Heating of a private house

Types of home heating:

1. Solid fuel boiler.

2. Electric boiler.

3. Gas boiler.

4. Heat pump.

A solid fuel boiler is a device that works to heat a private house, and also provides residents with hot water, releasing thermal energy by burning solid fuels (wood, coal, pellets, briquettes).

The principle of operation of the boiler:

• First of all, it is necessary to fire up the boiler so that it warms up to +60°C in order to avoid condensation. In the case when the temperature is lower than necessary, condensate appears, which corrodes the metal of the heat exchanger.

• Then, when the temperature rises above +60°C, the device passes water into the buffer tank, thanks to a triple valve.

• From the buffer tank, water is transported to the underfloor heating system, radiators and in-floor convectors, as well as to DHW (hot water supply).

There are 2 types of solid fuel boilers:

1. Classic boiler. The principle of operation of the boiler is based on the loading of solid fuel into the chamber where the products are burned. At the same time, the raw material gives off thermal energy to the heat exchanger, which, in turn, transfers it to the heat carrier.

2. Pyrolysis boiler. The operation of the boiler is based on obtaining thermal energy by burning raw materials, as well as pyrolysis gases that appear during the combustion of fuel. When gases are burned, additional energy is released, which is also used in the system. Thus, the heat that is released during the burning of fuel and gases passes through the heat exchanger, heating the heat carrier. 

A mandatory requirement for the implementation of a system with a solid fuel boiler is the installation of an uninterruptible power supply.

Since it is impossible to stop the combustion of fuel, and when the electricity is turned off, the boiler will start to overheat, as a result of which the boiler and the building may ignite.

Heating a house based on a solid fuel boiler is considered independent, since it does not require gas supply to the house, and electricity consumption is quite low.

However, it is important to note that the disadvantages of the boiler are much greater than the advantages:

• unsafe home heating system. Because of unqualified installation of the system, a building fire may occur;

• It is important for the efficient operation of the system to use dense wood in order to obtain the highest heat transfer. In the case when the heat transfer of wood is low, it is necessary to put more fuel into the boiler, which is an economically unprofitable option;

• the necessity to have a separate warehouse for raw materials in order to avoid the appearance of moisture in the fuel, which in turn will reduce the level of fuel heat transfer;

• the cost of solid fuel for heating for a private house is an expensive solution compared to gas and electricity;

• a large boiler room, since an important element of the system is a buffer tank, which needs to be provided with 40 liters of water per 1 kW of fuel.

Electric boiler is equipment that can perform 2 functions:

1. heating the air in the room to optimal level;

2. hot water heating in the DHW tank.​

The switching of these functions occurs thanks to a triple valve - a device which purpose is to divide the main stream into 2 secondary ones.

There is a coil in the barrel, with the help of which the water is heated. Thus, the coil heats the water and opens the triple valve to transport hot water to heat the DHW tank. In the case when the temperature of the water in the hot water tank reaches the desired level, the three-way valve closes and energy is transported to underfloor heating and radiators.

An important feature of the device is the presence of weather-dependent automation, which will allow you to maintain comfortable microclimate parameters, while rationally using energy resources. The principle of operation is to measure the temperature of the outdoor air using a sensor, as well as transmit data to the program. In turn, automation increases or reduces the heating of water in the electric boiler.

To achieve the maximum level of efficiency and comfort, it is necessary to provide for the implementation of a system of underfloor heating. As we said before, underfloor heating

 is a low-temperature element of the heating system, therefore it is important that the floor surface temperature is + 24-26 ° C (comfortable temperature for a person's foot). Thanks to the pump groups, a higher temperature of the heat carrier will be supplied to the radiators, a lower one - to the underfloor heating system.

A home heating system using an electric boiler is a rational solution when there is no gas supply to the house on the site.

At the same time, heating a private house based on an electric boiler has disadvantages:

• the power input of electricity into the house must correspond to the energy, according to heat calculations. Therefore, when performing a thermotechnical calculation, you need to pay attention to the consumed electricity to avoid constantly turning off electrical appliances;

• low efficiency (coefficient of performance). When converting 1 kW of electricity, the boiler will be able to give 0.9 kW of heat;

• when the electricity is turned off, the system stops working;

• unstable mains voltage, which does not allow the system to fully generate the necessary amount of energy for the efficient operation of the heating system.

Gas boiler is equipment that provides thermal energy for heating a private house and heating water, by burning gaseous fuel.

Alter Air company provides the implementation of the heating system of the house, using high-tech equipment, such as a gas condensing boiler. At the same time, it should be taken into account that the heating system must be implemented for a low-temperature regime (the availability of underfloor heating system around the entire perimeter of the building, the calculation of the temperature of heat carrier supply to radiators and in-floor convectors is not higher than + 50 ° C, and the return is + 35 ° C). Thus, the lower the water supply temperature, the more efficient the operation of the boiler. 

The principle of operation of a condensing boiler is based on the condensation process:

• At the first stage, burning of gaseous fuel occurs in the chamber. This produces water and carbon dioxide.

• After that, the water begins to evaporate, respectively, the liquid releases heat. Thus, condensation occurs.

• In turn, the condensate is stored in the system, which subsequently allows it to be used as an additional source of energy.

Based on this, due to the condensation process, an additional amount of energy is released, which makes the efficiency factor (coefficient of performance) of the boiler above 100%.

The disadvantage of the condensing boiler is the uncontrolled gas pricing policy in Ukraine, due to the war in Ukraine (Russian attack on Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022).