Heating a country house is a prerequisite for a comfortable stay in it in the winter. For practical implementation, it is necessary to carefully analyze the possible options for heat supply and choose the optimal one. There are several types of heating of a country house: water, gas, electric.
Requirements for the heat supply of a country house
What is the difficulty of organizing the heating of a country house? First of all, in non-permanent residence in this room. Those. When considering heating options for a country house, it is necessary to take into account that for some time the system will be inactive.
The difference between a summer cottage and a standard country cottage lies in the small area of the first. Of course, there are projects of large houses. But they are the exception rather than the rule. Therefore, cottage heating with your own hands should meet the following requirements that are peculiar only to this type of residential building:
- Optimum system power. This will allow you to maintain the desired temperature level in the house without high energy costs;
- Long system downtime without further impact on its performance. Water heating in the country house should be filled with antifreeze;
- Mandatory heat supply control system. This applies to all types of heating of a country house - water, electric or air.
The main factor in choosing a particular system is the planned budget. It is financial capabilities that determine the configuration and, as a consequence, the further work of the entire heat supply. However, before choosing a heating system for country houses, its optimal parameters should be calculated.
The installed heating system must be not only effective, but also safe. This is especially true of wooden residential buildings.
Calculation of the heating system of the cottage
What is more profitable to install - cottage heating with electricity, stove or water heating? The determining factor is the total area of the house, as well as the degree of thermal insulation of walls, window and door structures.
First you need to determine what the walls in the house are made of. Each type of manufacturing material has a specific coefficient of thermal conductivity. But to calculate the heat loss, you need an inverse value - the coefficient of heat transfer resistance. It is calculated using the following formula:
λ = d / R
Where λ - heat transfer coefficient of resistance,d - wall thicknessR - thermal conductivity of the material.
When installing the heating of a country house without gas, you can not take into account the heat loss during ventilation. Data on the physical characteristics of materials can be taken from the graphic table.
However, any heating of the country house with firewood should compensate for these heat losses. Therefore, it is additionally necessary to calculate this parameter depending on the selected mode of operation of heat supply and outdoor temperature in the winter. This can be done using the following formula:
M = λ * K
Where M - optimal heating power,TO - power reserve equal to from 1.1 to 1.2.
Only after performing these calculations, you can begin to choose the cottage heating with your own hands. For buildings with large heat losses, experts recommend organizing water heat supply. If the thermal insulation of the dacha is at a high level, you can install a more economical IR film heating.Each of these types of heating of a country house needs to be considered in more detail.
In some cases, it is necessary to take into account not only the heat loss through the walls, but also the ceiling and the roof. This is necessary if furnaces for heating a country house will be installed.
The choice of heat supply of a country house
Considering possible options for heating a country house, it is necessary to consider energy sources. The best option is the presence of a connection to the gas main. But in fact, this is extremely rare. Therefore, most often they install electric boilers for heating a country house.
As an alternative to expensive electric heating, you can consider installing solid fuel boilers. This method will be optimal only if it is possible to provide full heating of the country house with firewood. To do this, you need to take care of the proper supply of energy for the entire heating season.
In general, to select one or another option, the following factors should be considered:
- The total area of the cottage and the degree of thermal insulation of the building;
- Features of the climate in a particular region. This is a minimum temperature in the winter;
- The availability of certain energy sources;
- The budget of the organization of heat supply cottages.
Let us analyze how effective the country heating boilers will be and whether the electric heating of the premises will be able to fully compete with them.
Preliminary calculation of heating. It includes the above-described methodology for calculating the optimal power of the system, the temperature regime in the premises.
Water heating cottages
Organization of a heat supply system using water (antifreeze) as an energy carrier is effective. But only if all the components were correctly selected - a stove for heating a country house, a boiler similar to it in functions.
There are several types of cottage heating systems using hot water. They differ only in the type of fuel used. Depending on this, the optimal boiler model is selected, as well as other components - radiators, pipes and safety groups:
- Gas boilers. The best option both in terms of efficiency and further maintenance of the system. However, for the installation of gas boilers, it is necessary to obtain a permit and fulfill the Technical Conditions. In the absence of highways, you can consider the option of heating the country house with gas cylinders;
- Solid fuel boilers. As an energy carrier, you can use firewood, coal. Some models of solid fuel boilers can be converted to gas heating or for diesel fuel. The main complexity of such a scheme is the obligatory arrangement of a boiler room;
- Stoves and fireplaces. Recently, this is rare. However, heating a country house with wood using a stove has a number of advantages. The heat supply device can be equipped with a hob, which greatly simplifies life and provides the possibility of cooking.
Choosing the appropriate boiler option, you can begin to complete the heating and draw up a diagram. There are two types of water heat supply - gravity and forced circulation. In the first case, a boiler is installed for the system to work, then a vertical booster riser is mounted from it. The coolant is heated in it, the water expands and, as a result, the fluid circulates through the pipes. Such a heat supply scheme is relevant only for heating systems of country houses with a small area of up to 70 m². Otherwise, the natural thermal expansion of the water will not be enough to ensure circulation.
Forced circulation heating requires a more thorough approach.For her, it is mandatory to calculate the hydraulic resistance, the optimal diameter of the pipes, as well as the characteristics of the heating devices - safety groups, pump and radiators. To increase the speed of movement of hot water, a circulation pump is installed in the main. In this case, a closed expansion tank is needed, since the pressure in the system must be greater than atmospheric.
Since the main component of water heat supply are country heating boilers - you need to carefully consider the choice. The comparative table shows the estimated cost of various models depending on the power and fuel used.
| Boiler model | Fuel type | power, kWt | Cost, rub. |
| Baxi ECO Compact 1.24 F | Gas | 24 | 31970 |
| Dakon DALINE PTE 8 | Electricity | 8 | 41820 |
| Spark "KOTV-10" | Solid fuel | 10 | 15680 |
In addition to boilers for heating a country house with gas cylinders, the correct material for the manufacture of pipes should be selected. They must withstand the temperature of the heat supply, be resistant to mechanical stress.
Before filling the system with antifreeze, it is necessary to check the compatibility of all components for the use of this type of energy carrier.
Electric heat supply for a summer residence
Are there alternatives for heating a country house without gas? Until recently, this could only be done using a stove, fireplace or installing an electric boiler. But with the advent of PLEN heating technology, the situation has changed.
To organize country heating with electricity according to this scheme, installation of pipes and radiators is not necessary. The main heating element is a thin film made on the basis of lavsan. Conductive carbon stripes are applied to its surface. When current passes through them, IR rays are generated. Additionally, the film is equipped with a reflective layer, which concerts the flow of thermal radiation.
The advantage of this option of heating the country house is the low inertia of the system. In fact, heating of the surface of objects occurs very quickly. However, for this type of heating of a country house, there are certain rules:
- The total film coating area should not be less than 75%. Usually it is installed on the ceiling, which allows you to heat the maximum volume in the room;
- Mandatory equipment with a temperature controller and temperature sensors. This is necessary to achieve the optimum degree of heating;
- Good insulation at home. The average power of PLEN on 1 m² is much less than that of similar water heat supply in a country house. Usually it does not exceed 220 W / m².
Unlike electric boilers for heating a country house, film heating has practically no danger of short circuit or fire of conductive elements. This is due to the relatively low temperature on the film surface. It rarely reaches + 45 ° C.
For mounting PLEN, you can use any mounting materials - staples, screws, glue, etc. It is important not to touch the conductive strip when installing the film.
Stove or fireplace for a summer residence?
Some owners of seasonal suburban real estate do not imagine other ways of cottage heating with their own hands, except for installing a fireplace or stove. This is due not only to complete independence from electricity, but also to the cozy atmosphere created by these heating appliances.
However, in contrast to cottage heating with the help of electricity, the arrangement of a fireplace or stove heating requires much higher costs, both financial and labor-intensive. You can buy a ready-made factory design. But many people prefer to have brick stoves in the country.
It should be noted right away that stove heating of a country house without a gas connection is designed to burn only one room.Exceptions are those cases when a heat exchanger is installed in the combustion chamber. It is connected to a common heating system.
It is also important to know the following rules for heating a country house with firewood:
- For a brick stove or fireplace, it is necessary to equip a separate foundation that is not connected with the main brownie. The total mass of the masonry will be large - the floor simply can not stand it;
- The size of the chimney. Due to the combustion chamber of the furnace, which is much larger than that of country heating boilers, the draft level should be much higher. Otherwise, the combustion process will not be supported. For this, the diameter of the chimney must be at least 100 mm with a height of 4 m;
- For better room heating, it is recommended to make a complex chimney system. Hot gas passing through the channels will heat the wall of the house.
The difficulties of heating a country house with firewood are related to the complexity of their storage. To do this, you need to allocate a small separate room where humidity and temperature will be at a normal level. Otherwise, large amounts of water will be absorbed by the firewood, which will significantly worsen their heat capacity.
What is better to choose - a stove for heating a country house or a fireplace? It all depends on the area of the room. If the fireplace is adapted for a water or air heating system, it will be able to heat only one room. In addition, most models do not have hobs.
The furnace, on the other hand, occupies a large amount of living space. Despite the good heat dissipation, its operational characteristics will be significantly worse than that of balloon heating in a country house. Therefore, stoves or fireplaces are installed only in the following cases:
- Inconsistent living in the house. Negative temperature will not affect the performance of these heating devices, unlike water heating systems of a country house;
- There is a high probability of a power outage, problems with the purchase of bottled gas or connection to the central supply line.
These are the main methods of heat supply cottages that are currently used. Alternatively, consider innovative heating systems. These include geothermal heating and the installation of solar collectors.
An example of the simplest water heating of a summer residence can be found in the video material:
