Review of the most economical way to heat a house with electricity. How to heat a country house: the most suitable options Efficient heating of a private house with electricity

For every residential building, whether it is a large multi-apartment building or a private one- and two-story home, the organization of efficient heating is of great importance. There are quite a lot of existing heating options today, however, due to technical capabilities, not every house can be connected to gas. It is not always possible to supply solid fuel or liquid fuel boilers with the required amount of fuel. In such situations, the house will be heated with electricity.

Already at the design stage of an electric heating system, we can conclude that this heating method will be much cheaper and more economical. Moreover, if you compare the speed of installation of electrical equipment with the installation and installation of other types of heating systems. In some cases, efficiency is a decisive factor when choosing a heating system. Despite the fact that today electricity is constantly becoming more expensive, new technologies make it possible to use electric heating devices with high efficiency.

Electric heating in your home - the main advantages and disadvantages

The concept of electric heating should be understood as a fairly wide range of technical means and capabilities. Electricity is a unique type of artificially produced energy that can be successfully used for domestic purposes. Electric heating can be of two types:

• with intermediate coolant;
• with direct heat transfer.

In the first case, we are talking about a system based on an electric boiler that heats the coolant and distributes it through a pipeline system. In the second case, we are talking about independent heating elements and devices operating from the electrical network. To heat a house, like any other room, convectors, thermal electric fans, spiral and infrared heaters are actively used. This heating method is much simpler from a technical point of view. The only negative is a significant overconsumption of electricity, which will have to be paid for. Warm floors deserve a separate discussion, a technology that makes it possible to truly achieve comfort in heating living spaces.

If we consider the ratio of the possibilities and benefits obtained from using electric heating with other types of heating, then electricity will look preferable. The main advantage of electric heating systems is high efficiency. Other positive points include:

• durability of operating systems;
• ease of maintenance and operation;
• fairly reasonable costs for the purchase of equipment, installation and connection.
• silent operation and high level of safety of modern electric heating installations;
• lack of permits for the installation of electric heating systems.

The economic effect is achieved by installing thermostats on electric heating devices, thanks to which the power supply is automatically turned on and off.

The above advantages are offset by one disadvantage. To install sufficiently powerful heating electrical appliances and an electric boiler in a house, additional equipment of the residential building with electrical distribution devices and devices will be required.

Important! The wiring in the house must be able to withstand significant loads, especially in the cold season. In addition to everything, the electrical distribution board must be equipped with a multi-tariff meter, which allows intensive use of the nightly cheap tariff. The main task when installing electric heating systems is to optimize the operation of the entire complex.

Electric boiler or convector - what's the difference? What should you pay attention to?

From a technological point of view, an electric boiler is the most favorable in terms of price-quality ratio. Before making a purchase, you should carefully study the technical capabilities and characteristics of the models on the market. When assessing the capabilities of the boiler, it is necessary to take into account the amount of work that the new equipment will have to cope with. To heat a house with an area of ​​150 m2, according to rough calculations, at least 150 kW of electricity per day will be required. Not every boiler is able to cope with such a volume, and not all power lines are able to withstand such a load.

The boiler is connected to a regular standard water heating system, heating the coolant during its operation.

Each model is equipped, which allows residents to independently choose the temperature regime. The automation itself regulates the boiler power based on the specified parameters, without requiring human intervention, providing the necessary energy savings. The water supply is also regulated using a built-in pump, so there is no reason to worry about normal pressure in the system. Additional equipment that comes with most modern models of electric boilers today increases the functionality of the system and is aimed at reducing energy consumption, saving you money.

In the process of optimizing operation, it is important to take into account the heat losses that are inherent in the room. This indicator depends directly on the thickness of the walls, the presence of insulation, the number of doors and window openings. The main heat loss occurs through windows and doors.

Last but not least, the heating efficiency depends on the parameters of the selected electric boiler model. There are classic boilers with heating elements, as well as more efficient modern options - induction and electrode (ion). Moreover, they all have an efficiency coefficient of 90%.

For reference: Often, manufacturers write in the accompanying documents for the product that the efficiency of the model is 95-98%. The numbers look impressive, although in reality the figures are much lower, in the range of 90-92%.

When using a large number of electrical household appliances at the same time, the temperature of the coolant in the electric heating system can be reduced, saving on balanced energy consumption. Each specific case provides different options for savings, in contrast to the use of other heating systems. For example, an area of ​​50 m2 will require an electric boiler with a power of 3 kW. Having the necessary figures at hand, it is not at all difficult to calculate the number of kilowatts that will be consumed during the month with continuous operation of the boiler.

Eg:

• house area – 50 m2;
• electric boiler – power 3 kW;

We make arithmetic calculations using the following formula: 3x24x30, where 24 is the number of hours in a day, 30 is the number of days in a month. We get 2160 kW per month with the boiler running, and now we multiply this figure by the electricity tariff that is established in your region.

All calculations are approximate. The real amount of energy costs will be visible only after some time. Only then can you make independent adjustments to the operation of the heating system in the house and decide on the advisability of using other electrical appliances in your home.

If you need to organize heating in your own home without laying mains and installing numerous equipment, you can get by with convectors. Unlike electric water heating in convectors, the main operating principle is the convection of warm air. Due to the operation of the heating elements, the surrounding air is heated. The system is almost completely autonomous, compact and capable of quickly warming up small interior spaces.

Convectors are equipped with temperature regulators, with which you can set the optimal heating parameters. The presence of automation ensures automatic switching on/off of the device depending on the temperature conditions inside the room. To install heaters of this type, you must have high-quality sockets and reliable wiring.

Convectors can be installed both on walls and on the floor. The cooled air falls down, falling into the field of action of the heating elements, heats up again and rises up, and so on in a vicious circle. Thus, the process of convection of air masses is achieved. The operating mode for heating convectors is 60-100 0 C. Additionally, the room can be equipped with fans, the action of which will speed up the air exchange of the air mass. Despite the apparent simplicity of the design and the elementary principle of operation, heating of the room with the help of convectors is carried out unevenly. The air near the ceiling will be warmer, while the air masses below will feel cooler.

To achieve savings when using convectors, it is enough to carry out a simple mathematical calculation that allows you to determine the required number of devices for normal heating of the room. Practice shows that convectors are effective in heating small wooden residential and domestic buildings. In capital, stone buildings with large premises, it is not advisable to use convectors. Large volumes of air quickly cool down, the time for heating the room by convection of air masses increases significantly. Consequently, the energy consumption of the heating system increases.

Warm floor - economical heating of a private house

An electric boiler and convectors are not the only options for equipping a private home with an efficient heating system powered by the electrical network. Warm floors, which today have become fashionable to install in country houses and apartments, can be a successful alternative to any other heating option. From the point of view of physics, a warm floor does not provide a noticeable effect in heating residential premises, however, in comparison with the operation of other electric heating devices, thanks to a warm floor, it is possible to reduce energy costs for heating.

The required effect is achieved through rational heat distribution. Floors are known to be the coolest part of any room. Thanks to heated floors, the coldest part of the room is automatically repurposed from a cooler into a source of thermal energy. The air heated from below throughout the entire area of ​​the room rises upward in uniform flows. For residential premises, heated floors provide savings of 30-40%; for heating other premises, savings can be 50% or more.

With the help of temperature regulators, optimal heating parameters are achieved. By independently determining the temperature conditions inside the room, you can achieve significant savings in energy consumption.

The advantages of heated floors are:

• an effective way to quickly warm up rooms;
• acceptable economic indicators;
• a comfortable indoor microclimate is maintained (oxygen is not burned);
• simplicity and reliability in operation.

Compared to the advantages that underfloor heating has, the only drawback of this electric heating option seems insignificant. The problem lies in the complexity of installing such a heating system, associated with the need to reorganize the floor covering.

A preliminary calculation of the cost of heating costs in this case is as follows:

The approximate power of standard models used in everyday life is 1.5 kW per 10 m 2. We calculate the average daily consumption and get a figure of 360 kW. For rooms of other sizes, calculations are made according to the same principle, the power varies in proportion to the area.

For reference: 360 kW x 2.5 (tariff 2.5 rubles, approximately) we get 900 rubles. Now let’s multiply the resulting figure by real square meters, for example 50 m2. As a result, we face a figure of 4,500 rubles.

Today there is a large selection of options to achieve the necessary comfort inside a residential building using electric heating.

Each of us has the right to choose which heating option suits him best. An electric boiler, heated floors or electric heating devices are options that solve certain problems. You can solve the problem globally by creating a major heating system or resolve issues locally. You can achieve savings in any case if you rationally equip your home with heating elements, reduce heat loss in the room and optimize the operation of the entire energy system in the house.

As a result of the steady increase in energy costs, the demand for economical heating among owners of private houses is naturally increasing. The fact that the vast majority of dwellings were built during the Soviet era and in the early 90s also plays a role. Then people did not think about how much this or that energy carrier costs and how to heat a house with low incomes. Now it is important for the owner of a country cottage to figure out which heating is cheaper before organizing one at home.

Which heating is more profitable in the Russian Federation

Before determining the cheapest heating method, we list all the energy resources available to residents of the Russian Federation:

• various types of solid fuel - firewood, briquettes (eurowood), pellets and coal;
• diesel fuel (diesel fuel);
• waste oils;
• main gas;
• liquefied gas;
• electricity.

To figure out which heating is the cheapest, you need to find out how much heat each energy carrier can produce and how much it will cost, and then compare the data obtained. The table containing the calculation results will help you determine the most economical heating:

Note. The prices in the table are taken for Moscow and updated as of July 15, 2019. Due to constant increases in energy costs and currency exchange rate fluctuations, the presented figures become irrelevant over time.

Anyone can perform a similar calculation by substituting the heat load on the heating system of their building and the cost of fuel in the region of residence into the table. The calculation algorithm is as follows:

1. Column No. 3 contains the values ​​of the theoretical heat transfer per unit of fuel, and column No. 4 - the efficiency (efficiency) of heating equipment using this energy carrier. These are reference values ​​that remain unchanged.
2. The next step is to calculate how much heat actually enters the house from a unit of fuel. The calorific value is multiplied by the boiler efficiency divided by 100. The results are entered in the 5th column.
3. Knowing the price of a unit of fuel (column No. 6), it is not difficult to calculate the cost of 1 kW/h of thermal energy obtained from this type of fuel. The unit price is divided by the actual heat transfer, the results are in column No. 7.
4. Column No. 8 indicates the average heat consumption per month for a country house with an area of ​​100 m², located in central Russia. For the calculation you should enter your heat consumption value.
5. Average monthly costs for heating a home are indicated in column No. 9. The figure is obtained by multiplying monthly heat consumption by the cost of 1 kW obtained from various types of fuel.

The table shows 2 types of firewood usually available for sale - freshly cut and dry. This will help you understand how profitable it is to heat a stove or boiler with dry wood.

Analysis of calculation results

The calculations show that in 2019, the most for private houses in the Russian Federation is still provided by natural gas; this energy carrier remains uncompetitive. Please also take into account the fact that gas-powered equipment is relatively inexpensive, and is quite effective and comfortable to use.

When using condensing boilers, efficiency can be increased by another 5-6% compared to conventional gas heat generators. True, condensing equipment will not be cheap (30-50% more expensive depending on the model).

The problem with gas in the Russian Federation is the high cost of connecting to existing pipelines. To heat your home economically, you will have to shell out 50 thousand rubles. (in remote regions) up to 1 million rubles. (In the Moscow region) for connecting to a gas pipe.

Having learned how much a connection costs, many homeowners are wondering how and with what to heat their home. The remaining energy sources are listed in the table:

1. Firewood dried and wet. According to column No. 9, it is noticeable that it is much more profitable to burn good dry wood than fresh wood, even if purchased inexpensively. Wood heating equipment is quite affordable for a wide range of users.
2. Burning briquettes, pellets and coal can also be considered cheap methods of heating a private house without gas; their cost is approximately the same. One clarification: automatic pellet and coal boilers are more expensive than conventional ones (1.5-2 times).
3. Electric heating at night rate. Considering the minimal costs for equipment and its installation, it is quite possible to heat with electricity cheaply, but only at night. A suitable option for both a country house and an apartment.
4. Used engine oils occupy a middle position between cheap and expensive energy sources. But burning them is associated with certain difficulties, which will be discussed below.
5. Heating with liquefied gas can no longer be considered an advantageous heating method. Especially if you take into account the cost of a gas tank and its installation, cylinders can only be used to heat a dacha.
6. Diesel fuel, liquefied gas and electricity at a daily rate are the most expensive energy carriers in the Russian Federation; it is not possible to organize economical heating with their help in the near future.

The use of purely electric equipment for heating a house around the clock cannot be called profitable, since the cheap night tariff is valid for 8 hours a day, and the rest of the time you will have to pay the full rate. So heating with electricity alone will not work cheaply.

The cheaper way to heat a house in Ukraine

Due to the increase in the price of firewood in 2019, the overall picture of the cost of heating in Ukraine looks very interesting. The layout is reflected in a similar calculation table:

Note. Electricity tariffs are indicated based on 2 conditions: the home has electric heating according to all the rules and energy consumption does not exceed 3000 kW/h per month.

The first place in terms of cheapness of heating in Ukraine is still occupied by dry ones, used at night. But due to the rise in price, their cost has almost become equal to the price of natural gas, which has fallen in price by 5...10% (in the current conditions it is not easy to announce the exact figure 😊).

Please also take into account this point: the 2019 table shows average fuel prices. Pellets and briquettes of poorer quality can be bought cheaper, and electricity and gas cost the same everywhere. So, energy resources are arranged in the following order (from cheap to expensive):

• electricity at night tariff;
• main gas;
• dried firewood;
• pellets, sawdust briquettes;
• freshly cut wood;
• used oil;
• anthracite coal;
• electricity at a daily rate (for consumption up to 3600 kW/month);
• liquefied gas;
• diesel fuel.

It is impossible to predict the size of gas and electricity tariffs in Ukraine due to the unstable economic situation. It is unlikely that energy resources will become significantly cheaper; subsidy payments are decreasing annually.

On the issue of supplying main gas, Ukrainians are in the same position as Russians, whose houses are not connected to gas pipelines due to the high cost of the service. Both have to burn different types of solid fuel or use electricity at night.

Comparative analysis based on other criteria

In addition to the purely economic calculation of the cost of heating, there are other factors that influence the choice of energy source. For example, it is difficult for an elderly pensioner to chop and carry firewood to the boiler room. Some people don’t like the smell of diesel fuel or the dirt from coal, while others don’t have the opportunity to store a supply of pellets or briquettes. That is, choosing fuel for heating only from the point of view of economy is wrong. Additional criteria need to be taken into account:

• comfort during use;
• possibility of storage;
• frequency and cost of service.

Nuances of operation

It is most convenient to use electricity for heating, although it is difficult to classify it as an economical energy source. The electric boiler does not require supervision, the system is fully automated. The unit is easy to control remotely, and the boiler room is quiet, clean and free of unpleasant odors. An important point: electrical heating installation, which greatly simplifies and reduces the cost of installation.

In addition to the high price, electric heating has another disadvantage. Not every private home has sufficient electrical power or a limit has been set that does not allow the use of energy for heating. And connecting units with a power of over 6 kW requires a 3-phase input with a voltage of 380 V.

It is almost as comfortable to operate boilers that burn natural and liquefied gas. But they require a chimney and good ventilation of the furnace room. Burning diesel and used oil is no longer so comfortable, since an odor inevitably appears and periodic replenishment of the fuel container is required. In this respect, a diesel heat generator is similar to a pellet heat generator, but the latter benefits from the absence of odors and dirt.

The champion in inconvenience is the wood and coal boiler, which requires constant attention and physical exercise. With the most economical method of heating with wood, the smell of combustion and dust mixed with dirt in the boiler room cannot be avoided (especially for coal). An exception is an automatic coal boiler, which operates on the principle of a pellet boiler, but it also requires periodic replenishment of the bunker.

About fuel storage

The nuances of warehousing and storage are easier to identify in the list:

1. The electric and gas heating system of a private house operates from external sources; no storage is needed.
2. For reliable operation of any solid fuel boilers, you need a supply of fuel; accordingly, it is necessary to organize its storage. You will have to make a firewood shed under a canopy or a warehouse in a barn.
3. The supply of diesel fuel and waste also needs to be stored somewhere and, preferably, outside the residential building. It is necessary to purchase and install a container of sufficient volume.
4. The most difficult thing is to organize storage with autonomous heating using liquefied gas as an alternative to natural gas. The cost of an underground gas tank and its installation will quickly make you forget about economical heating of your home.

There is another, cheaper way to store liquefied gas - in cylinders. But “thanks to” frequent replacement and refilling of cylinders, comfort when operating a propane boiler is equal to exercises with firewood when loading a solid fuel heat generator.

Equipment service

Electric heating systems require virtually no maintenance (check and clean once every 2 years). If it were not for the draconian daily tariff, then with the help of electricity it would be possible to organize a “economical smart home” system. Gas boilers will have to be serviced more often; they require annual preventative cleaning of the heat exchanger and chimney. But here you can save money if you clean the unit yourself, as described.

Due to the low quality of diesel fuel, diesel heat generators will need to be cleaned as they become dirty, which can happen several times a season. The same applies to waste oil boilers, and the cleaning process is very dirty. Faced with problems like this in the middle of winter, you'll think twice about whether you need energy-efficient heating while working.

It is advisable to clean the smoke pipes with the firebox of a boiler using wood and pellets once a week, and the ash pan daily. When working with wet wood from the combustion chamber, it is important to remove soot and tar more often before they become completely stuck.

After conducting a comprehensive analysis, we can draw the following conclusions about choosing economical heating for a private home:

1. Residents of the Russian Federation, whose houses are connected to gas mains, can continue to sleep peacefully - they cannot find a more economical method of heating. Unless you properly insulate your home in order to reduce fuel consumption. In the near future, natural gas will remain uncompetitive.
2. The cheapest heating without mains gas is burning solid fuel. But for the sake of financial gain, you will have to sacrifice the time and effort spent on loading firewood and maintaining equipment. In this case, you should pay attention to solid fuel one of them.
3. If you have financial capabilities, the best option for economical heating is a pellet boiler. If you have little space for storing pellets, then the issue can be resolved by periodically supplying pellets during the season, although the purchase cost will then increase.
4. The best results in terms of efficiency are obtained by a combination of 2-3 energy carriers. For Russia, the most popular pair is solid fuel and electrics at a night rate. For Ukraine - electricity at night and natural gas during the day (including subsidies and without exceeding the limit of 3600 kW).
5. You can only tolerate dirt and odors in the boiler room if you can get used oil inexpensively. Like diesel fuel, mining is not the best option for a residential building, unless you place the equipment in a separate building.
6. Residents of the Russian Federation with above-average income can afford to heat their homes with liquefied gas for the sake of comfort. In Ukraine, this method is practically not considered as very uneconomical.

At the moment, when energy prices tend to European ones, insulation of private houses is becoming increasingly important. This is also a way to get economical heating, because with low heat losses it becomes possible to constantly use an electric boiler with a water heating system or local electric heaters, which is very convenient.

Owners of private houses choose heating with electricity for various reasons. Unfortunately, of all existing methods, it is considered the most expensive. Therefore, the question of how to reduce the cost of heating a house with electricity is more relevant than ever. Let’s consider the most economical method in more detail by comparing some types of heating systems.

Read in the article:

Advantages and disadvantages of heating with electricity

Often houses built on private plots are not connected to energy networks: gas, solid fuel. In such cases, organizing heating using electricity becomes the only way out.

For example, many people install all kinds of heaters and stoves in the house if the main system is not yet working. Do such methods have obvious advantages and significant disadvantages? Let's look at this in more detail.

Heating private houses with electricity: undeniable advantages

1. Easy to install electric heat sources.
2. The ability to quickly adjust the temperature to the desired level.
3. Saving energy consumption.
4. Mobility of heating sources (in the case of using mobile radiators).
5. Possibility to choose the type of convector to match the interior of the house.
6. Environmental friendliness - oxygen is not removed (not burned) from the room space, there is no danger of harmful emissions.

Disadvantages of heating from the mains

1. High cost of electricity services.
2. If it is necessary to create high voltage, you will need to purchase and install an energy distributor.

Related article:

Advantages:

1. Such devices are compact.
2. Light in weight, affordable, but have high heating power. They can be grouped, included only one or all at once.
3. And one of its main advantages is resistance to voltage surges, which is especially important for houses with old wiring.

But at the same time, the electrode system has disadvantages:

1. unstable power level;
2. extreme dependence on the composition of the conductive substance and its temperature;
3. requires strict adherence to the proportions of the solution and its purity;
4. incorrect “reaction” to adjustment and automatic control.

Russian electrode boilers for heating a private home, price range:

Models "Galan Hearth"	power, kWt	Cost, rub.
2-N	2	3650
3-N	3	3800
5-N	5	3850
6-N	6	3900

Models "Galan"	Cost, rub.
Geyser-9	7200
Geyser-15	7500
Vulcan-25	7550
Vulkan-36	10200
Vulcan-50	12300

User reviews about electrode boilers:

Sergey, Perm: Each heating season requires new electrodes, which is considered a very labor-intensive task. The manufacturer assures that if you adhere to all operating characteristics, the device will last a long time.

Natalia, Riga: I purchased the Vulcan-25 model. We are often forced to disassemble the boiler and clean it. If the plates are not cleaned in a timely manner, the thermal conductivity decreases. The manufacturer recommends that you first pay attention to the quality of the coolant.

Induction heating boilers

If the question arises of how to heat a house economically with electricity, then this is one of the best options. Today this is the most popular and technically advanced type of electric boiler.

It works like this: a primary winding is installed in the center of the device, capable of passing an electric current, which provokes voltage in the secondary winding section. It, in turn, consists of a circuit of pipes with coolant. Due to the fact that there are no vulnerable components in such a device, the electrical conductors do not come into contact with the heat-conducting medium in any way.

An induction boiler can operate stably for several decades! This is an economical device - with its help you can reduce energy costs by up to 40%, when compared with a heating element or electrode “brother”.

Note! The device has only three drawbacks - noise from slight vibration, the massiveness of the structure itself and its relatively high price.

Simple electric boilers for heating private houses: average prices

Heating a house with electricity: the most economical way is infrared

Along with the boiler heating system, the infrared method is especially popular today. Special heater plates are installed in the house, in which the emitter draws in electricity and converts it into an infrared wave, and then transmits it. The waves from the heater are in continuous motion until they “collide” with some opaque object.

The plates are usually mounted on the ceiling or walls. However, it should be understood that it rarely acts as the main heating system for a large private house and is more often used as an addition.

Infrared waves quickly fill the room with heat and then automatically turn off - this is possible thanks to a special independent automatic control system.

Note! This type of home heating with electricity is the most economical method, since it does not consume more electricity than necessary.

This option has only 2 disadvantages:

1. Expensive equipment (but at the same time it is energy efficient!).
2. Strict direction of heating from the plates to the nearest areas of the room.

Convector heaters

These heating devices are similar in function to conventional radiators - convectors heat themselves and transfer heat through the air. However, there is no coolant inside them, so pipes are not required for them. Instead of coolant, heating elements are built into convectors (the advantages and disadvantages of this element were discussed above), and cold air is taken in through the bottom of the device.

One of the significant advantages of the equipment is its quiet operation, which is especially important for those who spend most of their time at home. But convectors also have a drawback - low efficiency. Electric convectors absorb a significant amount of electricity.

Warm floor

These electrical systems operate on conductors with a resistor through which electric current passes, causing them to heat up.

Article

When choosing a heating system for their own home, owners, of course, Firstly are considering the possibility of installing a gas boiler, since this type of heating is by far the most economical. But here’s the problem - the gas supply lines have not yet reached all populated areas, or it happens that supplying gas to a house is unaffordable due to financial capabilities and due to the mass of preparatory and coordination procedures. Heating with solid or liquid fuel is not always convenient - it requires special skills in handling stoves or boilers, compliance with increased fire safety requirements, and the construction of a chimney system in accordance with all the rules to prevent poisoning by combustion products. And, besides, in some regions of our country that are not rich in forests, the supply of firewood or coal can pose a certain problem.

In this case, electric heating of a private house becomes most relevant. Surely, many immediately have associations with oil-based electric radiators or reflectors, which are neither particularly efficient nor economical. Of course, with this approach, at current electricity prices, heating will cost a lot of money. However, not everything is so simple. There are many ways to use electricity to heat your home, and some of them can compete with gas systems.

The publication will examine the existing possibilities for organizing electric heating of a private home. Read, draw conclusions so that you can make a decision in favor of one option or another.

Electric heating “the old fashioned way”

Just a few words about those electric ones that are known to everyone, probably since childhood:

• Heating reflectors, usually with one or more coils housed in clear quartz glass tubes. Such devices create a directed flow of thermal energy, but are only capable of heating very small rooms or a very limited area of ​​the room. At the same time, they cannot be called economical - usually they do not provide any automatic adjustments, except for changing the specified level of heating of the coil.

• – they drive the air flow through the heat exchanger (most often an open nichrome spiral acts as this). The heated air flow can increase comfort only in a certain area and for a very short time. What may be very good for a small office will not have any effect in a residential country house. In addition, long-term operation of such a device quite burns out and dries out the air in a closed room. Some modern models work on the principle of mixing air from outside, but still, such devices cannot be considered as home heating.

• - These are heavy heaters with a pronounced ribbed shape, similar to classic cast-iron radiators. They can be mobile (many even have wheels to make them easier to move around the room), or installed permanently.

Such radiators are capable of heating up to very high temperatures and releasing energy in the form of direct thermal radiation and the creation of convection currents. Their ribbed shape significantly increases the area of ​​active heat transfer.

Oil radiators usually have stepwise or smooth adjustment of the heating temperature of the coolant, have good thermal inertia - even after switching off they can remain warm for quite a long time. However, their efficiency is low, and such devices are usually used as additional heating, to help the main one when the need arises. It would simply be unprofitable to build an entire heating system based on oil radiators.

Prices for popular models of electric heaters

Electric heaters

Water heating system with electric boiler

The organization is described in great detail in the corresponding publication on our portal.

The main feature of such a system under the conditions considered in this article is that the coolant liquid receives heat only from an electric boiler. This determines several characteristic parameters for it:

• Such a system should be designed exclusively for forced circulation. The reason is simple - designing a circuit for natural circulation will lead to significant losses in power, heat transfer rate, uneven heating of rooms, and in the end - all this will necessarily affect the unnecessary consumption of expensive electricity. The consumption of the pump cannot be compared with these losses.
• For the same reason - to avoid absolutely unnecessary losses, systems with electric boilers are never made of an open type, that is, an expansion membrane tank with an appropriate safety group must be installed.

Now - more about the types of electric heating boilers.

Boilers with heating elements

These installations use the usual principle of resistive heating of a metal conductor during the passage of electric current (direct analogy with electric stoves, irons, incandescent light bulbs, etc.), however, given that the heating elements are in contact with the coolant liquid, they are dressed in reliable insulation and moisture-proof frame. All this, of course, affects quite large energy losses and insufficiently high efficiency of such devices (usually around 80%). To ensure proper heating of the constantly circulating coolant, it is necessary to either sharply increase the power of the heating elements, or increase their number, which reduces the overall efficiency of the heating system.

The layout of boilers can be different - from the usual rectangular shapes with controls on the front panel to cylinders with “bundles” of heating elements located inside and with a control unit placed in a separate box.

Designers are constantly improving their products, equipping them with automation that maintains the required heating level, switches on the heating elements step by step as needed, and turns off the power when the required temperature is reached. But still, such boilers are among the most uneconomical, and their installation as the main heat generator will not be justified even by the low price of such devices.

Electrode boilers

Of all the electric boilers, these are probably the most controversial. At one time they were presented as practically no alternative in terms of productivity and efficiency. However, a stream of critical comments on their work soon followed.

Their operating principle is completely different. The coolant is not simple water, but brought to the state of an electrolyte - a conductive liquid. Frequency oscillations of the alternating network (50 Hz) cause corresponding oscillations of the electrolyte ions, which results in its rapid heating.

The advantages of such boilers are as follows:

• They are small in size and do not have a large mass, with a fairly high heating power.

This allows, for example, to combine their use by installing a kind of “battery” of several small boilers, which can be included in the system as needed.

• Such boilers are completely insensitive to mains voltage surges within fairly large limits (± 15 ÷ 20%). For their operation, the stability of the alternating current frequency is of greater importance.
• They have fast heating and good efficiency (according to the manufacturer, they are 20% more economical than heating element boilers), and their cost is low. The declared efficiency of such a device is up to 98%.
• If the boiler is tied with metal pipes, this expands the zone of ionization of the coolant and gives a noticeable increase in the performance of the system.
• From a fire safety point of view, such a boiler, in principle, cannot overheat, if suddenly there is no coolant in the pipes, it simply will not turn on.

However, a lot of criticism can be heard about such boilers:

• There are special requirements for the purity and specific chemical composition of the coolant electrolyte. If such requirements are not met, all the benefits of the boiler are simply lost.
• - one of the characteristic features T t of such equipment. The heating intensity is very dependent on both the chemical composition and the temperature of the electrolyte, since when it changes in any direction, the electrical conductivity indicators also change.
• Such a system is very difficult to regulate and automate the heating process.
• Regular cleaning of the entire heating system is required, as it will have a tendency to build up salt in the pipe cavities.
• At least once a year, the heat exchanger of the boiler itself must be cleaned and the chemical composition of the coolant must be adjusted.
• Installation and operation of such equipment is impossible if the electrical network of the house is not equipped with a reliable grounding circuit.

Inductive boilers

These boilers are often considered the most advanced of all electric boilers. The principle of their operation is strikingly different from those described above. To understand it, you can recall the school physics course, and specifically the operation of an electrical transformer.

Without going into details, in short it looks like this. If an alternating electric current passes through one conductor (the primary winding), then a voltage is induced in the other, located in the resulting electromagnetic field (the secondary winding). When the circuit of the secondary winding is closed, alternating current also begins to flow through it, which causes resistive heating of the conductor.

• It is this principle that is used in induction boilers of the SAV type.

The primary winding coil is hermetically placed in the housing, which does not come into contact with the liquid anywhere. But the role of the secondary closed winding is played by the internal labyrinthine system of pipes through which the coolant is pumped. Heating occurs very quickly and evenly, there is no energy loss, so the efficiency of such boilers approaches 100%.

The efficiency of the boiler is also increased by the physical principle of self-induction - currents passing through a closed secondary circuit generate so-called reactive additional power, and its values ​​​​are very significant.

Typically, boilers of this type are massive metal cylinders of various diameters and heights. Thus, the smallest boiler in this line is SAV-2.5, has a diameter of 120 mm, a height of 450, and weighs 23 kg. Its power (2.5 kW) will be enough to heat a room up to 30 m².

Installation of such a device is not difficult at all, since there are threaded pipes for inserting it into the system, and a control unit for connecting to the electrical network.

• Induction tables are designed and operate somewhat differently. VIN(vortex induction heaters).

The mains supply voltage undergoes a preliminary conversion to high-frequency, which results in a rapid increase in the strength of the electromagnetic field and, accordingly, the strength of the currents generated by it. But there is no secondary winding in this circuit - its role is played by all metal surfaces of the boiler, which are made of alloys with pronounced ferromagnetic properties. Induced surface Foucault eddy currents cause the effect magnetization reversal, which is always accompanied by almost instantaneous and very strong heating of ferromagnetic materials. It turns out that almost all massive parts of the device are involved in heat exchange, which determines its highest efficiency (efficiency - 99%).

Boilers VIN quite heavy: the smallest of them, with a power of 3 kW, weighs 30 kg with relatively small dimensions - a cylinder diameter of 122 mm and a height of 620 mm. This “baby” can cope with heating 40 m². If desired, you can purchase a more powerful device (the product line is quite wide) or install a “battery” of several VIN boilers, which will provide additional advantages when operating the heating system.

To summarize the induction boilers - briefly about their main advantages:

• In such heaters there is no formation of scale or salt deposits - operation is accompanied by high-frequency microvibrations that do not allow sediment to settle on the walls. The efficiency of the device does not decrease during even very long operation.
• Any liquid can be used as a coolant - there are no special requirements for its chemical composition.
• There are practically no vulnerable components in the design of the boilers - there is no contact of the coolant with the electrical part. There is simply nothing to break in them and their service life is limited only by the condition of the welds, and this amounts to tens of years.
• Heating occurs very quickly, and electronic control units allow you to easily fine-tune the heating system. At the same time, induction boilers are the most “prosperous” in terms of fire and electrical safety.
• Both calculations and results of practical application show energy savings using such boilers up to 35 ÷ 40%, when compared with boilers of similar power operating on a different principle (or heating elements).

The disadvantages include the following:

• Some owners complain about slight vibration noise during their operation.
• The boilers are very heavy and require special attention when mounted on walls.
• The equipment is quite expensive - even the lowest-power induction boilers cost about 30 thousand rubles. However, this should quickly pay off in terms of energy efficiency.

To finish the topic with a water cooling system from an electric boiler, there is one more important note. Whatever the unit is, it will be possible to talk about profitability only if the house has good thermal insulation and modern heating radiators with their own thermostats are installed. Old cast iron batteries in this situation will simply ruin the owner.

Video: how to choose the right electric heating boiler

Prices for the range of heating boilers

Heating boilers

Electric convectors

Organizing a water heating system always involves large-scale work on laying pipelines, inserting batteries, installing circulation pumps, special safety devices and much more. Is it possible to do without all this if you plan to heat the house using electricity? Yes, installation of electric convectors will help to avoid such problems.

Externally, these devices most often resemble familiar heating radiators - they are installed vertically on walls or under window openings. Inside there are closed heating elements that do not cause the effect of “drying out” the air. The layout of the device is designed in such a way that cold air enters it from below through the lattice bottom, receives heat from the heating elements and, leaving through the upper grill, creates a stable convection upward flow.

Such instruments and devices use the principle of wave energy transfer over a distance - a simplified analogy can be drawn with sunlight. Specially selected emitter materials make it possible to convert electrical energy into radiation energy in the long-wave infrared range, invisible to human vision. The emitters themselves heat up slightly, and infrared waves do not encounter air resistance, but when they hit an opaque surface they are converted into thermal energy. Thus, it is not the air in the room that is heated, but all surfaces and objects located in the path of the rays. But these surfaces, in turn, conduct heat exchange with the surrounding air. Uniform heating occurs, which begins very quickly after turning on the power. This ensures optimal temperature distribution, unlike convective systems.

There are no significant energy losses, which gives high efficiency of such systems and their high efficiency.

Such heaters can be designed in a suspended ceiling version, very reminiscent of conventional fluorescent lamps. They are placed above places where the most intense heating is required. They can also be portable, allowing you to direct the flow of energy into necessary time at necessary direction.

But the most convenient today are probably PLEH - film radiant electric heaters. They are available in the form of durable film strips of various widths and lengths. The emitters themselves are placed between layers of transparent heat-resistant plastic (usually a special carbon paste or bimetallic foil plates), connected by conductive copper busbars.

The film thickness is very small - no more than 0.4 mm. It is very simply mounted in the right place - on ceilings, walls, attic roof slopes, etc., and can, if the owners wish, be covered with finishing materials that will not significantly reduce the efficiency of the room heating system.

The film heats up to a temperature no higher than 45 ÷ 50 ºС, and cannot cause burns or lead to a fire hazard. It is perfect for underfloor heating systems without the use of screed - it can be placed under laminate, linoleum, or parquet. Sometimes, to make things easier for themselves, some owners simply cover such films with carpet - for example, you can very quickly equip a particularly warm area for children’s games.

PLEN is not afraid of dynamic loads or moisture. Such heaters are easy to dismantle and move to another place - the main thing is not to damage them. Energy consumption for such electric heating is considered the lowest of all existing types. This system is especially convenient for houses where the owners come periodically, for example, on weekends - you just need to turn on the power, and intensive heating of the required rooms or areas immediately begins. In addition, many medical specialists assure that such heaters are especially useful, since they ionize the air to the extent necessary for human health and even eliminate unpleasant odors.

Video: advantages of the PLEN heating system

So, the main possibilities for organizing electric heating of a private home were considered. This type of heating has many advantages - absolute environmental friendliness, simplicity and accuracy in control, no need to create fuel reserves. However, one should not expect too high a cost-effectiveness effect - electricity is not cheap. That is why the requirements for insulation of all elements of the building in this case should be increased.

Gone are the days when people did not pay attention to savings. Today everything is different. Energy resources are becoming more expensive every year and now is the time to look for the most profitable and economical home heating. We will talk about this in our material.

Every developer dreams of having an economical heating system for a private home. You can save on 3 key things:

1. Financial. Make an inexpensive heating option
2. Savings in terms of heating system
3. Savings in terms of modern technology

Before installing heating you need to decide:

1. 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.
2. What is key for you: saving on heating now or investing in the heating of a private home for the future.
3. Decide which fuel will perform the key function

Saving on finances

Let's remember right away: By saving money, you will never get the most economical and profitable heating of 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 mount the good old and proven one. 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.

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 a density of 35, a thickness of 10 cm on the first floor and 5 cm on subsequent floors.

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 a mixing module on the collector, you can save up to 50% compared to radiator heating.

You can make the adjustment simpler, and the underfloor heating system as a whole.

Which fuel is more profitable?

Gas is the most economical energy carrier for heating a private home. Gas heating does not require constant human intervention. What can you say about coal heating?

Gas is not available everywhere. Therefore, you often have to choose either coal or electricity. Plus electric heating - turn it on once and forget it. Coal must be constantly added to 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 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.

Additional ways to save

Additional heating savings can be obtained by installing control equipment:

1. 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
2. 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.