The centralized heating system involves heating the coolant in the boiler room and its further distribution to residential premises using a system of pipes and radiators. In order for the heating to be as efficient and uniform as possible, it is necessary to choose the right radiators, as well as take additional measures to increase heat transfer.
In the long term, knowing how to increase the heat output of a central heating battery will help the owner achieve maximum comfortable and smooth heating of his home, and permanently solve the problem of cold in the apartment when the heating system is turned on.
To understand the principle of action various methods to increase heat transfer, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the variables that affect the efficiency of a heating battery for central heating located in an apartment.
In a general sense, the level of heat transfer of a radiator depends on the following factors:
There are also indirect factors due to which the heating battery connected to the circuit does not work at full capacity, these are:
Improved air convection
Among the most simple methods that will help you understand how to increase the heat transfer of a heating pipe with your own hands is to use the laws of convection. Often, in apartments, batteries are filled with pieces of furniture, protected or hidden behind heavy curtains. All these elements prevent air circulation and it is rather difficult to achieve comfortable temperature conditions in the room, even if the central heating is operating at full capacity.
To optimize the air flow rate, it is necessary to free up the space around the radiator as much as possible.
Without encountering obstacles in its path, the air heated by the battery will move freely around the room and provide the maximum heating level provided by the radiator power.
Using an electric fan to improve convection
The owners, who are well acquainted with the physical laws, according to which heating, sewerage, and water supply are designed in houses, understand that the speed of air circulation affects the heat transfer of the battery. The faster the air circulates in the room, the more heat it can take from the radiator in a given period of time.
To improve natural convection, electric fans can be installed near radiators. It is worth giving preference to silent models that consume a minimum amount of electricity. Mounting the fan should be done at a certain angle to the battery. Such a simple method is quite effective. He is able to raise the temperature in the room by several degrees.
Arrangement of a reflective screen
In the form of a tool to increase heat transfer, foil for radiators can be used, which will help direct the flow of heat energy into the room. From radiators that are not equipped with a reflective screen, heat diverges in all directions, including being given to cold outer walls. The screen helps to focus the direction of heat flow and increase the temperature in the room.
The design of the screen is simple and accessible. It should have a larger area than the area of \u200b\u200bradiators, and be installed on a clean wall behind the battery. Instead of foil, you can use foil isolon - a special material that has a foam base on one side and is covered with reflective foil on the other. You need to mount the screen on the wall using any high-quality construction adhesive.
Purge radiators
Under difficult operating conditions, the central heating battery may become clogged or airy over time. Such changes are accompanied by poor circulation of the coolant and the appearance of cold sections. Blowing out radiators will help eliminate air congestion and blockages - a quick and economical way to increase heat transfer.
There are several purge methods that involve the use various types equipment:
The use of one or more methods of purging radiators will improve the efficiency of radiators and allow you to forget about the cold and discomfort in the apartment.
It is worth remembering that a central heating system is a complex network of radiators and pipelines.
Therefore, it is advisable to perform some types of battery purging together with neighbors, because otherwise the cleaned sections will again reduce heat transfer after a few weeks of operation. You can read more about methods for flushing the heating system.
By following simple and accessible recommendations, you can increase the heat output of any type of radiator and be able to get the maximum benefit from the use of a central heating system. The integrated use of methods is the most rational solution to the problem of poor heat transfer and will help the owner achieve efficient operation of heating devices in his home.
Often in apartments, especially old buildings, it gets colder every year in winter. People have to acquire and use, which leads to a significant increase. But why overpay for excess electricity consumption, if there are more cheap options correcting the situation? Today we will talk about simple ways to increase heat transfer. heating batteries, which do not require significant costs, which are quite within the power of anyone to implement home master. It is worth considering the reasons leading to a decrease in the temperature in the room.
Most often, the cause of a decrease in heat transfer is scale and accumulating inside. If the radiator itself is flushed (which utilities should do annually), then heat transfer will increase significantly. The same applies to the risers. However, it will not be possible to carry out such a procedure on our own due to the fact that during the production of such work (even in summer) it is necessary to drain the water from the system. You can't do without the help of specialists. The same applies to the replacement of radiators from cast iron to - they have a large heat transfer. Therefore, we will not dwell on such complex and time-consuming options. Better consider more simple ways, which can be performed by anyone, even without experience in a similar area.
We use a reflector screen: the use of polyethylene foam
Use is a fairly popular method of increasing heat transfer. Polyethylene foam with foil coating On the one hand, it is perfect for these purposes. Such a screen (it should be larger than the radiator itself) is placed behind the battery with foil in the direction of the room and fixed on the wall with double-sided tape or liquid nails. Foamed polyethylene provides additional insulation, and the foil reflects the heat that warmed the wall before installing the screen, directing it into the room.
Important information! It is best when such moments are thought out at the stage of installation of radiators. In this case, a steel ribbed shield can be fixed behind the radiator, which will accumulate heat, and then direct it into the room. Such shields are convenient if there are frequent power outages.
Increasing heat dissipation with accessories and paint
To increase the air temperature in the room, special aluminum casings are used, which are put on the radiator. With their help, the area and, as a result, their heat transfer increases. The cost of such casings is small, and the effect is quite significant.
The color in which radiators painted, is also of great importance. It is better for these purposes to choose darker shades. For example, a brown-colored radiator has a heat transfer rate greater than white ones, by 20-25%.
Improving convection by increasing air circulation
Everyone knows that improvement contributes to faster heating of the room. For these purposes, you can use a fan, which is installed in such a way as to achieve the maximum flow of warm air towards the room.
Useful information! If you have computer coolers at home that are not in use, you can install them under the radiator, directing the airflow upwards. This will maximize convection, resulting in a significantly warmer room.
You can increase (if the radiator is recessed under the window sill) by cutting holes in the window sill and closing them screens or decorative covers. Thus, warm air will not linger in the niche, which will improve circulation.
This country can not be defeated! Self-assembly fans to improve convection:
General rules for improving the heat transfer of heating radiators
In order not to encounter a decrease in the heat transfer of batteries in the future, it is worth thinking about this even at the stage of installing radiators. The main rules are:
- obligatory behind the radiator, possible installation steel screen;
- installation of bimetallic batteries instead of cast iron;
- installation at the inlet and outlet of the radiator (this will allow, if necessary, to independently flush the sections or add additional ones without shutting down and draining the entire system).
If you follow these simple rules during installation, it will subsequently be much easier to increase the temperature in the room without seeking help from specialists. And this is additional savings for the family budget. Let's summarize
There are a lot of ways to increase the heat transfer of heating radiators. Today we have considered only the main ones. However, it should be remembered that it is always easier to think everything through in advance, at the installation stage, than to put in a lot of effort later, without being sure that the result will be significant. Unfortunately, in Russia everything is done on a whim. The final advice of the editors of the site will be the following recommendation: think about the future and do not spare money during installation. The financial resources saved today can turn into costs tomorrow, which will exceed your savings many times over.
Consumption ecology. Homestead: Sometimes it turns out that the batteries do not heat up as they should. Of course, you can change them, but changing batteries in the cold is a dubious pleasure, and such problems arise mainly with the beginning of the heating season.
Sometimes it turns out that the batteries do not heat up as they should. Of course, you can change them, but changing batteries in the cold is a dubious pleasure, and such problems arise mainly with the beginning of the heating season.
It remains to either endure until the summer and freeze, or try, if not solve the problem, then at least reduce it. And this is even more than realistic, and the solution can be either purely technical or just a “cunning”.
What to do if the batteries do not heat up
Number of sections
The first thing to do is to calculate whether there are enough sections of radiators for your room. If there are not enough of them, then there is only one way out - to select the necessary heating radiators and add several sections to the battery.
The standard way to calculate the number of heating radiators:
16sq.m. x 100W / 200W = 8
where 16 is the area of the room,
100W - normative thermal power per 1m²,
200W - approximate power of one section of the radiator (you can see it on the passport),
8 - the required number of heating radiator sections
Regulator check
If your battery is equipped with a power regulator, then it is worth checking at what temperature it is turned on. In the spring, there is no need to heat the room strongly and, perhaps, the regulator is at an insufficient temperature now.
Airlock
Check the temperature of the surface of the battery itself, if it is very hot in one place, and barely warm in another, then, most likely, an air lock interferes with good heating.
Another symptom of an air lock is an incomprehensible noise, gurgling. Modern batteries have a special air release valve (Mayevsky's tap) located at the top of the battery and opened with a flat screwdriver. It is enough just to unscrew the faucet a little, until the sound of air escaping, wait until all the air has escaped and water has flowed, and then tighten the faucet.
Do not forget to substitute something to collect water. If you yourself do not risk or have not found a similar valve in your battery, then call a plumber.
Radiator cleaning
The quality of the battery is very much interfered with by dust and dirt. You can clean it from the outside yourself. It is better to remove the old layer of paint, if there are several of these layers, then the procedure is required, and paint with a special heat-resistant paint, preferably dark (black) in color. Only a plumber using special equipment can clean the battery from the inside.
Decorative cover
A decorative screen (casing) will regulate and increase heat transfer. Moreover, at the moment the choice of screens is wide; they are not easy to fit, but they will decorate any interior. But you need to carefully consider the material from which it is made. A screen made of wood or plastic will not give the desired effect and, on the contrary, will not let some of the heat into the room. In order to make the room warmer, the screen must be chosen from aluminum, it will perfectly conduct heat.
Little tricks to increase the return temperature of heating batteries
The battery needs free air access, remove everything that blocks it, including curtains, you can simply lift them onto the windowsill. An ordinary fan can help the movement of air. Position it so that the flow goes past the battery. Thus, warm air will quickly get deeper into the room, and cold air closer to the battery.
Part of the heat is absorbed by the wall behind the battery, to avoid this, you need to isolate this area. Corrugated cardboard and aluminum foil can serve as insulation. Attach this design with cardboard to the wall, and with foil to the battery. Heat reflection will be just fine.
It is not necessary to use improvised means, there are better ones, convenient solutions for thermal insulation. Modern materials, such as polyrex, penofol or isolon, are remarkably insulating, and on the one hand they have a self-adhesive surface, which, of course, will facilitate their installation.
Note. After gluing the insulation, the distance between the battery and the wall should not be less than two centimeters, otherwise the air will not circulate and it will not become warmer. If the distance is not enough, you can simply stick the foil, it is better to keep the distance and not risk sticking a thick layer of insulation.
Batteries can heat poorly if they are installed so that the gap between them and the wall is initially less than two centimeters, in which case it is worth considering their reconstruction, since half of the heat will go into the wall and will not be able to get inside the room.
Application technical solutions can in principle eliminate the need to install new batteries. Thanks to these little tricks, you can simply raise the temperature by a few degrees, if this is not enough for you, then of course you should think about replacing the batteries and external thermal insulation. published
The main task of any type of heating batteries is the maximum possible heating of the room. The parameter that determines how the device meets the tasks set is their heat transfer. But not only this can affect the frequently occurring problem, which is how to increase the efficiency of the heating battery. Heat loss can be dealt with simple means, but before that it is necessary to find out what can affect the process of heat transfer to the surrounding space. Consider the main factors affecting the efficiency of heating devices:
- Radiator model, number of sections and size of the battery itself;
- Type of radiator connection to the heat supply network;
- Placement of the heating battery in the room;
- The material from which the battery is made.
What is efficiency and how to calculate it
The heat output of heating appliances, which include batteries or radiators, is the sum of the quantitative indicator of heat that is transferred by the battery over a certain period of time and is measured in watts. The process of heat transfer by batteries takes place as a result of processes that are known as convection, radiation and heat transfer. Any radiator uses these three types of heat exchange. As a percentage, these types of heat transfer can vary for different types of batteries.
What will be the efficiency of heaters, in the vast majority of cases, depends on the material from which they are made. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of radiators made of different types material.
- Cast iron has a relatively low thermal conductivity, so batteries made from this material are not the best option. In addition, the small surface of these heating devices significantly reduces heat transfer and occurs due to radiation. Under normal apartment conditions, the power of a cast iron battery is no more than 60 watts.
- Steel is slightly higher than cast iron. More active heat transfer occurs due to the presence of additional ribs, which increase the area of heat radiation. Heat transfer occurs as a result of convection, the power is approximately 100 watts.
- Aluminum has the highest thermal conductivity of all the previous options, their power is about 200 watts.
An important role in increasing the efficiency of heating batteries is played by the connection method, which must correspond to the type of battery and the material from which it is made. A direct one-way connection has the highest heat transfer efficiency and the lowest heat loss. Diagonal connection is used in case of a large number of sections and significantly reduces possible heat loss.
The bottom connection is used if the heat-conducting pipes are hidden under the floor screed and does not exclude heat loss up to 10% of the original value. The single-pipe connection is considered the least effective, since the power loss of the heating device with this method can reach 45%.
5 Ways to Increase the Efficiency of Your Heating System
- Keeping the surface of heating devices clean.
No matter how incredible this statement may seem, even a thin layer of dust on radiators leads to a decrease in heat transfer. For example, the efficiency of aluminum radiators contaminated with a layer of dust can decrease by 20-25%. In addition, regular cleaning also needs inner part batteries. The first problem can be dealt with on your own by ordinary wet cleaning, but for the second you will have to contact a qualified specialist. Plumbers are armed with knowledge and skills that will help in a short time to clean the radiator from scale and other contaminants accumulated during operation.
- Painting radiators with paint appropriate for their purpose.
First, for coloring it is necessary to select paint of dark colors. Thanks to this, it will be possible to achieve not only good heating of the batteries, but also a significant increase in heat transfer. Second, you need to choose for coloring suitable paint. As a cover for cast iron radiators heating, it is better to use enamels known to everyone, and for aluminum and steel batteries acrylic, alkyd and acrylate enamels are more suitable.
- Use of reflective screens.
The heat that the battery radiates spreads in all directions. Therefore, at least half of the useful thermal radiation goes into the wall located behind the heating devices. You can reduce unnecessary heat loss by placing a screen behind the radiator, for example, from ordinary foil or ready-made, bought in a store. When using even a home-made screen made of a thin metal sheet, not only does the heating of the wall stop, but an additional source of heat is created, since, when heated, the screen itself begins to give off heat to the room. When using a reflective screen, the efficiency of cast iron batteries, and many others, can be increased up to 10-15%.
- Increasing the surface area of the batteries.
There is a very direct relationship between the surface area that radiates heat and the amount of this heat. To increase the heat transfer of radiators, you can use an additional casing. The material from which it will be made must be carefully torn out. For example, aluminum casings have the highest heat dissipation. They are used as an addition to cast iron radiators. With frequent interruptions in the operation of heating systems, it is worth considering purchasing steel casings, which retain the heat received from radiators for a very long time. Accordingly, this type of battery case gives off heat to the surrounding space much longer than others.
- Create additional air flows in the room.
If you direct the air flow to the heating devices, for example, using a conventional household fan, then the air in the room will be heated much faster. In this case, it should be borne in mind that the direction of the air flow should be vertical and directed from the bottom up. With this method efficiency increase radiators can reach 5-10%.
Using even one way to improve the heat transfer of batteries, you can significantly increase the temperature in the room and reduce the cost of additional heating. Before you begin to improve the performance of the radiators, make sure that they are connected to the heating network correctly and that the heat regulators on the latest generation appliances are set to the required value. In addition, with a constant problem with heat supply, attention should be paid to the thermal insulation of walls and windows, through which heat usually escapes. It is necessary to insulate not only the outer walls, but also those that go to the stairwell.
Sometimes it's hard to pick optimal model. In most cases, several factors are taken into account - the complexity of installation, service life and heat transfer. The last indicator is the most important, since the efficiency of the device will depend on it.
With the advent of new materials for the manufacture of radiators (aluminum, bimetallic), cast iron receded into the background. But their unique performance characteristics again forced buyers to pay attention to themselves. First of all, these are good performance properties. Unlike aluminum and metal, cast iron can accumulate heat, and when the water temperature drops, the radiators will be warm for some more time.
But back to the issue of heat transfer. You can familiarize yourself with the detailed calculation methodology, which details the calculation methodology and indicates ways to increase this indicator.
Almost all manufacturers indicate the nominal value of thermal conductivity at ideal temperature conditions– 90°С. However, in fact, to achieve this from heat suppliers in apartment buildings problematic.
As a result, the room heating indicators differ significantly from the calculated ones. In this case, you can use a few small "tricks" that can increase the temperature in the room at the current performance of the heating system.
In order to prevent thermal energy from being absorbed by the wall, a reflective foil screen can be installed on it.
In this case, the effective heat transfer of the radiator will increase by 5-10%. But at the same time, it is worth remembering that if the wall is external, then without proper heating it can cause heat loss in the room.
Fan installation
Heating of the room from cast-iron radiators occurs with the help of natural convection. To increase the passage of air masses through the sections of the device, you can install a small fan on the wall behind the radiator. This will slightly increase the temperature in the room, but at the same time it will cause the coolant to cool. A similar method can be applied to a central heating system.
Installation of steel decorative casings
They will artificially increase the area of the radiator and will contribute to better heat transfer. At the same time, the heating time will increase, which will affect the inertia of heating the room from an autonomous heating system.
These are just a few methods to artificially increase the heat transfer of cast iron radiators. But the most effective will be the observance of the temperature of the coolant. To do this, it is necessary either to improve the quality of the services provided by the management company with central system heating, or make autonomous.
