The concept of efficiency of boilers and heating systems: an overview and ways to increase. Cold in the apartment? A few tips on how to improve the efficiency of the heating system Get additional heat from the heating radiator

It is quite obvious that the main task of the heating radiator is the most efficient heating of the room. And the main parameter that determines how well the heater copes with this task is the heat transfer of the heating radiator.

This indicator is individual for each model of radiators, in addition, the type of connection of the device, the features of its placement and other factors affect the heat transfer. How to choose the optimal radiator in terms of heat transfer, how to connect it as efficiently as possible, how to increase heat transfer? We will talk about all this in this article!

HEAT DISCHARGE IS A KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR

HEAT TRANSFER DETERMINATION

Heat transfer is an indicator that indicates the amount of heat transferred by the radiator to the room in a certain time. Synonyms for heat transfer are such terms as radiator power, thermal power, heat flow, etc. The heat output of heating devices is measured in Watts (W).

Note! In some sources, the heat output of a radiator is given in calories per hour. This value can be converted to Watts (1 W = 859.8 cal / h).

Heat transfer from a heating radiator is carried out as a result of three processes: – Heat exchange;

– Convection;

– Emissions (radiation).

Each heating radiator uses all three types of heat transfer, however, their ratio differs for different types of heating devices. By and large, only those devices in which at least 25% of the thermal energy is transferred as a result of direct radiation can be called radiators, but today the meaning of this term has expanded significantly. Therefore, very often under the name "radiator" you can find convector-type devices.

CALCULATION OF REQUIRED HEAT TRANSFER

The choice of heating radiators for installation in a house or apartment should be based on the most accurate calculations of the required power. On the one hand, everyone wants to save money, so you should not buy extra batteries, but on the other hand, if there are not enough radiators, then it will not be possible to maintain a comfortable temperature in the apartment.

There are several ways to calculate the required thermal power of heating devices.

The easiest way based on the number of exterior walls and windows in them. The calculation is done like this:

If the room has one outer wall and one window, then for every 10 m2 of the area of ​​the room, 1 kW of heat output from the heating batteries is needed.

If there are two outer walls in the room, then for every 10 m2 of the area of ​​the room, at least 1.3 kW of heat output from the heating batteries is required.

The second way is more complicated, but it makes it possible to obtain the most accurate value of the required power.

The calculation is made according to the formula:

S x h x41, where:

S is the area of ​​the room for which the calculation is made.

H is the height of the room.

41 - standard indicator of the minimum power per 1 cubic meter of room volume.

The resulting value will be the required power of the heating devices. Next, this power should be divided by the nominal heat transfer of one section of the radiator (as a rule, this information is contained in the instructions for the heater). As a result, we get the number of sections necessary for efficient heating.

Advice! If, as a result of division, you get a fractional number, round it up, since a lack of heating power reduces the level of comfort in the room much more than its excess.

HEAT TRANSFER OF RADIATORS FROM DIFFERENT MATERIALS

Heating appliances made of different materials differ in heat transfer. Therefore, when choosing radiators for an apartment or house, it is necessary to carefully study the characteristics of each model - very often, even radiators that are close in shape and dimensions have different capacities.

Cast iron radiators- have a relatively small heat transfer surface, are characterized by low thermal conductivity of the material. Heat transfer occurs mainly due to radiation, only about 20% is due to convection.

The rated power of one section of the MS-140 cast-iron radiator at a coolant temperature of 900C is about 180 W, but these figures are valid only for laboratory conditions.

In fact, in central heating systems, the temperature of the coolant rarely rises above 80 degrees, while some of the heat is lost on the way to the battery itself. As a result, the surface temperature of such a radiator is about 600C, and the heat transfer of one section does not exceed 50-60 W.

Steel radiators combine the positive qualities of sectional and convection radiators. As a rule, a steel radiator includes one or more panels, inside of which a coolant circulates. To increase the thermal power of the radiator, steel ribs are additionally welded to the panels, which work as a convector.

The heat transfer of steel radiators is not much greater than that of cast iron ones - therefore, the advantages of such heaters can only be attributed to a relatively small mass and a more attractive design.

Note! With a decrease in the temperature of the coolant, the heat transfer of a steel radiator decreases very much. Therefore, if water with a temperature of 60-750 circulates in your heating system, the heat transfer rates of a steel radiator can differ dramatically from those declared by the manufacturer.

Heat dissipation of aluminum radiators significantly higher than the two previous varieties (one section - up to 200 W), but there is a factor that limits the use of aluminum heaters.

This factor is the quality of the water: when using a contaminated coolant, the inner surface of the aluminum radiator is corroded. That is why, despite good performance in terms of power, aluminum radiators should be installed only in private houses with an autonomous heating system.

Bimetal radiators in terms of heat transfer, they are in no way inferior to aluminum. For example, the Rifar Base 500 model has a section heat dissipation of 204 watts. Yes, and they are not so demanding on water. But you always have to pay for efficiency, and therefore the price of bimetallic radiators is somewhat higher than that of batteries from other materials.

RADIATOR HEAT MANAGEMENT

DEPENDENCE OF HEAT TRANSFER ON CONNECTION

The heat transfer of the radiator depends not only on the temperature of the coolant and the material from which the radiator is made, but also on the method of connecting the radiator to the heating system:

Direct one-way connection is considered the most advantageous in terms of heat transfer. That is why the rated power of the radiator is calculated precisely with a direct connection (the diagram is shown in the photo).

Diagonal connection is used if a radiator with more than 12 sections is connected. Such a connection minimizes heat loss.

The lower radiator connection is used to connect the battery to the heating system hidden in the floor screed. Heat transfer losses with such a connection are up to 10%.

One-pipe connection is the least advantageous in terms of power. Heat transfer losses with such a connection can range from 25 to 45%.

Advice! You can study the methods of implementing a connection for a different type from the video materials posted on this resource.

WAYS TO INCREASE HEAT TRANSFER

No matter how powerful your radiator is, you often want to increase its heat dissipation. This desire becomes especially relevant in the winter, when the radiator, even operating at full capacity, cannot cope with maintaining the temperature in the room.

There are several ways to increase the heat transfer of radiators:

The first method is regular wet cleaning and cleaning of the radiator surface. The cleaner the radiator, the higher the level of its heat transfer.

It is also important to properly paint the radiator, especially if you are using cast iron sectional batteries. A thick layer of paint prevents effective heat transfer, therefore, before painting the batteries, it is necessary to remove a layer of old paint from them. It will also be effective to use special paints for pipes and radiators, which have a low resistance to heat transfer.

In order for the radiator to provide maximum power, it must be properly mounted. Among the most common mistakes in the installation of radiators, experts highlight the tilt of the battery, installation too close to the floor or wall, overlapping radiators with inappropriate screens or interior items.

To improve efficiency, you can also audit the internal cavity of the radiator. Often, when the battery is connected to the system, burrs remain, on which a blockage forms over time, preventing the movement of the coolant.

Another way to ensure maximum performance is to mount a heat-reflecting foil screen behind the radiator on the wall. This method is especially effective when improving radiators installed on the outer walls of a building.

There are several other ways to increase the heat transfer of the radiator with your own hands. However, they may not be needed if you initially choose a model that has enough power to keep your home warm!

For space heating, it is important at what rate heat is supplied to the room. Since radiators are responsible for heat transfer in traditional water heating systems, the indoor climate depends on how efficiently they cope with the task. The efficiency of heat transfer is characterized by such a parameter as heat transfer or thermal power. In the case of a radiator, it shows how much heat per hour this device can transfer to the air under certain conditions. Under the conditions understand the given temperature of the coolant, the speed of its movement and a certain type of connection. At factories, the heat transfer of heating devices is determined during the test on stands, then it is averaged and entered in the product passport.

How efficiently a heater will give off heat depends on many factors. This is the material from which it is made, and its shape, and how the coolant moves inside and what is the heat transfer surface. A little more about all these factors will be discussed below.

How does heat transfer depend on the material

Heating radiators are made of metals for a reason. They have the best combination of characteristics, the main of which is the heat transfer coefficient. The table shows data for some metals.

As you can see, for the manufacture of radiators, metals that are far from the best in terms of thermal conductivity are used, but a silver radiator is too much ... Copper is rarely used, and all for the same reason: it is very expensive. Some craftsmen make homemade copper pipe radiators. In this case, less money is required, but the operation of such heating devices is problematic: copper is a rather capricious material and does not work with any medium, it is very plastic and easily damaged, chemically active and enters into oxidation reactions. So here still much attention will have to be paid to water treatment and protection from mechanical influences.

But the next metal - aluminum, is already used quite widely. Although the heat transfer of aluminum is almost two times lower than that of copper, but, compared with other metals, it is quite high. Aluminum is lightweight, heats up quickly and transfers heat efficiently. But it is far from ideal: it is chemically active, therefore it cannot be used with non-freezing liquids. In addition, it conflicts with other metals in the system: corrosion begins, which leads to the rapid destruction of metals. And although the heat transfer of aluminum is the highest - 170-210 watts / section, they can not be installed in any system.

Data on the thermal power of all radiators are averaged. Moreover, for high-temperature operation (90 o C on the supply, 70 o C on the return, to maintain the room at 20 o C). We also mean radiators with an axial distance of 50 cm. Heat transfer with other sizes and conditions will be different.

For residents of apartments in multi-storey buildings, there is another option, but almost nothing depends on you here: your heat transfer may decrease due to alteration of the heating system of the neighbors from above. In the houses of the old building, the heating distribution is almost universally single-pipe with a top supply. And if in your apartment the riser at the top became barely warm, someone above you contributed to this. In this case, it makes sense for you to contact the management company - they will check the condition of the riser and find out the reason for the decrease in heat transfer.

Results

The heat transfer of radiators depends on the material from which it is made, the shape of the section or panel, on the presence and number of additional fins that improve convection. The method of connection and installation is of great importance.

Winter is getting closer and closer, we are gradually feeling how the days are getting colder. With the approach of winter colds, you need to think about warming your home. It is this topic that our material is devoted to, in which we will consider a way to increase the efficiency of a heating battery.

We present to your attention a video that describes the whole process.

So, what we need to implement our idea:
- several boxed 80s coolers;
- charger from an old mobile phone;
- nylon ties or wire 10 pcs;
- stationery knife;
- soldering iron;
- tin;
- rosin;
- electrical tape;
- crosshead screwdriver.

Slightly clarify some of the nuances with the materials. Box coolers can be removed from old computer power supplies. You should also pay attention to the charger, which should produce a current of more than half an ampere. If you don't have nylon zip ties handy, you can use duct tape, copper wire, or hot melt adhesive. Now that everything is clear with the materials, you can get to work.

We begin to assemble our simple design. To do this, we use nylon ties with which we fasten the coolers to each other. In the end, we should end up with a kind of ventilation structure with five coolers attached side by side. It is imperative to ensure that the fans of all coolers are in the same direction.

We cut off the excess parts of the screeds with a clerical knife.

Now we proceed to connect the wires coming from the coolers. They must be connected in parallel, that is, black to black, red to red. If there are yellow wires on the coolers, then they need to be cut off, since the yellow wire is the speed sensor wire, which we do not need.

Solder the wires so that we get two stranded wires.

After all the wires are connected to each other, you need to connect them to the power supply. We carefully check the plus and minus of the block, because if the connection is incorrect, the coolers will not spin. We solder the wires from the coolers to the wires of the power supply.

We check. If everything works, feel free to isolate.

Often in apartments, especially old buildings, it gets colder every year in winter. People have to acquire and use, which leads to a significant increase. But why overpay for the overspending of electricity, if there are cheaper options for correcting the situation? Today we will talk about simple ways to increase heat transfer. heating batteries, which do not require significant costs, which are quite within the power of any home master to bring to life. It is worth considering the reasons leading to a decrease in the temperature in the room.

Most often, the cause of a decrease in heat transfer is scale and accumulating inside. If the radiator itself is flushed (which utilities should do annually), then heat transfer will increase significantly. The same applies to the risers. However, it will not be possible to carry out such a procedure on our own due to the fact that during the production of such work (even in summer) it is necessary to drain the water from the system. You can't do without the help of specialists. The same applies to the replacement of radiators from cast iron to - they have a large heat transfer. Therefore, we will not dwell on such complex and time-consuming options. It is better to consider simpler ways that anyone can do, even without experience in a similar area.

We use a reflector screen: the use of polyethylene foam

Use is a fairly popular method of increasing heat transfer. Polyethylene foam with foil coating On the one hand, it is perfect for these purposes. Such a screen (it should be larger than the radiator itself) is placed behind the battery with foil in the direction of the room and fixed on the wall with double-sided tape or liquid nails. Foamed polyethylene provides additional insulation, and the foil reflects the heat that warmed the wall before installing the screen, directing it into the room.

Important information! It is best when such moments are thought out at the stage of installation of radiators. In this case, a steel ribbed shield can be fixed behind the radiator, which will accumulate heat, and then direct it into the room. Such shields are convenient if there are frequent power outages.

Increasing heat dissipation with accessories and paint

To increase the air temperature in the room, special aluminum casings are used, which are put on the radiator. With their help, the area and, as a result, their heat transfer increases. The cost of such casings is small, and the effect is quite significant.

The color in which radiators painted, is also of great importance. It is better for these purposes to choose darker shades. For example, a brown-colored radiator has a heat transfer rate greater than white ones, by 20-25%.

Improving convection by increasing air circulation

Everyone knows that improvement contributes to faster heating of the room. For these purposes, you can use a fan, which is installed in such a way as to achieve the maximum flow of warm air towards the room.

Useful information! If you have computer coolers at home that are not in use, you can install them under the radiator, directing the airflow upwards. This will maximize convection, resulting in a significantly warmer room.

You can increase (if the radiator is recessed under the window sill) by cutting holes in the window sill and closing them screens or decorative covers. Thus, warm air will not linger in the niche, which will improve circulation.

This country can not be defeated! Self-installation of fans to improve convection:

General rules for improving the heat transfer of heating radiators

In order not to encounter a decrease in the heat transfer of batteries in the future, it is worth thinking about this even at the stage of installing radiators. The main rules are:

• obligatory behind the radiator, possible installation of a steel screen;
• installation of bimetallic batteries instead of cast iron;
• installation at the inlet and outlet of the radiator (this will allow, if necessary, to independently flush the sections or add additional ones without shutting down and draining the entire system).

If you follow these simple rules during installation, it will subsequently be much easier to increase the temperature in the room without seeking help from specialists. And this is additional savings for the family budget. Let's summarize

There are a lot of ways to increase the heat transfer of heating radiators. Today we have considered only the main ones. However, it should be remembered that it is always easier to think everything through in advance, at the installation stage, than to put in a lot of effort later, without being sure that the result will be significant. Unfortunately, in Russia everything is done on a whim. The final advice of the editors of the site will be the following recommendation: think about the future and do not spare money during installation. The financial resources saved today can turn into costs tomorrow, which will exceed your savings many times over.

The temperature in the apartment depends on a number of factors - the quality of the coolant supply to the heating system, the level of thermal insulation of the house and the correct location of the batteries. An important factor is the heat transfer of the radiator, so today we will tell you how to increase it yourself, which will allow you to raise the temperature in the room by 2-4 degrees without additional costs.

What affects the heat dissipation of the battery

To increase the heat transfer of radiators will help:

1. — Cleanliness and color of batteries,
2. - Correct reflection of heat,
3. - Increased heatsink area
4. — Circulation of warm air from a heat source.

Each of these points should be taken into account by a zealous owner who wants to live in warmth and not pay more for it than a neighbor.

Cleanliness and color of batteries

Batteries must be clean, a dirty radiator is not only not aesthetically pleasing, but also bad for heat transfer. Dust and dirt on the elements of the heating system is the lost heat, which you have to pay for.

Interesting results were shown by changing the color of the radiators. A battery painted brown or bronze has a heat dissipation 20-25% higher than a white radiator. This innovation is well known to the residents of Ukraine, who thus increase the degree of heat in their apartments when there are problems with the quality of energy supply to their homes.

According to the laws of physics, the darker the color of the battery, the better its heat dissipation.

heat reflection

The battery does not have a built-in processor, so it gives off heat evenly in all directions, heating the air of the room and the outer wall with the same effort. In order for more heat to go into the housing, and not to heat the walls, it is necessary to attach a reflective screen to the wall behind the radiator. It can be a simple foil, even better if it is a thin layer of insulation with a reflective screen.

The screen is attached with glue or liquid nails, the laziest owners, in order to increase the flow of heat into the room, simply put the foil behind the radiator and do not fasten it with anything.

Radiator area

If you do not have an individual coolant flow meter, then you will pay the same for heating, regardless of the size of the radiators. Hence the simple conclusion - as far as possible, especially in large rooms, install multi-section batteries, because with an increase in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe radiator, its efficiency also increases.

Of course, you can’t change the battery in winter, but in summer it can be done without problems, as you remember in cold weather.

You can artificially increase the area of ​​​​the radiator with an aluminum screen. The screen will heat up from the battery and its usable area, hence the efficiency, will increase.

warm air circulation

The circulation of warm air is not directly related to the heat exchange of the battery, but the temperature in the house largely depends on this, so this advice cannot be ignored. Heat, according to the laws of physics, rises up, so near the ceiling, the degree of heating of the room is always higher. The problem is that a person does not live on the ceiling, he needs a normal temperature at a height of 1-2 meters.

A computer cooler, that is, a mini-fan that can be installed behind the radiator, will help solve this problem. He will direct the flow of heat in the right direction and the owners will not have to use a stepladder to “warm the bones” near the ceiling. You can connect the cooler through the old power supply, its power is 2-2.5 W, and the price is 100-200 rubles, so there will be no big expenses.

These tips will help raise the temperature in the apartment by 2-4 degrees, if you want to increase the temperature in the kopeck piece by the same amount with the help of a heater, then you will have to pay an additional 1.5 thousand rubles for electricity per month - count.