Homemade warm plinth water. Warm water plinth: getting acquainted with the features, installation rules and manufacturers

Invisible, efficient, comfortable heating. A very attractive combination of features. A warm floor immediately comes to mind for many. And rightly so. But this is not the only heating method that meets these characteristics. There is also a warm plinth. The system is easier to install, most of it is available for maintenance at any time. So a heating baseboard should also be considered as an option for invisible heating.

Warm skirting system: what is it

Heating baseboards or baseboard heating are not new in the field of heating. The idea was proposed at the beginning of the last century, but due to the complexity of implementation and high price, it was almost forgotten. With the development of technology, the complexity has become lower, but the price is still high. It is this, in the main, that deters potential users.

The main difference of this system is the non-standard form of heating devices and their unusual location. Heaters are long and low, located along the perimeter of the room at floor level. The heaters are covered with a long decorative strip that looks very much like a plinth. When installed, they replace the usual plinth. Therefore, such a system is very often called a "warm plinth". This system is very good for panoramic glazing - it can be no higher than the frames, so it is completely invisible. She is no worse in ordinary rooms - she is not visible at all.

Types of warm plinth

There are two types of warm plinth: electric and water. Electric warm plinth is different in that each heater is independent and can work separately. They can be installed in case of lack of power of the main heating - as an additional one, in case of cold weather. Installation is simple, but it works efficiently, is invisible, does not dry the air too much.

There is a water warm plinth. This is one of the subspecies of water heating, that is, all heating devices are connected into one system. It can be either the main (only baseboard heaters) or an additional type of heating (together with or radiators).

Heating pad device

In any case, a warm baseboard looks like this: these are two copper tubes, which are located at a distance of 7-15 cm from one another. To increase heat transfer, vertical plates of aluminum and brass are put on the tubes (they cost a little less, but the heat transfer is slightly lower) or copper (more expensive and warmer option). From above, the finned tubes are closed with decorative covers made of extruded aluminum. Aluminum was not chosen by chance - it transfers heat well. So the heated lid itself radiates heat.

There are air holes at the top and bottom of the lid. Cold is sucked in through the lower ones, heated comes out through the upper ones. So it turns out that heating comes from three sources:

Such a triple heat source contributes to the fact that the room heats up quickly, and the location of the heating elements around the perimeter contributes to uniform heating of the air throughout the volume.

Advantages and disadvantages of baseboard heating

What is the difference between heating using a warm baseboard? Warm air is taken from the heating element up along the wall, heating the wall. As you move up, the air gradually cools down, then falls down, but not along the wall, but in the center of the room.

As a result, it turns out that the warmest air is at the bottom along the perimeter of the room. The warmest object - other than heaters - is the walls. Also, warmer air is located near the floor. Rising up, it cools down and at the level of the head it is a little colder. The difference is small 1-2 degrees, but it is this distribution of temperatures that is better for a person's well-being.

Uniform distribution of heat over the entire area and volume is one of the most important advantages

Heating with a warm baseboard is inertial. It is impossible to unequivocally attribute this property to advantages or disadvantages. There are both positive and negative points. Minus: until the walls warm up, the room is cool. Therefore, such a system is good only for permanent residences and is completely unsuitable for summer cottages. The positive point is that when heated, the walls work like a large stabilizer - they maintain the temperature at the same level, giving off the accumulated heat if necessary. Such a large heat accumulator will help to hold out for some time even if the heating is turned off.

The advantages of heating systems with heating skirting boards include their efficiency. After the walls are heated, the boiler consumes a minimum of fuel - only to maintain the temperature. And such modes, as a rule, are more economical. But this applies to any inertial heating system, so this cannot be considered a special advantage of a warm baseboard.

Warm plinth assembly a little closer

There are skirting heating and undeniable advantages. The first is one of the few systems that provides uniform heating. Even the corners are always warm. The second is the most inconspicuous system that easily fits into any interior. With all this, heating devices are easily accessible, the system can be repaired at any time.

It has a warm baseboard and a clear drawback - a high price. This is due to the fact that copper and aluminum are used to increase heat transfer, and they cost a lot.

Types of heating skirting boards

The baseboard heating system can be of two types: with electric and water heaters. At the installation stage, a system with warm water baseboards is more complicated (requires a collector or beam connection), but during operation it is more economical. Electric warm plinth is mounted quickly - you just need to fix the heaters to the wall, immediately after installation it is ready for use. But heating costs, like any electric heating, are high.

One of the most inconspicuous heating systems is a warm (heating) baseboard.

Heating device with water warm plinth

The system of water plinth heating differs only in the non-standard form of heating devices. The key components do not differ from the standard ones: you need a hot water boiler, a collector assembly and a pipe system with which a warm baseboard is connected.

There is also a combined warm plinth - with an electric heating element and pipes for the coolant

Please note: the optimal operating mode of the system is low-temperature. On the supply 40-50°C, on the return about 5°C lower. Therefore, it is necessary to select a boiler or build a system based on this. If the boiler is gas, the best choice is condensing. When installing any other, the system requires a heat accumulator and / or a mixing unit - to reduce and stabilize the temperature.

Connection method

There are features in the choice of connection method. Serial connection of all baseboard heaters in the room is inefficient: until the coolant reaches the last ones in the heater branch, it will cool down greatly and they will remain cold almost all the time.

For a water heating skirting board, a beam system is used: devices are connected one at a time or in pairs. To do this, a collector node is built into the system, to which pipes are connected that go to heating appliances. The disadvantage of such a system is the high consumption of pipes. After all, two pipes go to each device (or a small group) - for supply and return. The pipe consumption is much higher, but the heat distribution is more even and the system itself is more reliable. Why is it more reliable? If pipes or radiators in one group are damaged, all others work normally.

Mounting Features

When installing water plinth heating, pipes are usually hidden in the floor. Laying them along the walls will not work, as the place is occupied by heating appliances. That is, the installation of warm water baseboards is possible only at the repair stage - you will have to raise the floors.

Special polymer pipes are recommended to be laid in a screed - they are not subject to corrosion and have low heat transfer, that is, heat loss during transportation of the coolant will be small. But since the availability for repair of these systems is low, you need to take high-quality goods from well-known manufacturers, and this is not cheap.

Electric warm plinth

The electric warm plinth externally differs from the water one only in the presence of terminals for connecting the power supply. The rest is the same view. These are two tubes with aluminum/brass/copper plates fixed perpendicularly. A heating element is located in the lower tube - a heating element, wires for connection are laid in the upper tube.

It is much easier to install and connect an electric warm plinth. You just need to fix it, stretch the wires and connect them to the terminals. To maintain the set temperature, a thermostat is built into the system, which turns the heaters on and off. The use of thermostats is desirable, as it optimizes work - saves electricity.

Installation is really simple, but you need to connect an electric warm plinth to a dedicated line with a properly selected circuit breaker rating and copper single-core wires of the appropriate section. So in this case, repairs are also required - it is customary to lay the wiring in the wall, and for this you need to do it, that is, break the walls.

Installation of a water warm skirting board system

Installation of an electric warm plinth is very simple: we fix it on the wall. Everything, the system is ready for operation. It remains to plug in the sockets. The main thing is to be correctly calculated, standing. This is the main problem in the case of using an electric warm plinth. Water is much more difficult to mount. Everything must be assembled into a single system, and this is not easy.

Calculation of baseboard heating

A complete thermotechnical calculation of heating is a long and complicated matter. The size and geometry of the room, the material of the walls, floor, ceiling are taken into account, the degree of insulation of all structural elements, including windows and doors, is taken into account. In general, the calculation is quite difficult. Therefore, most often they take the average figure, which is derived from the analysis of many calculations.

It is believed that 100 W of thermal energy is needed to heat one square meter of a room with medium insulation. That is, to calculate the power of a warm baseboard, you need to multiply the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room by 100. Get the required figure. That is how much (and preferably more by about 20-25%) should give in total all the elements of a warm baseboard.

For example, the area of ​​the room is 18 square meters. For its heating, 1800 watts will be needed. Next, we look at how much heat is emitted by one meter of heating. A water heating skirting board can work in different modes, depending on the mode it emits a different amount of heat. The table above shows data for one of the systems. For example, let's take the heat output of one meter of warm plinth from this table (other manufacturers may have significant differences).

For example, the system will operate with a supply temperature of 50°C. Then one running meter produces 132 watts of heat. To heat this room, you will need 1800/132 = 13.6 m of warm plinth. When ordering, it is better to add a margin of 20-25%. This reserve is necessary so that the system does not work all the time at the limit. This time. And also in case of abnormal cold weather. This is two. So, with a margin we take 17 meters.

Once again, we draw your attention: these are average data for some average house. And here even the height of the ceilings is not taken into account. It is again taken as an average - 2.5 meters. If you have better insulation, you will need less heat; if worse than "average" - more. In general, this method gives only approximate calculations.

How to act

The first thing to do is to draw a plan on which to indicate the length of each heater, the length of the connecting tubes. After all, the length of a warm baseboard is not always equal to the perimeter of the room. In this case, the segments of heating devices are interconnected by copper or polymer pipes. It is undesirable to use steel, as they chemically interact with copper (it is gradually destroyed).

Preparation for installation takes place long before its actual start. At the very beginning of the repair, even before the leveling of the floor, pipes are pulled from the boiler or collector unit to the place where the warm baseboard is connected. Pipes are laid, tested for integrity, filled with a screed in a filled state under pressure (working pressure in a private house is 2-3 atm, in a multi-storey building you need to find out in the housing office). Then all repair work is carried out and only after the finishing of the walls and floor does the installation of a warm baseboard begin. Here is its order:

Actually, the installation of warm baseboards is not too complicated. But the tightness of the joints is important and special attention must be paid to this.

Most people are very attentive to the level of comfort in their own home, while the microclimate is one of the main evaluation criteria, an indicator of comfort. In many private houses, individual heating allows you not to feel inconvenience. But it is possible to build an effective system using a warm water plinth in a city apartment. At the same time, owners of private houses find such a system attractive because it is very economical.

What is a warm baseboard

A warm plinth is a system of rather thin radiators, which are located in the lower zone of the walls of the rooms along the perimeter of the room. Such a construction of the system makes it convenient for a number of criteria, if we consider the complexity of installation and the need for certain large-scale repair work. In particular:

• a hot water heating system can be installed with a warm baseboard, practically without interfering with the existing infrastructure for supplying and supplying coolant. This is especially valuable in apartments;
• a warm water plinth can be connected without big problems instead of standard heating radiators. At the same time, installation is possible in houses of any type (with a contour supply or with a return mixing system);
• to modify the heating system in a house or apartment, you do not have to dismantle and create screeds or carry out other costly and lengthy repairs. Unlike the underfloor heating system, the plinth does not have special requirements for the installation and location of radiators;
• a warm water plinth, providing efficient heating, is able to play the role of an element of interior design. The design includes decorative panels, responsible manufacturers offer many colors and designs;
• to increase the efficiency of heat transfer, you can choose the standard sizes of radiators that provide a good microclimate in the room with a certain length of the circuit and the degree of insulation. At the same time, the complexity and volume of installation work practically do not change.

Water warm skirting boards are easy to install, for carrying out all operations to build the system, the performer does not require special buildings and skills. The usual set of tools is enough: adjustable wrenches, a puncher or impact drill, a screwdriver, a hammer, and marking devices.

What are the advantages of circuit heating systems

If we compare the classic radiator system, underfloor heating and the skirting board, the latter shows several noticeable advantages that make it attractive in the eyes of consumers. For example:

• the heat transfer that a warm water plinth has is higher than a classic radiator system. This is due to the fact that the amount of coolant is small, it moves at high speed. Therefore, the temperature drop at the inlet and outlet of a long circuit is smaller. The radiator in the far corner of the room is always colder than the one located at the entrance. This does not happen with the water circuit of the skirting board;
• without clearly localized points of energy return, warm water skirting boards bypass the classic radiator system in terms of the rate of heating the room;
• unlike underfloor heating, skirting boards provide air curtains, which can be important in drafty rooms. The heating circuit, laid from the bottom of the walls, forms a constant upward flow of air. Passing along the walls, window openings, in the area of ​​​​the door - it neutralizes the cold streams coming from the outside.

In the competition of three systems, you can immediately weed out the classic radiator due to its low efficiency, clear localization of energy return zones. Warm baseboards and floors can compete only in rooms of different sizes. The first - ideal for relatively small rooms, shows the best results in rooms with drafts. Underfloor heating works well with a large floor area.

How a warm baseboard affects the state of structures

A warm baseboard can be an optimal heating system in rooms with a low degree of thermal insulation. It shifts the dew point outside the walls. It works like this:

• in an insufficiently insulated room, when air falls from the outside, the wall cools down;
• if the amount of heat coming to the structure (slab, masonry, monolithic pouring layer) is not enough for warming up, condensation forms on the surface, mold forms, in rare cases ice builds up (in the corner rooms the problem is more noticeable);
• a warm plinth installed around the perimeter of the room heats not only the air, but also partially the wall on which it is mounted;
• the flow of warm air rising along the wall gives off heat to the structure.

As a result of the work of the contour heating system, the amount of heat is sharply increased, designed to solve the problems of the dew point located inside the room. By heating the wall, a warm baseboard eliminates frost, mold and other problems in the room.

To achieve the same result with a system of radiators or underfloor heating, you will need to spend a lot of energy, openly overheat the room so that the air in its volume raises the temperature of the wall.

High panels of warm plinth show themselves especially well in the area of ​​dealing with problematic walls. Having an increased area, such radiators often do not have an increased volume. They are also built from thin tubes, have a heat exchanger made of plates of large dimensions (width, height), but often of lesser depth. In the mass market from many manufacturers you can buy a variety of products in this class. They can become an interesting detail of interior design.

Basic Design Principles

If we consider the creation of a warm baseboard in a single room, the work is carried out according to a simple scheme and clear principles.

1. The product is sold in the form of radiators. Inside the system of thin plates are copper tubes. Radiators of the same brand have the same dimension in terms of height and depth, they are offered in different lengths. Each standardized element of the heating system has a certain heat transfer capacity.
2. To connect individual radiators into a single circuit, plastic or copper pipes are used.
3. The set of elements of the main system includes adapter and clamp nuts, as well as elements for fastening to the wall. A solder connection may be provided.

The warm plinth radiator is mounted in a system of wall and decorative strips. The installation process itself is as follows:

• using a laser level, the middle line of the passage of a warm water plinth is marked. It is calculated so that it is located in the middle of the radiator and its wall mounting bracket. Installation of the latter must be calculated very carefully. It is desirable that the distance from it to the floor allows you to close the gap with an ordinary plastic plinth;
• in the right places of the wall (depending on the position of the technological holes), drilling is done and plugs for fastening screws are installed;
• mounted radiator wall strips and fixing plates that will hold the heat exchanger;
• in accordance with the established structural elements, connecting tubes are tried on and cut off. In this case, length tolerances must be made in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, depending on the connecting fittings for fixing and waterproofing;
• starting from the inlet of the circuit, radiators are installed;
• each subsequent one is connected by pre-cut tubes to the previous one.

At the end of work on the last radiator, the output is looped. To connect the upper and lower tubes, both a finished part and a connecting tube can be used.

Such work is most often done inside the apartment. The selection of the coolant and the return is carried out at the appropriate points of the heating riser. All that needs to be done is to cut off the existing radiators, dismantle the pipes and lay a warm baseboard. In a private house, the system is more complicated, but the above procedure is carried out in each room for equipping a separate heating circuit.

Detailed installation instructions:

Climate control and accessories

When installing a contour heating system, especially if you make a warm water plinth with your own hands, it is necessary to create a regulation structure and install some additional nodes. The presence of the latter is especially important. If a warm baseboard is made in an apartment and connected to the heating risers, it is important not to violate the parameters of the centralized heating supply system.

Adjustment system

To control the amount of heat entering the room, in the simplest case, shut-off valves can be used. A conventional valve installed at the inlet to the circuit can change the amount of coolant pumped per unit time. This is convenient in conditions of stable water temperature in the circuit and the climate outside: you can increase or decrease the circulation several times a season “by eye”.

Automated systems are more functional. In this case, a thermal head is installed at the outlet of the circuit. Such a valve, roughly speaking, controls the temperature drop and shuts off the circulation at the set indicators of the water that has passed through the heating system.

Thermal heads with an external temperature sensor are more convenient. They receive a signal from small devices located inside the room, which determine the microclimate indicators and set the heating mode.

Thermal heads with external control can also receive data on the air temperature outside the building in order to increase or decrease heat transfer from the baseboard accordingly.

Circulation pump

Equipping the circuit of a warm baseboard in an apartment is a necessary step if the house heating system is built on a supply-return scheme with mixing. In such a structure, the gravitational principle of the movement of the coolant is applied. It is deprived of a warm water plinth. Therefore, forced pumping of water through the system will be required.

In apartments with a through circulation circuit (heating radiators without a mixing pipe between the supply and return), the use of its own pump for a warm baseboard will not affect the pressure indicators that exist in the centralized heating system.

There can be several circulation pumps in one circuit of a warm baseboard. This is done on long routes, especially if you want to avoid installing bulky nodes and tubes are not strictly horizontal. It is also recommended to seek the advice of a hydraulic specialist. The presence of many turns of the circuit increases the overall fluid resistance and requires the installation of one or more pumps of a certain capacity.

Construction of a heating system for a private house based on a heating boiler

If the apartment has heating risers and the baseboard is connected to a centralized system, the work is not very difficult. In a private house or apartment with its own heating boiler, collectors are used to power individual room circuits. This is the same class of equipment that is used to construct underfloor heating.

With its help, both the temperature of the water in the baseboard and the amount of heat that enters each room are set. Can be purchased and installed:

• systems on two or three-way valve;
• collector equipped with flow meters for each circuit.

It is rational to use a system with centralized temperature control. In this case, temperature sensors are located in each room, the readings of which affect the operation of the collector flow meters.

The most complex systems are built using weather sensors that determine the nature of the climate outside. They simultaneously affect the flow meters and the temperature of the coolant entering the skirting boards.

Built on a collector system is very functional, easy to use and durable. Today, you can purchase an arbitrarily complex installation for a warm water baseboard. Manifolds with 6,7, 10, 12 circuits are offered, equipped with automatic air vents and other devices that prevent emergencies.

The heating system in our time can be represented not only by classic, but also by various innovative devices that allow you to save on energy consumption without losing the quality of heating. Among the latter, a warm water plinth stands out - thanks to the sum of its features, this device has gained the widest popularity. Why is it remarkable and why is it in high demand? In order to understand, we offer a comprehensive acquaintance with water skirting boards: what they are, what are their pros and cons, how to install equipment with your own hands, which manufacturers offer the best product and what are the user reviews - then we talk about all this in order.

Design and functional features

Externally warm water plinth is a long heating device with a height of no more than 20 cm, designed to be installed around the entire perimeter of the room with a break at the doorway. Structurally, it includes the following working elements:

• heating radiator - thin brass plates that heat the air in the room;
• heat exchange module - two tubes inside the radiator that circulate hot water;
• front panel with special holes designed for air circulation;
• rear strips protecting the adjacent wall from the high temperatures of the operating convector.

Advice. Heat exchangers with copper tubes are considered the most efficient - in terms of thermal conductivity, they surpass alternative modules with steel or mixed copper-brass tubes.

The average thermal power of devices is in the range of 200-240 watts.

The principle of operation of a warm water plinth is simple: first, hot water enters the heat exchange module and gradually spreads heat along the entire length of the device, then the radiator gives off heat to the lower layers of air, and the already heated flows move along the walls to the ceiling, slowly but evenly heating the entire perimeter of the room. At the same time, warm rising air does not mix with cold currents, which allows you to effectively heat the walls - after heating, their entire surface begins to radiate heat, maintaining a comfortable temperature in the room.

Water warm plinth

Advantages and disadvantages

The plinth heater of the water type has many advantages:

1. Efficiency - due to the high speed of movement of the coolant, the device is characterized by increased heat transfer with minimal heat loss.
2. Safety - when heating the air, the water device does not emit harmful substances and cannot provoke a fire of nearby objects.
3. Comfort - the skirting board does not dry the air, maintains optimal humidity and prevents the formation of fungi, mold and condensation on the walls, thereby maintaining a comfortable microclimate in the room.
4. Ease of operation - the device is easy to use and unpretentious in maintenance.
5. Versatility - the equipment can be used not only in rooms, but also on loggias and balconies.
6. Aesthetics - the water plinth is outwardly very neat, and its front panel can have a completely different design, so the device will fit into any interior.
7. Durability - the device is reliable in operation, therefore it pleases with a long service life.

There are also disadvantages of a warm water plinth, but in a smaller amount:

1. High cost - a baseboard heater for the entire perimeter of the room will cost several times more than traditional batteries.
2. Temperature dependence - the device only works at a certain temperature in the heating system, therefore, if its indicator reaches a critically low level, the equipment may fail.

If these two minuses do not scare you, we suggest that you get acquainted with the features of the phased installation of a warm water skirting board.

Preparing for installation

The first step is the preparation of working materials and tools. To connect the water plinth you will need:

• protective plastic pipes for connecting the skirting board with a distributing heat source;
• adapters for connecting instrument sections;
• wrenches;
• pipe scissors;
• perforator;
• brackets;
• self-tapping screws and dowels;
• self-adhesive tape.

The second step is to determine the required number of water heater sections. When calculating, it should be taken into account that the length of one plinth should not exceed 15 m, otherwise large heat losses can be provoked.

The third step is the removal of plastic pipes from a heat source: an individual boiler or a central heating system. First measure the distance from the distribution source to the first section of the skirting board. Then cut the pipes to the required length and connect them to the heating system through the floor or wall.

Installation of a warm plinth

Installing a warm baseboard

Now let's move on to the direct installation of a warm water plinth:

• Using self-tapping screws or glue, fix the bottom back of the skirting board to the wall.
• Fix a self-adhesive heat-insulating tape over the plank - its width should be equal to the height of the plinth.
• Using self-tapping screws, install the upper back bar along the upper edge of the tape.

Advice. On turns, connect the upper strips with plastic corners.

• Prepare the heating radiator - remove the two extreme lamellas and put the connecting nuts on the copper tubes.
• Use fittings to connect the copper pipes to the outlet plastic pipes. Install rubber gaskets between nuts and fittings. At the corners and ends of each circuit, install swivel pipe elements.
• Apply heat reflective tape to the inside surface of the front panel. Using brackets and self-tapping screws, fix the panel to the top and bottom rear rails.
• Install decorative elements: corners, plugs, caps for self-tapping screws.

Manufacturers of water heaters

Of course, one of the main conditions for the successful operation of a heating system based on a water plinth is the purchase of a high-quality device. And for this, you should understand the equipment manufacturers and their proposals. We single out here three companies that managed to prove themselves favorably in the market.

"Mr.Tektum" is a Russian manufacturer that produces water skirting boards with an optimal ratio of quality and price: these devices are highly functional, but quite affordable. They are easy to recognize even externally thanks to the stylish geometry of the front aluminum panel.

Rehau is a German company that produces warm water skirting boards in the best traditions of national quality: durable and reliable. A distinctive feature of the products is durability: equipment can last for decades without interruption.

Connecting a warm baseboard

Best Board is an Austrian brand offering high-end energy-saving skirting boards. A characteristic feature is improved thermal performance, which is ensured through the use of our own innovative technologies in production.

As you can see, a warm water plinth is a rather unusual, but steadily gaining popularity heating device. It is effective, durable, but most importantly - easy to install. So, if you have been looking for an alternative to traditional radiators for a long time, be sure: a high-quality water plinth, installed in accordance with all the rules, will perfectly cope with this role.

Installation of a warm plinth: video

Warm plinth: photo

Winter is coming to an end, and the issue of choosing a heating system is still relevant for FORUMHOUSE users. Despite the wide choice of devices, there is one system, the interest in which is constantly growing. Its name is "warm plinth".

System features

A thermal plinth is a heating device that is installed instead of a conventional plinth.

Being essentially a microconvector, a warm baseboard can act as both the main heating system and an additional one.

Due to its small size - the height of the industrially made warm skirting board is 15-20 cm, and the width is 3 cm, the thermal skirting board fits well into any interior.

chicken A:

– Thermal plinth is similar to a standard plinth mounted at the bottom of the wall. The thermal plinth is made of metal and, most often, is heated by a liquid coolant coming from the boiler (this variety is called “warm water plinth”, there is also “warm electric plinth”).

Read in the diary of a member of our portal what is the peculiarity of the second variety, and whether it is worth thinking about what to do or to someone who cares about the composition of the air in their home.

Unlike conventional window sill radiators, heating with the help of warm baseboards is not due to convection currents, which first heat the air, but due to radiant energy, which has a beneficial effect on a person.

Often there is evidence that the radiant component of heat transfer from a thermal plinth is 80%, and the convection component is 20%.

Let's take a room with an area of ​​16 sq.m. In the room, along three walls 4 meters long, thermal plinths are installed. The height of the panel is 14 cm. Thus, the total area of ​​the radiating surface of the plinth will be 1.68 sq.m.

With a panel width of 3 cm, the ascending convection heat flux, under the influence of the Coanda effect, is, as it were, “pressed” against the wall. Therefore, it does not mix with the rest of the air in the room, but heats the overlying inner surface of the wall.

Thus, the walls under which a warm plinth is installed, at a height of up to 1.5 meters, heat up several degrees above room temperature, which creates a feeling of thermal comfort for people in the room.

°C °C .

As a result of the experiment, it was found that for a person to feel comfortable, the air temperature in the room should be approximately 16°C , provided that the temperature of the walls is about 22°C .

The system is easy to set up and operate. The supply of water or other coolant to the registers of a warm baseboard is carried out through a conventional collector using a circulation pump from any heating boiler.

We list the main advantages of heating with a thermal plinth:

• uniform heating of the entire room without the formation of "cold corners";

• creation of a thermal curtain near the window, which is especially important in winter with a large glazing area;

• comfortable thermal mode allows you to save energy, because. due to the predominance of the radiant component, it is not necessary to heat the air strongly, as with convection heating;

• the absence of protruding components and parts allows you to fit the system into almost any interior.

Warm plinth: buy or make

You can easily buy a warm water plinth, both in Moscow and in any region. But the main and, perhaps, the most significant drawback that a warm water plinth has is that the price for it is too high. And for a warm electric baseboard, the price is also not very humane. In this article, we consider the water option:

On average, the price of a running meter of a warm plinth panel with all the necessary fasteners is above 2,500 rubles.

If you add to this price the necessary components that you have to buy - an eyeliner, a collector, a mixing unit and other elements, the cost of a thermal skirting board doubles.

So chicken-A I decided to make my own thermal skirting board.

The requirements necessary for this are the cheapness and convenience of manufacturing baseboard heating at home.

chicken A:

– After brainstorming, I decided to abandon the finning and make a panel from a copper plate, soldering a tube to it.

Technical characteristics of a homemade panel:

• panel height - 140 mm;
• internal diameter of the tube - 10 mm;
• the outer diameter of the tube is 12 mm.

The tubes were made of unannealed copper in sticks 6 m long.

Of particular interest is the user's approach to the manufacture of a warm skirting board. For this chicken-A I cut a strip of ordinary roofing copper with a grinder into 4 strips.

The tubes are soldered to the panel with soft solder containing 3% copper, using a gas burner and flux. In order to avoid warping of the metal at the place of soldering, the main flame of the burner must be directed to the tube.

For connecting pipes and panels in a trunk chicken-A I used segments of pressure oil and petrol resistant hose. And he fastened the rubber pipes put on the ends of the copper tubes with screw clamps.

chicken A:

- At the time of manufacture, this system (including the collector and connections) cost me less than 500 rubles. in terms of 1 meter of the panel. Now, as of January 2015, this amount, due to inflation, is approximately 800-900 rubles.

Installation of a warm plinth

To prevent excessive heat loss at the points where the panels were attached to the wall, the forum member attached a strip of isolon with a reflective aluminized layer. On top of it, he screwed plumbing plastic clips to the wall.

This will allow, in case of repair, to easily remove the panels.

For each heated room, a separate circuit is drawn from the collector. Its total length, together with the eyeliner, should not exceed 15-16 meters. The temperature of the heat carrier is regulated by means of a thermostatic admixture from the boiler circuit through a three-way valve with a servomotor.

Propylene glycol is used as the heat transfer medium. Thermal valves with thermostatic heads are installed at the entrance to each room.

chicken A:

– It took about 55 liters of coolant to fill the system. It took 10 liters to fill the room circuits (total heated area 100 sq. M) and the collector. 35 l was spent on the TT boiler, electric boiler and mains.

To improve the heat transfer of panels, chicken-A wanted to paint them first, but abandoned this idea, deciding that the natural copper color looks great in the interior of the rooms.

Summing up

Home-made thermal plinths have been successfully operating as the main heating system for a forum member's house for 7 years. For all the time the system has not lost power and did not require any repairs.

chicken A:

“My house is well insulated. Depending on the weather, the temperature of the heat carrier is set in the range from 50°C to 70°C. Only in the coldest winter did I raise the coolant temperature to 80°C.

Feels like chicken A, the thermal effect from working skirting boards is very soft and pleasant. The air does not dry out. And thanks to radiant energy, the air temperature in the house can be kept at 20-21°C.

Also, as an improvement to the chicken-A system, he proposes to increase the height of the panel from 14 to 19 cm. In his opinion, this fully compensates for the absence of tube finning, which is difficult to manufacture independently.

Read on FORUMHOUSE about how to make and install yourself, learn all about and get acquainted with the basic principles.

See in our video how to heat a large house in the absence of gas, how to build an air heating system based on a heat pump.

Faced with the choice, from a sufficiently large number of options, of the most efficient way to heat a home, people most often resort to those options that provide the minimum initial investment that can provide an acceptable heat transfer coefficient. A new trend in this matter was the installation of a heated baseboard. In Europe, this system has been used for about two decades, which, accordingly, indicates a fairly high efficiency indicator. The electric plinth is a metal structure, inside which a heating device is installed, heating occurs directly with the help of infrared radiation. This system can work in a single version or in tandem with radiator batteries.

Installation is possible in almost any territory, whether it is an apartment or a summer cottage. If you decide to join the owners of these units, we will tell you how to install a warm water and electric skirting board with your own hands.

Outwardly, all elements of the unit do not have any special differences in comparison with an ordinary plinth, most often made of an aluminum collapsible casing. The dimensions of typical models of a warm baseboard are 14 centimeters in height and three in width. Inside, by means of mounted brackets, a heating element is installed, which consists of two copper pipes interconnected by brass ribs. All heating units are connected into a single system using crimp nuts or by soldering with copper solder. At the corner sections, the elements are connected using copper or polymer tubes. You do not have to worry about the fact that over time the device will rust, because in the production process of the product only non-ferrous metals are used, which in turn provide a high heat transfer coefficient of the baseboard.

The principle of operation of a warm plinth

Installation of a warm skirting board is carried out around the entire perimeter of the room, so the room is heated smoothly and evenly. This is ensured by means of heat distribution through special holes located in the upper part of the device. In order to heat the room to an acceptable level, 20-24°C, it is necessary to heat the aluminum plates to a temperature of 40-70°C.

It is worth paying attention to the next aspect! Compared to conventional radiators located at a certain distance from the floor, the warm baseboard system produces heat almost from the very bottom of the room.

The heating of the space is carried out due to the heat transfer of the walls, they first absorb the heat coming from the baseboards, and then become passive sources of heat. Due to the fact that the heat is evenly distributed throughout the room, you will not have cold spots anywhere. The installation of furniture will in no way affect the operation of the device, the efficiency will remain at the same level.

According to the principle of operation, the units are divided into electronic and hydraulic.

The electric plinth is made of paired pipes made of copper, where a cable is mounted into one of them, from a heat-resistant material with silicone insulation, while a low-temperature heating element is placed in the other, with a maximum heating temperature of about 60 ° Celsius. The temperature is controlled by an electrical sensor, a thermostat. The product has a special clamp for grounding, do not neglect this.

In a water plinth, distilled liquid or antifreeze acts as a heat-conducting liquid. Heating of these elements occurs with the help of a boiler, or with the help of a tie-in into a centralized heating system. This method is more economical than the electric baseboard, since the second one consumes electricity in a certain amount. The temperature is controlled by means of a thermal valve or in automatic mode.

Pay your attention! The distance to which the lines of the water plinth can be stretched is limited to 15 meters, if the room is larger, then it is necessary to install additional autonomous circuits.

We list the main advantages of this type of device:

1. The principle of heating a room by means of a warm baseboard, in its principle of operation, is remotely similar to a warm floor, but the installation process is less labor-intensive and much more economical. Note that you will not be able to install underfloor heating, especially water, in many rooms. To install the skirting board, you only need a completely flat wall. If necessary, you can easily dismantle and install the system in another place.
2. With the help of a warm baseboard, you can achieve a favorable climate in almost any room. Slowly rising air currents will not drive dust around the room. Heat is not concentrated in the upper part of the room, but will be evenly distributed throughout the room.
3. Due to the fact that the walls will act as a heat-receiving screen, you can forever forget about the presence of mold and dampness in the room. Condensation will not form on spacious glass areas.
4. The installation of such a system will not make an ordinary person sweat, because ease of assembly is ensured by the modularity of the structure, which simply needs to be simply connected to each other and connected to a power supply or a centralized heating system.
5. Due to the fact that the device does not heat up to high temperatures, you can not be afraid that your furniture, wallpaper, curtains or other household items will become unusable.
6. The plinth will not be noticeable to your guests, it will harmoniously fit into your interior, because before buying you can choose the color to your liking.

Let's go through the cons:

1. One of the first disadvantages is the amount required to purchase a warm baseboard system.
2. The second drawback that is present in electric baseboards is the price of electricity, because they are growing day by day, and you need a considerable amount of it for normal functioning.
3. The system of warm plinth is not able to heat the room in an instant, it is designed to maintain the temperature in the room.

Preparatory measures before installing the system

The first step is to calculate the required power of the device, as well as make a choice of the type of device, water or electric. The number of required heating elements for each room will be individual, and will depend on the climate, the presence of double or triple glazing in window openings, as well as the area to be heated. To ensure an acceptable room temperature, the average value is one hundred watts per square meter. An additional advantage, in terms of savings, is the presence of insulation in your house or apartment, which will save a lot, because in this case it is possible to purchase a cheaper system, or reduce the number of heating modules. To connect the elements together, it is recommended to use copper solder, because it is able to withstand high loads, as well as provide reliable sealing of the system. If it is impossible to implement this method, it is necessary to use threaded fittings. Water supply to the system from the boiler must be carried out exclusively with polymer pipes, preferably polyethylene.

Before we tell you about the features of installing an electric or water plinth, first we will consider the general points:

1. Before you start the installation process, it is necessary to mark the installation lines of the panels, the system must be located at a distance of one centimeter above the floor level.
2. The panel is attached to the wall using self-tapping screws with plastic dowels. On the back of the panel there are stops designed to provide the required clearance (15mm) between the wall surface and the system.
3. For better thermal insulation between the casing of the heating element and the wall surface, a heat-insulating tape is glued.
4. Drill holes for fastening brackets for convectors. For this, it is best to use dowels with a pitch of forty centimeters.

Electric plinth

Attention! The device has high power consumption, which limits the number of panels used in one circuit to 17 pieces.

1. Cable wiring must be carried out inside the wall, or installation outside is possible, provided that the wire is insulated with a special box.
2. The connection of the device to the network must be carried out exclusively through temperature control devices. It is attached to the wall.
3. Before you start, you need to calibrate the device.

Water plinth

1. When passing corners, it is necessary to use specially shaped connecting tubes.
2. Connect the assembled system to the collector and start up hot water.
3. After making sure that there are no leaks, install the front panel of the plinth.

In this article, we tried to explain the main points on how to install a warm water and electric baseboard, studied the main points of these manipulations and instilled detailed instructions for installation and do-it-yourself.