Convectors of heating - what they are

Taking care of heating your own home is one of the constant components of comfort. Centralized boilers work well, but not always and not everywhere they can be installed. Here come to the aid of iron, bimetallic or steel convectors heating.

These heaters are divided into several types, so almost every owner of a country house, cottage or apartment can choose the unit to their liking.

Advantages and classification

Heating a house with convectors is more related to the local type of heating. Naturally, this does not mean that they cannot be used in the complex, but practice shows that in private houses with large square it is advisable to install a central boiler.

Important: if you briefly answer the question what is a convector heating, then this unit is a metal structure that is installed for space heating. A distinctive feature is that all devices have heat exchangers, air ducts and screens designed for natural or artificial air circulation.

Heating by convectors is perfect for city apartments or small cottages, with a periodic visit. The only exception may be water heaters, which, in essence, are part of a common centralized system.

But in any case, the technical characteristics of all these structures are fully consistent with modern requirements.

• So, regardless of the financial condition, any good owner is interested in the price of the unit. Heating convectors here greatly benefit compared to boilers.
• From the point of view of SNiP, there are practically no complaints about this equipment. Modern devices do not emit harmful fumes, the vast majority of devices do not dry the air and do not burn oxygen. As for dust, its amount in these units is within the limits of permissible norms.
• From the point of view of installation, installation of convectors with their own hands does not cause difficulties for most owners.
• Any sane person seeks harmony and beauty. If cast iron batteries, so popular in the recent past, could not boast of attractiveness, then heating convectors fit well into any interior.
• To operate convectors for home heating is extremely simple. Even a teenager can cope with this task. Instructions for control device consists of several, quite understandable instructions.

As mentioned earlier, if heating radiators work by radiating thermal energy, thanks to the design features, convectors use the air property to rise up when heated, due to which their efficiency is an order of magnitude higher.

At the place of installation, these units can be divided into the following groups:

• Wall or hinged. These devices are mounted directly on vertical supporting structures. This also includes the so-called plinth units.
• Floor-mounted devices differ from mounted except by the presence of legs or wheels for easy movement and installation.
• The devices built into the floor or into the walls often do not have a separate casing, its function is performed by the niche itself, in which the unit is located and the protective grid on it.
• Finally, station wagons, the technical characteristics of which allow them to be mounted, depending on the purpose, on virtually any surface and in any residential area.

Design features and installation, it is certainly important, but as a rule, the owners are primarily interested in what kind of fuel or from what type of energy the unit works.

The choice here is small.

1. Electric power units.
2. Gas appliances.
3. Devices that use hot liquid as a coolant, most often water.

Common types of equipment

In this case, it will be about what the unit is powered from. After all, this question is perhaps the most important when choosing equipment.

Electrical devices

Convectors heating in which is carried out at the expense of electric energy, is currently quite popular. There are many reasons for this, first of all, the availability of this type of energy. Even in the most remote village there is a power line.

The main structural element of this type of device is the heater. The principle of operation is simple and known from the school physics course - a thread is installed inside the heating element, which is heated due to resistance. To protect it, a ceramic wrap is used, which in turn is packed in a metal tube.

TEN with a radiator is located in the lower part of the device. When warming up, the heating element gives off heat to the radiator, in the construction of which air ducts are provided, passing air through it, warms up and exits through the decorative grille located on top.

Pluses of electrical equipment.

• First of all, it should be noted that the price of this product compares favorably with competitors operating on gas or heated from water.
• Installation of the equipment requires absolutely no special permissions, all heaters are classified as ordinary household appliances.
• For the installation of wall equipment with your own hands, it is enough to drive in a few dowels, the floor models do not require installation at all.
• Humidity for modern electric heaters is not an obstacle. Multistage protection ensures normal operation even in bathrooms and pools.
• Even vehicles with artificial ventilation function almost silently.
• The efficiency of electrical appliances is considered to be the highest and approaches 100%.

What are the disadvantages:

• Heating a private house or apartment with electricity will require the installation of a sufficiently powerful input cable. Copper conductors used for this purpose are taken with a cross section of at least 6 mm ?.
• These devices are good as an addition to the general system, if in this way if you completely arrange heating of a country house, then the light bills will be serious.
• Over time, the efficiency of the device will decrease.

Tip: Whatever electrical unit you purchased, pay attention to the technical characteristics, besides the power itself there must be a marking of at least IP24. The two speaks about protection against dust, the four characterizes moisture resistance.

Electric heating convector station wagon can be controlled in different ways, up to remote programming for a long time. But without fail, protection against short circuits and overheating of heating elements must be installed, all these advantages are provided by units from well-known manufacturers, for example, from Ballu.

Tip: since the voltage drops in our networks, it is not uncommon to install a stabilizer in order to protect all electrical appliances in the house.

Natural Gas Units

Many people confuse these heaters with gas boilers, but we decided to tell what it really is and how these designs differ. Let's start with the main one; gas heating convectors use indoor air as a coolant. In contrast, gas boilers heat the liquid, which subsequently circulates through the system.

If we talk about the principle of operation, it is the same as that of electric convector heating appliances. The air, passing through the channels, heats up and enters the room. Only here instead of the heating element is installed a closed chamber with a gas burner. The air necessary for combustion is artificially injected into the closed chamber of a modern device, and the products of combustion are removed.

A distinctive feature of this equipment is that it can be mounted exclusively on external walls. Such units operate from the air taken from the street and naturally the chimney must also go outside.

For this, a coaxial pipe with two circuits is used. Exhaust gases are discharged through the internal channel, the external circuit serves for the inflow of fresh air.

The advantages of gas equipment.

• On average to heat 10m? living space with standard ceilings takes about 1 kW / h of electricity. If we are talking about natural main gas, then it, for a convector, is necessary 10 times less, about 0.1 m? / H. The price is 1m? gas is not too different from the cost of 1 kW of electricity. Savings are immediately visible.
• In places where there are no lines, this equipment can be powered by bottled gas or fuel injected into gas holders. What makes it possible to operate in remote villages and cottages.
• The equipment is absolutely safe for the internal atmosphere of the house, as it works on oxygen taken from the outside. Plus, combustion products are also displayed outside the room.
• The system of protection against damping of the burner and automatic adjustment of the fuel supply make the convector an absolutely safe, autonomous unit.

But not everything is so smooth, this equipment has its minuses.

• The main disadvantage is the need for professional installation. Gas is a serious thing and only people with special permissions are allowed to connect it. Plus, to install the equipment will need to issue some documents. Therefore, before you choose a gas, find out whether it can be installed.
• The price of gas equipment is much higher than electric.

Important: a significant economic effect is relevant only for small rooms. If you install several units at once, they will consume more fuel than the average boiler.

Water convectors

Water heating convectors, in essence, are more modern, improved version of radiators. The first representatives appeared in the nineties of the last century, but due to the rare location of the ribs and the poor contact of these ribs with the heat exchanger, the efficiency of the devices was extremely low. Therefore, in those days, people massively began to replace them with cast iron batteries.

But time has made its own adjustments, and modern devices compare favorably with their past counterparts. For example, you can take the heating convector universal KSK 20 and its modifications. The depth of the device itself does not exceed 100 mm, while it gives out thermal power up to 2.9 kW.

As heat exchangers, pipes are used here, as a rule, copper, on which thin plates are pressed or soldered. As a result, the efficiency of such a unit increases significantly.

Some tips for choosing

• If the house has panoramic windows, the main source of cold will be windows. Therefore, in this case it is better to give preference to floor-standing, baseboard or floor units.
• In the case of liquid devices, it is not recommended to use units with steel coolant, ferrous metals are susceptible to corrosion and will not last for a long time.
• Now there are still gas appliances with an open burner, they are not safe, besides they burn oxygen.

More detailed recommendations are presented in the video.

Conclusion

As a result, I would like to note that in the modern market both mounted, and floor or embedded heating convectors are represented in a wide range, but, unfortunately, not all of them are of good quality. The above recommendations, of course, will make the choice more meaningful, but in order to minimize the risk, it is better to take goods of famous brands.