Which electric heating to choose for a private house

Nowadays, the heating system and the availability of hot water in the house is a prerequisite for the operation of the building. Heating, like hot water, is considered vital for a comfortable life, as well as for household use.

For the effective operation of the house heating system, all factors must be considered: the input power for the house, its area, and how often there are power failures and whether they are present at all.

It is worth mentioning that the installation of electric heating with the use of an electric boiler is not rational in houses with a large area. They are suitable for cottages with the area no more than 150 m². Therefore, boilers are not used in houses with an area of ​​200-300 m2, since this is considered to be an expensive solution, and it is impractical to heat such large private houses with an electric boiler.

What should you do if you have purchased a large house that does not have a gas supply? The solution lies in investing as much as possible in the insulation material of the house to keep energy inside the building. It is also necessary to design a high-quality ventilation system (air intake from dirty areas, and air masses will be supplied to clean areas). Thanks to this system, we reduce the load on the heating system because there is no heat discharge to outdoors.

In this article, you can learn about the main types of electric heating systems for a country house. Let us consider in detail the information about the electric boiler, its advantages and disadvantages, as well as the alternative, which is a heat pump, and why it is more cost-effective to use this particular type of equipment.

Advantages of electric heating

An electric boiler is a conventional tubular heating element that heats water.

The boiler can perform two functions: heating water for hot water supply, as well as providing the building with heat (heating system).

The electric boiler can provide additional sources of heat. It could be:

The alternative way is to use an air source heat pump. Alter Air recommends the use of an air-to-water heat pump as it is considered the most energy-efficient piece of equipment compared to an electric boiler. 

Unlike an electric boiler, which can work only for house heating and heating water for hot water supply, an air source heat pump can also perform the function of cooling a house or apartment.

Additional equipment for the rapid generation of cold or heat for an air-to-water heat pump are the following:

Electric heating, paired with a heat pump or electric boiler, involves the use of underfloor heating, which is considered essential in providing heat to a country house or apartment.

For optimal operation of the heating system, it is necessary to separate additional devices with a help of pumping groups. Because the pumps for convectors and radiators will supply higher temperatures to the units. And for an underfloor heating, as it is a low-temperature equipment, it is necessary to supply a much lower temperature to the underfloor heating system so that the temperature on the floor surface remains in the range of + 24-26 °C.

Accordingly, without following the norms and standards, the floor will become too hot, which will bring discomfort to the foot and inertia (uneven temperature difference) will occur. 

If you have a natural wood floor, then the correct selection of the optimal type of floor covering is necessary for the quality functioning of the heating system.

The heat pump has numerous advantages:

The advantages of an electric boiler:

Compared to a heat or geothermal pump, an electric boiler has a lower efficiency. When converting electrical energy into heat, losses occur. Based on this, an electric boiler with 1 kW will be able to give off approximately 0.9 kW of heat. While an air heat pump with 1 kW of energy will give off 3 kW of heat, and a geothermal pump with 1 kW will provide 5 kW of heat energy.

Weather-dependent modulation will provide the ability to control the temperature in the room, considering the readings of the outdoor air temperature sensor.

Thanks to temporary automation, the residents of the house can program the temperature of the air supply in the house. For example, during sleep, as well as when going to work, you can set the minimum temperature. In the same way, while in the room, residents can set the optimum air temperature to feel comfortable.

All types of control (weather-dependent, as well as temporary) allow you to use electricity economically and not to waste it.

Disadvantages of electric heating

People who want to install a heating system with electrical equipment do not have a gas supply on the site. Moreover, to conduct gas to a country house is considered an irrational decision, since these are additional, and quite large costs.

Electric house heating has several disadvantages:

Электро отопление дома имеет ряд недостатков:

For example, on the site there is only 9 kW of electricity, which can be used for the whole house. Let's say that the heating system, depending on the calculation, requires 9 kW of energy. Consequently, all other appliances, such as pumps, refrigerators, and other household appliances will not be able to work as the automatic input breaker will constantly turn off due to power overloads.

For consumers of electricity, special tariffs were set, which made it possible to save some money:

Therefore, many customers purchase an air-to-water heat pump instead of an electric boiler, since the equipment will consume 3 times less electricity than an electric boiler.

It must be taken into account that the following rules must be observed for the installation of an air source heat pump:

Main options for electric house heating

Electric heating of the house involves the installation of an electric boiler, which will work both for heating water and for providing the house with heat.

However, the best solution is considered to be the purchase of a heat pump using all its functions: room heating/cooling, as well as water heating for hot water supply.

This equipment is the most efficient, as well as cost-effective, in comparison with an electric boiler.

Heating system with electric boiler

For the operation of the system, you must purchase the following devices:

Electric boiler with a tubular heating element

People often ask a question about the operation of an electric boiler with a tubular heating element. One must understand that an electric boiler is similar to a tubular heating element that heats water for hot water supply and also for the heating system because the tubular heating element itself is located inside the electric boiler case.

Induction boilers and boilers with electrode heater

Alter Air specialists do not use this equipment for the heating system.

Infrared heaters

Infrared heaters are not a suitable for an electric heating system, since they have the property of heating objects. Accordingly, they cannot provide heat to a house or apartment. If you turn off the infrared heater, staying In the room will not be comfortable because the air will immediately become cold.

Underfloor heating system

Underfloor heating is considered to be an essential component when using gas and electric boilers. It is also a necessary element for heat pumps. Foremost, it is a comfortable area for a person. Underfloor heating releases a certain amount of heat, and to save this energy, it is necessary to have a high-energy efficiency of the house (thermal insulation of walls, roofs, as well as high-quality double-glazed windows).

Heating with electric convectors

Electric heating of a private house is possible not only with an electric boiler, but also with electric convectors for room heating. Instead of a boiler room, convectors for room heating are installed in each room, taking into account their own thermostat.

There are several types of electric convectors:

Which electric heating is better to choose

In order for the electric heating of the house to be effective in use, it is necessary to purchase the following types of equipment:

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