The basis for any heating project is a properly designed circuit. It determines the installation order, the characteristics of the components and the parameters of the entire system. This is especially true of the heat supply of a two-story cottage or cottage. The heating system of a 2-storey private house can be built according to several schemes.
Features of heating a 2-storey building
The specificity of the organization of heat supply to buildings with a height of more than one floor is the uniform distribution of thermal energy from batteries throughout the premises. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the question - how to make heating in a 2-storey building with optimal parameters.
Professional designer takes into account all the nuances. The best option is to purchase a ready-made scheme or adapt a standard one for heating the house. When solving this problem, the following factors are taken into account:
- The total area of the building and its characteristics. Do-it-yourself heating of a 2-storey private house is possible only with good insulation of the external walls, the installation of modern window structures.
- Planned budget. It affects the quality of the purchased components and the choice of circuit.
You can make effective heating of a private 2-storey house with your own hands only after an initial analysis of this data.
To draw up a wiring diagram of pipelines and system components, it is best to use a copy of the house plan as the basis. So you can calculate the amount of consumables.
Gravity heating or forced circulation?
First of all, it is necessary to determine the optimal option for the circulation of the coolant. It can be gravitational or forced. The heating system of a 2-storey private house with medium and large area is built on the basis of the latter.
The work of the gravitational system is based on the natural circulation of the coolant, which occurs as a result of its thermal expansion. In this case, restrictions must be taken into account - the length of the pipeline should not be more than 60 mp, for the system to work, an overrun riser is required. It is these factors that determine the choice of water heating scheme for a private 2-storey building with a circulation pump.
An open or closed system can also be used for heat supply. In the first case, heating schemes of a 2-storey building are made with horizontal piping, which is not always convenient in terms of installation and operation. The best option is to install a closed circuit. It has the following advantages:
- Possibility of horizontal installation of pipelines. This minimizes the space required for installation.
- Improved circulation due to increased pressure in the system - from 1.5 to 6 bar.
- Heat dissipation for all devices (radiators and batteries) will be the same.
Similar heating schemes of a 2-storey building must have a circulation pump in their configuration. Without this, it is impossible to ensure the normal speed of the coolant.
To make high-quality heating in a 2-storey building is possible only after calculating its heat loss.
Pipe wiring for heating a two-story house
The next step is the choice of piping layout. It affects the flow rate of the coolant, the degree of cooling and the ability to control the characteristics of heat supply.
Do-it-yourself heating design of a 2-story private house is based on an analysis of all factors. Consider the most important of them, affecting the choice of wiring of the supply lines:
- Single tube. There is only one pipeline in the system, to which radiators are connected in series. For one-pipe heating of a private 2-storey house with their own hands, fast cooling of the coolant is characteristic. Therefore, it is used to heat buildings with a small area of up to 80 m²;
- Two-pipe. It is designed for uniform heat distribution. An additional return line allows you to connect the batteries in series, which reduces heat loss during circulation of the coolant. The best option for a low-temperature heating system of a 2-storey private house;
- Collector. With it, you can make several separate heating circuits connected to one distribution manifold. In the collector water heating scheme of a private 2-storey building, you can adjust the volume of hot water flow in each individual circuit. The disadvantage is the large amount of necessary materials.
An important point is the choice of material for the manufacture of pipes. In a closed heating scheme of a 2-storey building, it is recommended to use polypropylene pipes. It is important to consider that the maximum permissible temperature of hot water should not exceed + 90 ° C.
It is also mandatory to install shut-off and safety valves. The latter include air vents, bleed valves and expansion tanks.
As a heat carrier, water or antifreeze is most often used. The latter is preferred if it is likely that low temperatures will affect the system.
Rules for installing heating
Having chosen the optimal heat supply scheme, one can proceed to the practical implementation of the plan for the arrangement of a two-story house. At the first stage, the plan is adjusted and adapted to a particular cottage or cottage.
If the gravitational heat supply scheme was chosen as the basis, then the following rules for installing its components should be observed:
- Mandatory pipe slope. In the supply line, the slope is from the boiler, in the reverse - to it. On average, the slope should be 5-10 mm per 1 m.
- Diameter of pipelines. For a gravitational system, it is recommended to choose pipes with a large cross section - about 40 mm. In this way, the effect of water friction on the inner surface of highways on circulation can be reduced.
- The mount should be spaced 60-70 mm apart.
To control the degree of heating of the coolant, temperature sensors are installed on critical sections of the pipeline. The system must necessarily include a unit for adding coolant. Most often this is done through an expansion tank located at the highest point of the circuit.
In forced circulation heating, particular attention is paid to the selection of additional components. In addition to pipes, radiators and a boiler, the following components must be present in the heat supply scheme:
- Expansion tank. It is installed before the return pipe enters the boiler.
- Safety group including air vent, bleed valve and pressure gauge. Mounted on the supply line.
- The correct binding of radiators - installation of temperature regulators and Maevsky cranes.
For a forced circulation system, two-pipe or manifold pipe layouts are most often selected. The one-pipe scheme will be ineffective, as it will not be able to provide optimal indicators for heating radiators.
Designing collector heating is a complex task. It is very difficult to independently draw up a circuit and select components in this case.Therefore, this work is best entrusted to specialized companies.
For the collector heat supply system, a circulation pump must be mounted in the piping of each comb.
Alternative heating options for a two-story house
In some cases, installation of water heating is not possible or impractical. It is currently possible to make another type of heat supply in a 2-storey building using alternative sources of thermal energy.
The most effective is geothermal heating. With proper organization, it practically does not depend on external weather conditions. If, in addition to heating a 2-storey private house, you also need to make a hot water supply system with your own hands - install solar collectors.
In winter, their effectiveness is low. Therefore, solar collectors work only together with the main heating system of a private two-story house. The advantage of such a scheme is the possibility of its use for heating household water in the summer.
Another option is to install a film electric heating system. The principle of its operation is based on the resistive effect - when the current passes through the carbon bands, IR waves are generated. They, in turn, heat the surface of objects that fall into the scope of the PLEN. However, for such a system, a good thermal insulation of the building is a prerequisite. The maximum possible power of the circuit leaves about 220 W / m². Therefore, heat losses in the house should be minimal.
All of them are characterized by the high cost of composite components. Therefore, traditional heating systems of a 2-story private house with gas or solid fuel boilers are most often used.
The video shows an example of collector heating of a 2-storey building.
