Centralized heating: analyze the features of this method of

If you are a tenant of an apartment building, then you are most likely equipped with a centralized heating system. At the same time, heat is generated in one source, and then through pipes enters many apartments, in parallel providing heating for entrances, technical floors, etc.

This method of heating has both pluses and minuses, and we will talk about them in our article.

System device

The scheme of centralized heating, which is implemented in most settlements of our country, is quite simple:

• Heat energy is produced in the district boiler house or CHP. For the development of used a variety of devices that use coal, gas or liquid fuel. Typically, boiler equipment is characterized by high power, but over time it wears out and its performance drops, sometimes quite noticeably.

Note! The instruction requires water treatment, i.e. water purification before supplying it to the heating circuits. However, this requirement is not always met.

• Hot water obtained in the boiler room, through the pipes goes to the final consumers. As a rule, pipes with heat carrier heating system are put in the basement, where the distribution node is located.
• In some cases, high-temperature steam is used instead of hot water.. At the same time, the requirements for tightness of all joints increase significantly, since the steam is under significant pressure in the pipelines.
• After the coolant releases heat energy to radiators or convectors located in apartments and entrances, it returns to the boiler room through the return pipes.

As you can see, there is nothing difficult in the system. Actually, this simplicity causes both advantages and disadvantages of the entire system.

Efficiency mark

Advantages and disadvantages

The numerous benefits of district heating explain why it is so widespread.

The strengths of this scheme include the following:

• First, it is generally cheaper to generate heat on a large scale than to heat each room individually. At the same time, the apartment owner does not need to spend money on the purchase of specialized equipment, the price of which is very high.

• Secondly, the most different fuel can be used for heating. At the same time, most industrial installations allow the installation of various types of fuel, which further reduces the cost of the heat produced in this way.
• Thirdly, the products of combustion are emitted at a considerable distance from the dwelling (of course, if the CHP was located in accordance with the requirements of SanPiN), and therefore do not pollute the air.

However, as with any large system, the disadvantages of centralized heating are enough:

• First, we are practically unable to regulate the flow of heat to the apartment. Of course, to reduce the temperature, you can use a special thermal valve, but if there is a nedotop marked, you will have to contact the service organization.
• Secondly, both in heat generation and transportation, the losses will be quite impressive. So financial savings on large amounts of fuel are usually leveled by cooling the coolant on the way to the apartment.

• Finally, very often there are complaints about the quality of water treatment. If the water in the boiler room was not properly cleaned, then salt deposits quickly form inside the radiators, which over time will significantly reduce the level of heat transfer of the devices.

Note! If you have aluminum radiators installed, then in contact with polluted water the rate of corrosion processes will increase, and this will lead to leakage.

Ways to improve the work

As a matter of fact, the potential for optimizing the operation of centralized heating is very small. Especially if only you are interested in improving as an apartment owner. That is why in such situations it is worth uniting with your neighbors and contacting an organization that provides heat to your house.

In any case, you can do the following:

• Install more efficient equipment in boilers that can work optimally and use cheap fuel. As a result, the volume of costs for heat generation will be reduced by reducing the volume of purchases of fuel, and by reducing heat losses.
• To ensure the highest quality thermal insulation of pipelines, especially those passing on the surface. The less energy the coolant loses, the warmer it will be in our apartments.

• Install heaters with maximum heat dissipation (we can just do it ourselves). For apartment buildings from this point of view, bimetallic radiators are the best choice, since aluminum structures often fail when exposed to increased pressure during pressure testing.

Tip! Before choosing a battery, you should ask about the value of the applied pressure in the boiler room or CHP. If the value exceeds 25 atmospheres - awes, aluminum will have to be abandoned.

And in order not to overpay for heat, care should be taken to install devices to account for it. The process of installing the meter is simple, but it is usually accompanied by a large amount of “paper work”, which consists in obtaining permits and setting the meter on the account. And yet it is worth spending the time, since the savings when paying by the meter is quite substantial.

Refusal of central heating

If you are absolutely not satisfied with the quality of services provided for heating, you can refuse from centralized heating.

However, there are a number of nuances:

• First of all, permission to switch off is usually given only when the whole house passes over to individual heating. Accordingly, it is impossible to do without uniting with the neighbors.

Note! You can try to arrange a shutdown and in a personal order, but then in the payment of utilities will include heating the entrance and the transit of heat through your apartment. Accordingly, the savings will not work.

• Secondly, in almost any situation, you will prove the right to disconnect through the court, because you should take care of the presence of a lawyer with relevant experience in advance.

• Well, it is also worthwhile to preliminarily calculate the costs of purchasing equipment for arranging a boiler room in a house or installing boilers in apartments. It is possible that the payback period will be too long.

Conclusion

Decentralization of heating, despite its financial attractiveness, is not always possible. So in most apartment buildings, central heating remains relevant, especially since we can increase its efficiency by providing adequate savings and adequate comfort. The issues raised are discussed in more detail on the video attached to the article.