today, however, individual heating systems are becoming more and more expensive

are also in demand in our country, and it is not only

private countryside construction.

In some smaller communities, central heating boilers are simply closed due to the lack of heat sources

Inefficiency and

Wear and tear of equipment: fuel is getting more expensive, heating systems are not at all

The gasification program on the national scale is being carried out quite successfully. Here

and it turns out that it is easier to switch over to individual heating rather than invest in modernization of outdated boilers and laying of new pipelines from them.

There are several options for heating a cottage. The cheapest one is heating with mains gas, which is burned in a boiler. Selecting a heating boiler – a responsible thing, and the larger the room or building that he will have to heat, the more responsible should he. There are several criteria, on the basis of which boilers are selected, and it is necessary to understand all of them, before choosing a specific model.

SEVERAL INPUTS

Let’s assume that we have decided that we will use a gas boiler for heating. We have the opportunity to connect the gas or it is already connected, if we are talking about replacing equipment or remodeling the house . It is worth noting that the connection of gas, t.e. Submission to the house “pipe” at the request of the owner, is now quite expensive, we are talking about a few hundred thousand Dollars. This means that the cost of the “one stop solution” is comparable to the cost of the whole system including not only the boiler but also the control and regulation devices and the heating circuits pipes, radiators, etc. . . There is an alternative – if we are talking about gasification of a house with a plot of land, you can put most likely, buried in the ground a tank for liquefied gas gas holder and periodically refill it. This is especially convenient if for technical reasons it is not realistic to have gas and other sources of heating are not considered. But liquefied gas is more expensive than the mains, and the gas holder every 10-20 years requires inspection. Which is also quite expensive, even if it does not have to be dug out for inspection. Often they do it in a simpler way: every few decades the gas holder is simply replaced with a new one.

Almost all gas boilers are originally designed for gas mains, but it is not difficult to convert them to liquefied gas as well. Auxiliary conversion set is usually supplied separately for small boilers it can be part of the kit , costs low, the conversion procedure is described in the manual. Adjustment, reconfiguration, the first run of the boiler should be performed by professionals with the appropriate documentation. Installation also have the right to carry out only certified craftsmen, although in fact it happens that the customer manages on their own, and from professionals are required only to check and issue a “paper”. Even if the whole “commissioning” will actually consist of pressing a button – this is a prerequisite, without compliance with which the manufacturer has the right to refuse warranty service. We do not consider the finer points of the documentation – this is a completely separate topic.

THREE REASONS

There are three main reasons why the user buys a gas boiler.

First

, is the easiest. The house was heated by a boiler in the past, the old one has exhausted its capacity or it was decided to modernize it and replace it. There is practically no need: unscrew one boiler, screw the other one on. Probably, if we are talking about replacing old equipment with more modern ones, you would have to change the smoke escape, organize drainage of condensation, install additional sensors, controls, and other electronic components, but it’s not that serious alterations. About them will be written below.

Second

– Second and most popular with private persons. The house is already built, maybe even partially completed interior decoration, but at the stage of construction no one thought about the “nuances” of the heating system. That is, something can still be done, but not everything – when designing a heating system, you already have to face a number of constraints.

The third

– The house is built according to a pre-planned project, which includes a pre-engineered heating system. That is, the customer knows in advance what he wants. This is the most correct variant, but, as usual, the rarest. A special case is a complete rebuilding of a house with the change of the whole heating system and minimization of thermal losses – replacement of windows, doors, insulation.

Next, you should write something like “currently on the market there are many types…” in this case – boilers . Many manufacturers divide their products into “simple” and “high level”, sometimes “medium level” is added as well. Models in these ranges differ in price and features. There is nothing surprising here, it is characteristic of almost any product, and it is clear that the higher the level, the higher the price. That is another important thing. The cost of the boiler compared to the entire heating system is not too great, and if the system is complex enough, the increase in the price of the boiler on the background of the total estimate will be barely noticeable According to reviews, boilers “by Pasha” usually function properly, and they have more problems with repairs. And the general recommendations are the following: you do not want to save on a boiler, because the whole heating system depends on its operation. Of course, it is necessary to take care that all the required documents are prepared correctly, servicing deadlines are observed and you have the contacts of repair specialists just in case. Not only of the boiler, but also of all other components. The search for repairers in the “season” most likely in winter, in freezing weather can be delayed. How the owner of the room, his family and favorite geraniums on the bedside will feel at this moment is clear.

POWER CALCULATION

The first thing you need to determine is the necessary power for heating the boiler. There are three types of calculations. Let’s note firstly that we are not interested in the power of the burner, but the useful heat output that the boiler is able to give to the system the terminology may vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer . Usually, both capacities are specified in the documentation, but it is also easy to find the real heat output of the boiler: multiply the output of the burner by the efficiency of the boiler. Looking ahead, we note that there is a nuance efficiency is indicated depending on the temperature of the fluid in the supply and return lines, it is also worth considering.

Calculation of power, in general, does not go much beyond the usual school physics course. The problem is that at school all parameters are given in the solution of problems, but in real life you have to determine them yourself. For simple cases suitable first or second option of calculation, but if we are talking about a house with a large area, it makes sense to turn to experts and calculate by the third option. Or try to do the calculation by yourself, but in this case there is a risk to underestimate something.

First choice

. Approximately we can assume that for 10 m² heated area should account for 1 kW of heat output, with ceilings not more than three meters high and good insulation of the room. Boiler output is always specified by the manufacturer remember, we need the useful heating power, not the burner output , the user knows the area – in short, there is no problem here. But, of course, this calculation does not take into account any additional factors, and there are quite a few of them. That is why in any case it is better to use more detailed calculation methods.

Why do we need exactly the maximum power of the boiler? It is obvious that when working on it, the boiler provides a given level of heating. Therefore, it is worth considering the average temperature of the coldest week of the year for a given area and the heat loss of the rooms during that time.

Second variant

The coefficient of the calculation also allows getting around without any special calculations. The first variant power value 1 kW per 10 m is taken as a value of 0.6-0.9, and the second variant is taken as a value of 1.0-1.9² must be multiplied by several correction factors. By the way, looking at them, we can see at once that it does not matter where the building is located, it is more important to insulate the room correctly. The first factor takes into account the geographical location – not latitude, but “place on the map”. For the southern regions of the country it is equal to 0.6-0.9 in New York region it is 1.1-1.5. In Siberia and in the Urals it is 1.2-1.8 and 1.3-1.7 correspondingly, for the Northern regions it is 1.5-2.0. The second factor depends on the construction and thermal insulation of the building. If the heat insulation is very good, it is taken as 0,6-0,9, for a house with average heat insulation most buildings are of this kind it is 1,0-1,9. In “summer cottages” with minimum insulation, the correction factor increases to 3.0-4.0.

As can be seen, with such a rough calculation, much depends on the correct choice of the coefficient from the available range. With some experience, it is possible to “guess” quite accurately, but here it is necessary to take into account the different features of the building.

The third variant – calculation of all heat losses of heated premises. Generally speaking, to calculate the losses and the boiler output you can use either “calculators” from the Internet or special programs, but they are all based on relevant manuals.

For calculations according to this methodology we need again the temperature of the coldest week and the temperature that will be recognized as comfortable inside the room. Further calculations are performed separately for all elements of heated premises: windows, doors, walls, floor and ceiling. to do this, it is necessary to know their geometric dimensions or rather the total area , the material, the type of insulation and the number of layers. Walls and ceilings that border the neighbors, if there are such and they heat their dwelling themselves, do not count. You must also take into account heat loss due to ventilation, but here, the result may also depend on the type of boiler. This will be discussed below.

With any method of calculation it may be necessary to enter another correction factor. The reason is that the gas pressure in networks is uneven and decreases during periods of high gas consumption, i.e. when the gas pressure is very high.e. on the coldest winter days. If there is a massive drop in pressure, the boiler will generally shut down. So we will need to know three more numbers: the first of them the minimum pressure of gas supply is found in the power supply company. And at the stage of selecting the specific boiler it is necessary to find in the technical data the nominal gas pressure for which it is designed and the minimum pressure at which it will work. The first and third numbers should of course be compared, and the right coefficient is the square root of the ratio of the minimum supply pressure to the nominal pressure.

One of the possible schemes of heating and domestic hot water at home using a gas double circuit boiler. Includes a one-circuit radiator heating, hot water system with an indirect water heater and a solar collector system. Operation is controlled by a separate control panel

Schematic: Buderus

To complete the calculation of power, you need to specify whether the boiler will be used only for heating or for heating and hot water preparation. A single-circuit boiler is suitable for the first case, a double circuit boiler for the second. One boiler can also be used to produce hot water by adding a water heater boiler to the system, for the two-circuit boiler boiler in principle is not required. If the water temperature in the boiler drops below the permissible temperature, the boiler switches over to heating water in the boiler. By the way, it is worth remembering that all boilers are set to priority on hot water: first it is heated, only then comes the turn of heating. In wall mounted boilers, usually within the same series, manufacturers offer a choice between single-circuit and double-circuit.

The required amount of hot water per day is taken as 50 to 200 liters per person, depending on the needs of the inhabitants. It must be said that in many cases this calculation is neglected: heating water requires much less energy than heating, and the time spent on it is not significant. Sometimes it is even simpler: a single-circuit boiler from which only heating is powered, and sanitary hot water is obtained by separately installed water heaters, electric or gas, flow or storage, with a boiler

Boiler may be necessary in several cases

.Boilers are often used in combination with powerful, complex and expensive boilers – most of them are single circuit. There is also a reverse variant. If the heated area is small, the small boiler can not heat any acceptable amount of hot water. It is believed that the thermal capacity of dual-circuit boilers capable of heating water in flow mode, should be at least 20, and preferably 24 kW, which corresponds to about 200 m² the area of the premises. Very often there is a situation where the area of the room is much smaller no more than 100-150 m², and you need both heating and DHW. It turns out that a small boiler would be good for heating, but you buy a more powerful model, especially since there is very little difference between the size and price of boilers in this power range. This is where it is more practical to take a small boiler and add an extra boiler to the system. Heat losses in the boiler is essentially small, and in the heating season they will still go to heating the room in which it stands. Many companies offer boiler models, combined with boilers to save space. And with the volume of the boiler in 50-100 liters the boiler can have a wall-mounted version, more – floor standing.

It is also worth noting that the two-circuit boilers have two varieties of performance by type of heat exchanger for hot water. Heat exchanger can be bitermic or separate. In bithermal heat exchangers of both circuits are made as a single unit, the tubes of heating and DHW are coaxial, one inside the other the inner tube refers to the DHW circuit . In the split boiler the secondary heat exchanger for DHW heating is separate and is heated by the primary heat exchanger. Bi-thermal heat exchangers have fewer parts, but place higher demands on water quality otherwise the tube cross-section will quickly become overgrown with limescale and the efficiency will decrease. Split heat exchangers are less sensitive to salts in the water, but require an additional component for the system three-way valve and control devices . Of course, models with a separate heat exchanger will cost more. They only allow for a slightly higher amount of hot water per unit time. Sometimes due to this you can save on the installation of the boiler

The resulting value of power can still be slightly increased – by 10-20%, “as a reserve”. A higher power reserve is not necessary for the boiler for several reasons. Firstly, the bigger the capacity, the more expensive the boiler. Compared to the total cost of the system the increase is small, nevertheless it is there. The size of the boiler also increases with increasing power, although not always. “Neighbors” in the line can have the same size or differ slightly.

Next, many gas boilers, especially wall hung boilers have the possibility to modulate the output – its automatic change from a certain minimum value to the maximum. This minimum is on average 25-35% of the maximum value this varies from model to model . Other boilers, mainly floor standing boilers, are equipped with a one- or two-stage burner, which produces one or two fixed heating output values at work. In any case, no matter what kind of burner we have, we will inevitably encounter the process of burner failure.n. The boiler will switch on and off from time to time, depending on the power level. For models with modulating boiler output, this is also inevitable at times when the space heat loss is below the minimum output of the boiler . There is nothing wrong with the clocking, just a little occasional noise, but ideally you should try to reduce it. This is especially true for small wall hung boilers that are installed directly in the living area eg in the kitchen . It is also possible to reduce the clock speed with the right setting of the boiler.

Wall mounted gas boiler Bosch in the kitchen at the country house

BOILER TYPE SELECTION

In the previous stages, in addition to the power calculations, it is necessary to define some features of the system, more precisely the type of the organization of the domestic hot water, the presence of the boiler in the system and its volume, as well as the number of loops in the boiler. Next you need to determine the number of circuits in the heating system and their types. They are not directly relevant to the choice of boiler, but these characteristics must be taken into account in advance.

Heating circuits. Do not confuse the number of loops in the boiler with the number of heating circuits – these are different things. High-temperature radiator heating assumes the availability of radiators and heating fluid to quite high temperatures – in the region of 80 “C. A low-temperature one needs much lower temperature water leaving the boiler – around 40-50 °C. The most famous type of low-temperature heating is underfloor heating. In terms of its consumer qualities it is much more convenient than radiators and requires less energy. In addition, the use of low-temperature heating reduces the thermal loads on all elements of the system, including the boiler However, in order to install underfloor heating one needs to screed on the existing floor If the screed is already installed, it is not reasonable to redo it, so underfloor heating can be done during the construction or, sometimes, during major repair works. Underfloor heating and other low-temperature heating devices are more expensive than high-temperature radiators or other devices , but can use energy from solar collectors and work effectively with condensing boilers.

If you are dealing with heating of two or three rooms, you can probably limit yourself to one heating circuit. In more complex cases, combinations of solutions are possible. Underfloor heating is sometimes used for heating living rooms, while radiators are used for heating the auxiliary rooms. In some cases the number of heating circuits is increased, for example, some rooms are heated by underfloor heating, some rooms have underfloor heating together with small radiators, some rooms have radiators “adjusted” to a lower temperature… numerous variants. The number of heating circuits is not directly related to the choice of the boiler, it is only necessary to make sure that the control devices of the selected boiler support the joint operation of several circuits. This probably requires the purchase and installation of additional electronic control modules in addition to the standard panel. Since it is more logical to build complex systems in large houses, it is not surprising that commercial boilers have the most opportunities to choose multi-circuit control systems. It also happens that the panel is not included in the boiler package and must be selected separately.

Types of burners

. All burners are divided into atmospheric and supercharged. Wall hung boilers usually have integrated burners, floor standing boilers are sometimes with separate burners. And chosen, by the way, also on the basis of required parameters and power.

In case of atmospheric burners the gas/air mixture supply occurs due to excessive gas pressure This is a simple, cheap and noiseless option which is the most popular among small boilers. With over-blow burners, the air is discharged using an integrated fan Through changing the rotation speed of the fan, the output can also be changed easily. The “pluses” – there is no need in the chimney draft the fan pushes the combustion products itself , higher efficiency in particular, such burners are characteristic for condensing boilers and boilers of large capacities , less dependence on low and high gas pressure and pressure swings in the system. In atmospheric burner in these cases, the flame can either “sit” on the burner or begin to touch the heat exchanger both variants can lead to the burning of parts and, consequently, to repairs . There are also disadvantages of supercharged burners: higher cost, energy dependence and additional noise from the fan operation

Most of the floor standing models are meant to be installed in non-residential premises, for them the noise issue is not so critical: The changeable burner is attached to the shell. The bodies of many “domestic” boilers mainly wall hung boilers and some floor standing boilers are additionally sound insulated in order to reduce noise, but still we cannot speak about complete quietness during operation.

Sometimes, in new construction, it so happens: gas is realistic, but in the future, in a few months or years. Boilers with interchangeable burners are well suited for these cases, they can also be found among the floor standing models. You can use diesel fuel for heating at first, with an appropriate burner, then the burner will be replaced with a gas burner at a later stage. Universal burners which can operate both on diesel fuel and gas are not used for individual heating systems: too expensive.

Boiler air intake. This is also one of the parameters that determine the type of boiler. There are boilers with open and closed combustion chamber. The first burners have the air taken from the room. It is simple, convenient, but the combustion air has to be replenished at the expense of natural, cold. That is, you need a sufficiently powerful ventilation, and part of the energy will be spent on heating the incoming air this must also be taken into account when calculating the required boiler output . Boilers with a closed chamber take in air through a separate pipe, from the street, the draught is created by a fan, separate and/or fan of the supercharger burner. Advantages and disadvantages of forced draught boilers are similar to those of forced draught boilers: less dependence on chimney design, more efficiency, but additional fan noise, energy consumption and higher price.

Convection conventional and condensing boilers

. Actually, this feature is almost at the first place in the description of any boiler. But before you make a choice in favor of one of these two types, you should have an idea of other features of both boilers and heating systems.

In a conventional conventional boiler not much of the thermal energy is lost with the hot gases. The efficiency of such boilers is around 90%, t.e. If you take a boiler with a 20 kW burner, there will be only about 18 kW left for heating the water. It is possible to increase the efficiency, but only by a few percent: the “colder” the exhaust gases are, the more difficult it is to “take away” the heat from them.

In principle, the more the flue gas is cooled in the boiler, the more energy will be used for its intended purpose. At a gas temperature of about 57°C we will encounter the condensation phenomenon. The water vapor contained in the gas will begin to condense into a liquid, “taking in” the chemically active substances Even if enough hot gas will come out of the boiler, it is necessary to take into account its inevitable cooling in the chimney. Condensate is very aggressive and can literally within one to two seasons to destroy the traditional brick or steel chimneys. Temperature of gases can be around 150-200°C, of older models – higher, of some modern low-temperature – lower, around 100°C. The rest of the heat literally goes down the drain.

The more modern condensing boilers are much more economical. But also under certain conditions. The condensation process takes place directly in the boiler, so that not only the heat from the gas combustion can be fully utilized, but also the heat released by the condensation. It’s the so-called higher heat of combustion. The gain is considerable, due to the condensation up to 11 % extra heat can theoretically be obtained. In practice, for condensing boilers the usual value of efficiency is 106-109%. Exceeding the one hundred percent barrier is precisely because the efficiency of conventional boilers does not take into account the higher heat of combustion.

It would seem that if all boilers are massively replaced with condensing boilers, the effect will be no less massive? It’s not that simple. If chemically active condensate is produced in the boiler, the material of the boiler must be appropriate. The chimneys – also, because it is not certain that condensation in the boiler will run at all modes, something can “get” the chimneys The resulting condensate must be somewhere to remove. If there is a sewage system and the regulators turn a blind eye the condensate can probably be drained into the sewer. But not in all cases: boilers are often installed in cellars, but sometimes there is no central heating system there. The control system for condensing boilers is also more complex. You may need additional equipment – devices for chemical neutralization of condensate and “consumables” to them.

As a result, not only the boiler itself will cost much more, the traditional chimney is not suitable for it, the issue of condensate disposal must also be addressed. However, if we are talking about 10-15% extra heating capacity, it’s probably more economical. But such increase can be achieved only in the best cases.

Cascade of Vaillant boilers

Wall mounted gas boiler Navien in the boiler room of the holiday home

We can cool the flue gases in the only way: by taking the heat from them and giving it to the boiler water, entering the boiler. And here we have to remember about low and high-temperature heating systems. For example, if we have underfloor heating, the temperature of the fluid at the boiler’s inlet can be around 30 °C. We consider the condensation temperature to be 55 °C. Under these conditions it is possible to ensure that the flue gases are sufficiently cooled – condensation will take place in the boiler. But if the space is heated by radiators, the temperature of the boiler water in the system is high enough. Around 50 “C at the inlet is quite normal for a medium sized boiler. It is doubtful that at this temperature we can cool the gases effectively. Part of the condensation may occur, but most of the products of combustion are already in the chimney.

The conclusion is simple: the condensing boiler will only work effectively if there is a low temperature heating circuit. If the heating is traditional, radiator heating, the efficiency will be higher than that of a conventional boiler, but much lower than the maximum possible. In practice, on average, at a temperature difference of boiler water from 80 to 50 ° C efficiency will be approximately 95-98%. It is worth the trouble, you need to look on the spot. For example, in the case of a simple boiler replacement when only high temperature heating is used, at the expense of a more expensive condensing boiler we get 5-7 “extra” per cent of the output, and in the case of new construction and the installation of “underfloor heating” about 15. Conversion of the existing radiator heating to “underfloor heating” is practically not used – too expensive.

When selecting the boiler power, in the case of condensing boiler, you need to specify the required heat output, taking into account its efficiency in certain conditions. The documents for condensing boilers contain at least both values of efficiency for example, in the case of temperature differences of 80-50 and 50-30 ° C , of course, you must choose according to the used heating system.

Chimneys. Almost all manufacturers also offer different chimney options. If the boiler is convectional, with an open combustion chamber, we only need a chimney with enough draft in it. In an apartment building you can use the standard chimney. Boilers with closed combustion chamber require a supply of outside air through a chimney. Condensing boilers require a special chimney, with a pipe made of acid-resistant stainless steel or plastic. Such a chimney can also be installed inside the normal, brick, but here we have to take into account the interests of neighbors, if any. No one will allow to block the public chimney with a “private” pipe.

For boilers with closed combustion chamber and condensing boilers are often offered coaxial chimneys in the form of pipes inserted one into another. For condensing boilers they are usually made of plastic: the temperature of the gases is not too high, plastic is able to withstand it, the condensate does not suffer from plastic chimney, at the same time installation costs are reduced. Only one restriction – the length of the coaxial chimney must not exceed 3-5 meters. It is usually led directly into the wall.

Boiler room. There are two possible options, but in most cases there is no choice between them. In small houses or apartments, the heating area is small, there is no excess space, in fact the only place where you can install the boiler – the kitchen. In such conditions we use wall hung boilers. For single-family houses a separate room, a boiler room, is usually provided where the boiler is installed along with a boiler, boiler shell and other appliances. Here you can use floor standing or wall hung boilers or several cascade boilers. It is worth taking into account the noise level during operation of the boiler, it is particularly important for powerful models. Not some manufacturers produce very powerful floor models with good noise and thermal insulation that can be installed outside the boiler room, for example in the kitchen or hall. Additional elements of the system: cocks, expansion tank, etc.p. These boilers are usually assembled inside the body, and in general, the “plug and play” system is used mainly in wall hung boilers.

The list of requirements for the room in which the boiler is installed, is quite extensive. In particular, the height is regulated in homes – not less than 2.5 m, in apartments – not less than 2.2 m , the presence of ventilation not less than three times the air exchange per hour, and if you use a boiler with an open chamber, you must add the amount of air needed to burn gas . there are requirements for the distance of the boiler to the walls, the size of the room, windows and doors. A complete list of requirements can be found in the relevant regulations.

ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

Modern boilers – devices, in which various electrical and electronic components are widely used. If the electricity is cut, the system will stop working. The only exception – boilers with permanently working ignition burner in combination with a heating system that does not use pumps for pumping coolant open heating system . Such a “bundle” will continue to work and heat the room even in the absence of energy for a long time, even if the owners are not at home. In other cases it makes sense to have an autonomous power supply system for the heating system – a generator or batteries.

Further, it makes sense to specify, how the boiler switches on after power outage and restoration of power supply no matter, main or emergency . Most modern boilers will start automatically, but some models have to be turned on manually after a malfunction, by the button. So if the owners are not in the house, there will be no one to run the system.

A SMALL DIGRESSION ON THE PROSPECTS

To begin with, as they say, the bad news. Fuel and energy of all kinds will not get cheaper. In the foreseeable future, at least. This is a global trend, and it will not avoid America, either. Alternative energy sources, capable to compete with conventional, no and, perhaps, not expected yet. The last of them was nuclear power, which now in many countries began to be used for environmental reasons a very controversial decision, but nevertheless . The extraction of shale gas, which was recently considered very promising due to the media, turns out to be much more detrimental to the environment, and is not as profitable as one would like it to be. Less known are the attempts to produce other types of gases e.g., methane hydrates, which are “found” almost all over the planet, on the coast – but even here it turns out that the price of such fuel is several times higher than that of conventional gas, and there are no special prospects for its reduction.

The use of solar energy to generate heat is fairly promising, but for obvious reasons can be regarded only as an auxiliary source. By the way, this is probably the only really working option to reduce the average annual heating costs, available at literally all latitudes. Heat pumps, which are also used as heating devices, need electricity for their production. In terms of the cost of heat energy heat pumps are now close to gas heating, but in general it is still cheaper. Next – it is unclear what will rise in price faster: electricity or gas. Using heat from geothermal sources is not available everywhere.

In general, no matter how you develop “alternative thermal energy”, there is no getting away from gas as the cheapest source of energy for heating. Moreover, if we imagine that the gas itself “disappeared somewhere” and we have to heat by other methods, the price of such methods will increase by several times. It’s the same, by the way, with nuclear power: if you close the nuclear power plant, the price of a kilowatt of electricity will go up quickly.

Now the good news. In the past, when fuel cost literally kopecks and prices , there was no point in thinking about saving it. But lately, with the growth of prices, more and more attention is paid to this. And here, in general, there are many opportunities, including in terms of heating a private home. This is worth talking about, but first, the good news. The country has enough gas, the “green” nuclear power plants do not require closing, and in general, our country is the world leader in the level of “peaceful atom” development there is an opinion that abroad has always been behind in this matter, and those developments that have been there, simply… lost . In a word, there is no problem with energy so far.

For pessimists, who look at the increase in tariffs solely on the basis of heating bills, we can offer two pieces of advice. First, ask how much fuel and electricity costs in Europe and how people there feel about it let’s not even consider that the energy required for heating there is much less . And secondly, to start saving resources as they do in Europe.

HOW TO SAVE?

Here, as they say, the field is wide open. It is possible to decrease the fuel consumption by dozens of cents even without loss of comfort. Especially for owners of private homes and especially if we are talking about new construction or major alteration of an existing house. Even if there are valid tariffs the initial costs will be paid back later on, and the fuel will be more expensive, i. e. e. The money invested will be recouped even faster.

The first thing you can do is to reduce the heat loss of the building. It is a whole complex of measures: installation of modern windows and doors, rational insulation of walls and ceilings. After all the work is done, it makes sense to do a thermal monitoring to make sure that the heat does not escape through unnoticeable cracks. There are specialized companies that “watch” for losses with heat visors, and the “private person” can afford to buy a simple remote thermometer pyrometer .

Next, it makes sense to choose the right boiler in terms of capacity, especially if we are talking about a large house. That is the more the heated volume is, the more attention should be paid to the thermal calculations.

Let’s assume, the boiler established for heating of some premises is capable at maximum capacity to provide the temperature change in relation to the outside at 50 ° C: if the street -25, the house will be +25. This is quite normal. But if the temperature drops to -35 degrees, you should not expect more than +15 indoors and even that is in the best case .

Of course, severe frosts don’t occur every year, but they do happen. In the villages in severe frosts we did a simple thing: even if the house had several stoves, the whole family moved into one room. All domestic animals were put there at the same time – it was warmer and there was no need to heat the stable It is unlikely that nowadays many people would have a cow or two in the stable, it is unlikely that even among such people many want to drag them into a living room, but it is quite realistic to use additional heaters. Electric heaters and electric heat guns are the most convenient for long-time operation in the dwelling. However, you should count on additional heat sources with caution: everyone wants to be warm, at this time increases the consumption of both gas and electricity. It is possible, of course, to take a more powerful boiler, but it is irrational to use it at full power once in ten years. It was easier to try to reduce unnecessary losses inside the house. If you have several rooms with separate temperature control, you can reduce heating in some of them, for example in the kitchen. The energy released should be enough to provide comfort for those that remain. If the boiler also heats hot water, it makes sense to reduce water consumption, because the used water is still quite warm when it is discharged into the sewer. After all, extreme cold rarely lasts more than a week, and it doesn’t happen every year

A good help in saving fuel will be the installation of solar collectors, at least for heating hot water. They are unlikely to work in winter, at peak consumption, but in spring and fall they can help reduce fuel consumption, and in summer they can even completely replace heating from gas.

On a global scale, it helps to save gas by setting the right temperature in the premises. Reducing the heating temperature by one degree saves about 6-7% of energy. And in order to optimize consumption, it is not necessary to sacrifice comfort, i.e.e. Setting the temperature to a deliberately low level. Nor is it necessary to run to the boiler several times a day to adjust its output.

A comfortable temperature is needed in the morning and evening, during the day and night it can be reduced. In the absence of the owners heating is also not needed, the temperature can be reduced even more. Almost any boiler has the ability to connect an outdoor temperature sensor placed outdoors and can change the output of heating depending on it. Most boilers can be connected to one or more room temperature sensors. Sensors can be bought for cheap, but their usefulness is undoubted. If sensors are connected, boilers regulate power not by the temperature of the liquid, but by the temperature of the air, this saves a lot of energy.

Many modern boilers are equipped with complex electronic control panels. On such a panel is easy to pre-program several different heating programs, daily or day of the week, as well as a number of other programs on or off. Very often it is possible to connect remote control devices of varying degrees of complexity, from simple room thermostats to multifunctional wireless control panels and devices for remote monitoring and control via GSM and the Internet. Boilers with such panels are of course used in complex, non-typical systems with a large number of heated rooms, several heating circuits or cascade system. There are variants when several types of panels are offered for the same boiler: many users in most cases are satisfied with the usual panel with a minimum of additional functions, but for the “advanced” need a more complicated panel.

Even a simple “lazy” thermostat installed in the room can help solidly in reducing costs it is one thing to go to the place where the boiler is installed, and with everything else – to adjust the temperature, without leaving the room. Well, properly adjusted heating program with the ability to program and quickly change the heating program can provide additional comfort and save fuel. So when choosing the right boiler do not forget about the convenience of managing it, even if the cost of boilers with electronic panels is somewhat higher than simple.

Wall mounted gas boiler De Dietrich in the kitchen in the cottage

Similar entries:

1. High aspirations: Rendamax heating boilers were selected for a rooftop boiler house in a New York business center In recent years, rooftop boilers are gaining popularity. This can be explained by the convenience of such a solution: the length of the building utilities is reduced and access to them...
2. De Dietrich SAVK and SAVK PLUS heating boilers: a complete boiler room for oil or gas In 2013 steel hot water boilers were added to the De Dietrich product range. Range of models is represented by series SAVK and SAVK PLUS of power from 99 to 2900...
3. Boiler overview Vaillant ecoTEC plus A distinctive feature of these boilers – a new design of stainless steel heat exchanger with reduced hydraulic resistance, and thus lower operating costs. Boiler efficiency can reach 109%, taking into...
4. Boilers for heating: what is the best heating boiler? With the first cold weather we have to return to the city – our climate is not that we can live in a cold house. Meanwhile, to make the heating of...