How to choose a boiler - expert advice
The main component of comfort in the country is hot water. It is heated using a water heater, which must be selected correctly. To do this, you should heed a few tips on how to choose a boiler.
Creating comfortable conditions is a priority task for a person. To equip all the necessary amenities in the country, you need a boiler that will provide the house with hot water.
There are several types of boilers using different energy sources:
- Electrical;
- Gas;
- Wood-burning;
- Indirect.
Types and overview of boilers for summer cottages
Boilers of this type can be wall-mounted or floor-standing. Large containers of 200 liters or more are usually installed on the floor. In everyday life, predominantly smaller water heaters (from 10 liters to 100 liters) are used.
The water in the boiler is heated with a built-in heating element, with a capacity of 1.5 - 2.5 kW. The boiler is designed in such a way that the amount of heat loss is minimal. This property is achieved by installing thermal insulation between the outer wall of the boiler and the body of the expansion vessel.
The temperature and pressure control in the electric boiler is regulated by a thermal sensor. For a set of water, the pressure in pipelines... Water entering the tank is retained in it by a check valve. It also bleeds air that can get into the water supply system when replacing a failed unit. A tap is installed on the water supply from the boiler. With its help, you can turn off the water, in case of replacement or repair of any part.
An electric boiler is more efficient to use around the clock. It must have water all the time and must have a separate, grounded outlet. If there is no ground loop, it must be done (this fact is important for safety reasons against a short circuit to the case, as a result of which all the water in the system may be energized).
For a large house where one and whiter families live, it is advisable to use a floor-standing, centralized boiler with a capacity of 100 to 200 liters. For a summer residence, such boilers are not suitable, since the cost of heating it will be colossal. How much boiler volume to choose?
The optimal boilers for a country house will be 50-100 liter tanks with a 2 kW heating element. It will quickly heat the water (over 1.5 to 3 hours), while the cost of electricity will be minimal. The most famous manufacturers: Termor, Atlantik, Vaillant, Drazice.
Gas boiler. The presence of a gas pipeline near the house and its branching directly into the house makes this method more efficient, and energy carriers - cheaper. The choice of a boiler for a home that runs on gas should be stopped at brands such as Ariston 95 liters, Vaillant 130 liters, Viessmann. These are the most common, reliable and demanded gas water heaters for summer cottages.
When using any gas equipment, there must be a reliable exhaust ventilation system in the room.
Disadvantages of gas boilers:
- For the installation of gas equipment, you must take an appropriate permit from the gas service at your place of residence. Also, without them, the installation of a boiler would be illegal;
- It is necessary to draw up an appropriate package of documents for the registration of gas equipment. It can take a while;
- The gas system must have a low pressure;
- More space is required to install a gas boiler.
All work together with the equipment will not be cheap.
Wood fired boiler. The rules for choosing a wood-burning boiler are in the features of the installation of the firebox: separate or welded. With a welded-in firebox, the heating time is reduced by 30%, but in the event of a breakdown, such a firebox will be very difficult to repair. Therefore, most summer residents choose a wood-burning boiler with a separate firebox.
The wood-fired boiler can be used as a heating device. As fuel, everything is used that burns, but does not contain chemicals (solid fuel, firewood, wood chips, paper, cardboard, pellets).
A wood-fired water heater is used in cottage locations where there is no electricity or gas mains. Their structure and principle of operation are very simple. A tank is placed in the firebox. A smoke tube is mounted inside the tank. With its help, the water is heated.
Indirect heating boiler. This type of water heater uses the heated water of the heating system as a heating source. Its design is a container into which a coil (heating pipe) is mounted. It plays the role of a heat exchanger - the heated water passing through the pipe gives off heat to the water in the tank, heating it to the required temperature.
This method of supplying the home with hot water is the most economical, since it does not require additional electricity or gas costs. Water circulation is carried out using a special pump that is connected to the DHW (hot water supply) circuit.
Today, there are many manufacturers who produce quality products.
How to choose an indirect heating boiler from a wide range of models? The most popular and reliable boilers are the manufacturers Drazice, Acv Smart, Viessmann, Buderus, Vaillant, Junkers Bosch Gruppe, Reflex, the French company Saunier Duval, the Polish Galmet, the Italian Beretta and Baxi.
Which boiler to choose for a summer residence?
If we talk about the advantages and disadvantages, then you need to consider the use of each type of boiler in a specific case.
When choosing an electric boiler, you need to consider its electricity consumption. For summer residents who visit the dacha infrequently, this boiler will be one of the most convenient, since it is enough to plug it in to start it. While things are being unpacked, the water will have time to heat up to the desired temperature. Here you need to take into account the simplicity of its installation, which can be done independently, without additional permissions.
An overview of gas boilers will allow you to determine the feasibility of installing them in the country, perhaps it is more convenient to install them in a house of permanent residence. The high cost and method of installation with the involvement of the gas service, as well as the long time for obtaining permits, may not be economically justified.
Solid fuel boilers, relative to previous heating elements, are much more economical, since they can be used not only for heating water, but also as a heater. But here it is important to ensure that it does not cool down quickly. To do this, you need to constantly be near him and throw up fuel.
The ideal option, it would seem, is an indirect heating boiler. But in the summer, when the heating in the house is turned off, the boiler will lose its functions.
Based on this, to the question of which boiler to choose for a summer residence, it should be answered that an electric boiler is the best option for all occasions. Even if the dacha is located far from the city, where there is no electricity, it can be used for the functioning of the boiler electric generator.