Can i use the electric boiler for heating
Many of us, doing the project of the heating system, are trying to simplify its design as much as possible in order to reduce the cost of purchasing components, connection and operation. One of these options is to use an electric boiler as the main heating device for heating a private house or apartment. Although the inappropriate use of electrical appliances cannot be considered a good idea, let's still see if we can, in principle, make such a system, and how it will behave.
Design
Before you begin to analyze the characteristics of the planned heating system, let's look at the design of the main heat source - the electric boiler, which is also called the accumulative electric heater.
Its main task is to provide premises with hot water:
- TEN - the main element of a design which is responsible for water heating. It is located directly in the tank with water and its operation is controlled by an automatic control system.
- The case of the device usually consists of two parts:
- the inner tank is designed to heat water;
- external - protects the internal from heat loss and mechanical damage.
- To increase the thermal insulation properties of the structure, a heat insulator is placed between the two tanks - polystyrene foam or mineral wool.
The main parameters of the device
When choosing an electric boiler, we recommend paying attention to its following parameters:
- The power of the device, which is responsible for the rate of heating of water. In household models, it is located in the range of 0.7-3 kW. There are also special electric boilers for heating, in which the power of heating elements is 6-10 kW.
- The volume of the tank affects the amount of hot water you can get at one time. The more it is, the less will be included TEN. For domestic needs, models come in 50-100 liters, in industrial boilers the volume of the tank can be from 300 liters.
How to select equipment for the heating system
It was noted above that some companies offer models of electric heaters, which are specifically focused on integration with the heating system of an apartment or house. They have some distinctive features from devices designed only for heating water.
Tip: when designing a space heating based on an electric boiler, give preference to the most appropriate model for such conditions.
Consider the differences in more detail:
| Placement of the inlet and outlet | The place for entry of cold water into the tank is located below, in the upper part of the tank - exit. This allows hot water to flow into the outlet pipe as efficiently as possible, thus the room will warm up much faster. |
| Diameter of working holes | In household models, usually the outlet pipes have a diameter? or ?. This size is clearly not enough to connect to the heating piping pipelines. At the same time, an electric boiler for heating has an inlet and an outlet for O2 water and more. If the selected model has such connections, feel free to stop your choice on this unit. |
| Volume of the tank | In this case, the more the better. Note that a water heater with a small water tank does not apply to heating the room. Even if the device will constantly work at the limit of its power, it will not be able to maintain the required coolant temperature in the system. |
| Power TENA | An important parameter, on which the normal operation of the heating system depends, is therefore better when it is large. We recommend purchasing equipment at the rate of 1 kW should correspond to 10 m2 of a heated room with a ceiling height of up to 2.5 m. |
As you can see from the table, household water heaters can not be used as appliances for heating an apartment or house, no matter how attractive their price. Neither their design nor power does not meet the necessary operating conditions.
In this case, it is necessary to dwell on devices specially designed for heating and hot water supply of premises, which are more powerful and have a better location of the input and output for the coolant.
Creating a space heating system based on an electric boiler
After selecting the equipment, you can begin to create a project of the heating scheme.
It should take into account:
- Branching pipelines that will affect the efficiency of the main heating device. The more different taps and radiators there are, the slower the coolant will move, which means that the temperature in the house will not reach the optimal value.
- The power of the boiler must correspond to the size of the room "at the upper limit", otherwise the heating efficiency will gradually decrease. You can also include in the system an additional source of heat.
- The quality of care for the boiler's heating elements, as well as the condition of radiators and heating pipes, will directly affect comfort. It is necessary to draw up a schedule of prevention and cleaning with your own hands or with an appeal to the appropriate services.
After all these factors will be taken into account at the proper level, you can assemble and connect the system. Installation of a boiler, as well as connecting pipelines and radiators to it, is not difficult. Instructions for this process are described on our website.
Tip: to improve the performance of the heating system based on the electric boiler can be installed in the pipeline special circulation pump. It will provide continuous movement of the coolant that will allow to warm up the room as evenly as possible.
Embedding the circulating pump in the heating system is not difficult, but if you have never done this, we recommend using the services of professionals. They will calculate its power and make installation, taking into account the characteristics of the heating system.
Heating system based on electric boiler - the pros and cons
The positive in this case is not so much:
- The main advantage is the simplicity of the scheme. Almost any master can assemble a heating system based on an electric boiler and connect heating pipes to it. It does not need special skills and sophisticated equipment.
- Low price, as the boiler is cheaper electric boilers. When designing a low-power system, this is quite possible to save.
A lot was said about the drawbacks of the scheme throughout the article, so we’ll summarize:
- Domestic models of electric storage devices do not have sufficient power of heating elements for efficient heating of housing. The maximum that they can do is to warm the country house in the autumn, when there are no severe frosts yet. In winter, such a scheme will not work effectively.
- The heating element of the device must always be turned on, and if you add to this a regular update of water, the acceleration of corrosion processes will become inevitable. Although the cost of heating elements is small, it will take a lot of time and effort to replace them.
- It will not be possible to save on the assembly of the system, if you do it according to all the rules. For example, pick up a heater of optimal power, do the correct routing of pipes, install a circulating pump in the system. Then it is better to still think about buying an electric boiler.
Conclusion
The installation of a heating system based on an electric accumulator is possible, however, in this case there are many additional nuances. The best option is to use it only in certain situations.
In other cases, it is necessary to use only devices designed specifically for this purpose. The video in the article will help you find additional information on this topic.