When choosing the heating of a country house, the options and prices of which provide for a considerable variety, one should rely on three main indicators: initial investment; the amount of current expenses; the cost of the selected type of fuel in a particular region. There is no one-size-fits-all option, but various combinations of these characteristics allow you to make the most justified choice and find a balanced solution. We asked ATM climate experts, a company that occupies one of the leading positions in the climate equipment market, to tell us more about the options for heating a country house.

The most popular solution is water heating of a country house

Types of heating

There are two types of heating of country houses: autonomous and centralized heating. They are divided into several subspecies, functioning on different energy sources:

Natural gas.

Liquid fuel- gasoline, diesel, solar oil.

solid fuel- firewood, pellets, coal.

Electricity.

Natural Energy Sources.

Each of them has its own set of advantages that are beneficial to use under certain conditions.

Heating equipment of a country house

What is the project of the heating system of a country house

The laying of any engineering communications requires the availability of project documentation. This allows you to rationally spend money and choose the best of the proposed options. The heating project in a country house is a set of drawings indicating the places for laying pipes, the location of heat dissipation points, the rooms where the boiler is installed and a separate place for storing fuel.

The following indicators are taken into account in the calculations:

Fuel consumption, necessary to maintain a certain temperature sufficient to heat all areas of the house.

Initial amount, which will need to be spent on the purchase of equipment, consumables and pay for the installation of heating.

Accounting for the degree of autonomy. Solid fuel boilers require regular replenishment of combustible materials, and a centralized gas heating system does not need supervision.

Building dimensions and number of floors.

Boiler specific power needed to keep the system running efficiently.

Service costs and the recommended frequency of their use.

Such work cannot be performed by a person without specialized knowledge in the relevant areas, so it is better to entrust it to professionals.

Criteria important for choosing the optimal heating system for a country house

To get a system with the highest return on every ruble invested, heating in a country house should be chosen consciously, carefully weighing your decision and making the appropriate calculations. There are a number of important parameters to consider:

General area of ​​heated premises. The choice of a specific type of fuel and heating system depends on this.

Number of heat dissipation points required for each room.

The length of the laid communications. The higher this indicator, the more powerful and productive the boiler will be.

Number and size of windows. They are the main source of cooling, giving off heat to the outside from the room, so you will need to adjust the temperature increase in such a way as to compensate for the leakage.

Wall and ceiling material. When using high-quality thermal insulation, you can reduce the current costs of maintaining a certain temperature in the room.

Number of permanent residents- to calculate the cost of ventilation.

The optimal heating system for a specific project

Average annual temperature. Under certain conditions, for example, severe frosts in the northern regions, the use of liquid fuel systems is irrational - they lose the ability to start and maintain the circulation of the coolant in the pipes.

Having made the necessary calculations, you can choose one or more options with the highest efficiency.

Pros and cons of centralized and autonomous heating

The choice between autonomous and centralized heating is not as straightforward as it might seem. Both options have a number of parameters that are more beneficial in a particular case, so one of them should be preferred based on a combination of pros and cons. So you can get high efficiency at minimal cost.

Heating system

Autonomous sources of heat supply include: heating a country house with electricity, water and solid fuel boilers, heat pumps.

This type of heating allows you not to depend on the supply of a third-party company, its pricing policy and interruptions that may happen to the fuel source. If the owner of the house regularly performs service maintenance and operates the equipment in strict accordance with its specification, then, given the high duration of operation of all units, the system will pay back the initial investment many times over.

On our website you can find contacts of construction companies that offer home insulation services. You can directly communicate with representatives by visiting the exhibition of houses "Low-Rise Country".

An additional plus will be the greater functional variety of the autonomous system: it can be used not only for heating, but also for providing the house with hot water or for operating kitchen equipment necessary for cooking.

The disadvantages include the following characteristics:

Almost always, the cost of fuel and its delivery exceeds that of district heating.

The high cost of purchasing stand-alone equipment.

The occupied space and safety precautions oblige to allocate a separate room for its installation, which meets certain standards.

Taken as a whole, autonomous equipment is chosen in the absence or limited access to a centralized heating system.

Central heating

In the city and large settlements, central heating is provided, which can be water or gas. Its supplier is the state or reporting companies. In some cases, owners of private houses also have the opportunity to connect to centralized heating.

If the house is located next to the heating main, then it may be possible to connect to the central heating

The main advantages of this heating method are:

Providing the system with fuel without the participation of the consumer.

Low cost per function.

The compact dimensions of the equipment that ensures the delivery and distribution of heat in the house.

The minimum start-up costs required for the installation of communications and nodes.

But there are also a number of disadvantages:

Relatively low degree of coverage of the country's territory. The farther from major highways, the more difficult it is to find centralized heating.

Full dependence on the supply company. The homeowner cannot challenge the established prices or purchase cheaper fuel.

Difficulty in controlling the level of service provision. It is almost impossible to prove that the heat is supplied in an incomplete volume or the batteries heat up below the established norm.

Almost always, the start of the heating system is tied to a calendar date, and not to the actual temperature outside.

Despite these disadvantages, consumers in the vast majority of cases choose centralized heating.

Central heating battery - heats either everyone or no one

Characteristics of the most popular heating systems

The choice of a specific type of heating is not limited to connecting to a central line or autonomous operation, they are divided into several options that are suitable in a given situation.

Many consumers choose water heating of a country house, the options and prices of which make it possible to provide the building with heat and hot water with minimal initial investment and an acceptable level of current costs.

It is a closed loop system that consists of three main components:

heating boiler, which can operate on suitable gas, liquid or solid fuels and electricity.

Tru systemsb, which ensures the delivery of the coolant (heated water) to each room.

heating batteries acting as heat sources in the room.

To ensure the quality of the functions, a constant circulation of water in the pipes is necessary, it can be forced or natural.

Schematic representation of a water heating system

The first option requires the connection of a pump of sufficient power, which will ensure the movement of the coolant in utilities. The second one is obtained due to a change in the density and degree of heating of water in different parts of the heating system, the heated coolant moves up, squeezing out colder water.

Despite the advantages, there are disadvantages:

Uneven heating - rooms located closer to the boiler heat up more than remote ones.

The rate of temperature increase is quite slow and it will take a while for the whole house to warm up.

impact on the interior. If the pipes are laid in the walls at the construction stage, then for their repair it will be necessary to remove the coatings. In the case of installing water heating after repair, it is difficult to naturally fit them into the design of the room.

The need to maintain a certain coolant temperature increases operating costs.

Despite this, water heating is the most popular.

Electric heating of a country house (electric convectors)

If only efficiency is taken into account, then electricity has the highest rate among all heating elements, so it is most often chosen if it is possible to connect to a common energy highway.

Electric heating radiator

The advantages of this type of heating include:

Relative ease of installation, which, with basic knowledge and skills, can be done independently.

High heating rate.

Lack of noise accompanying the operation of devices.

A wide range of devices based on a variety of operating principles, which allows you to use the most optimal option for yourself.

A wide range of different design solutions provides an opportunity to choose an electric heating device for a specific interior.

But there are a number of conditions that limit or make it impossible to use such equipment in some cases:

High cost per 1 kW of heat.

There are certain wiring requirements. It must be rated for the appropriate power.

An uninterrupted supply of electricity is required. If there are problems with this in the region, then another option should be sought.

Subject to these parameters, the installation of electric heating will bring only pluses.

Video description

In the next video, see whether it is worth switching to electric heating of a country house, options and prices:

Gas heating

Blue fuel for the population is sold at the lowest cost among all heat sources, which explains its popularity in the presence of a central highway. Additional advantages include a high level of return on investment and uniform heating of the entire household.

Among the minuses it is worth noting:

An impressive initial investment required for the installation of the boiler and communications.

In the absence of a centralized gas pipeline, it will be necessary to use its own storage, which will increase start-up and operating costs, as well as the cost of a cubic meter of fuel.

The gas is explosive, it obliges to ensure appropriate conditions for installation and operation of the system.

Given the cheapness of fuel, gas heating has the fastest payback.

Gas heating system kit

air heating

A heating system where the coolant is air, and this allows the system to be not only a heating system, but also to combine such features as ventilation, humidification, cooling and air purification.

The source of heat for such a system can be electricity, a water heating boiler of any type, an air-to-air heat pump.

The advantages of such a system include comfort in the premises, since the supply ventilation is an integral part of the system. Also, the advantages include the efficiency of the system due to the built-in ventilation and the absence of vertical temperature differences. When compared with a conventional water system, the air system is 30-50% more economical.

Air heating makes it easy to upgrade the system with options such as air humidification or air sterilization.

The disadvantages of such a system include the fact that it must be laid at the design stage of the house. It is also considered a disadvantage that air ducts occupy some of the interior space in the house.

Wood burning stove

It seems that the stone oven is the last century, but they are still installed and successfully serve for heating. The advantages of this option include the ease of providing fuel in a wooded area, its low cost and minimal attention from homeowners, because the material of wood stoves allows you to keep the heat received from heating for a long time.

The disadvantages include the difficulty of calculating the optimal dimensions of the furnace, impressive dimensions and a relatively small heated space, which makes its use in large houses irrational.

Features of solid fuel boilers

In regions where there is no or insufficient coverage of gas and electric mains, solid fuel boilers are widely used. This is an inexpensive option that will provide the house with warmth even in the most severe frost. Its advantages include:

The low cost of firewood, coal and pellets, if the source of their extraction is located nearby.

Easy installation and high reliability.

Excellent indicators of autonomy. Old systems require fuel replenishment every six hours, modern ones have doubled this characteristic.

Among the shortcomings, one can mention the low efficiency of solid fuel, the rapid contamination of equipment elements due to the formation of soot and soot, and slow heating to the required temperature.

Oil boilers

Boilers operating on gasoline, diesel or engine oil waste are not very suitable for heating residential premises. Their work is accompanied by the release of a specific smell inherent in burning petroleum products, and an oily soot is also formed, which is difficult to clean. Such boilers are characterized by a rather high cost of fuel and a relatively short service life.

Positive characteristics include: high COP, widespread availability of fuel and low frequency of topping up.

Sectional view of a liquid fuel boiler

The use of natural energy sources allows minimizing the current costs to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the system. Additionally, its advantages include:

Possibility of installation in almost any location.

Environmental friendliness due to the refusal to burn fuel.

The small dimensions of the nodes located in the house.

Versatility and compatibility with other heat sources.

However, there is also a minus - high cost and, accordingly, a long payback.

Geothermal heating of a country house

Comparison of costs of different heating systems

Often the choice of a particular heating system is based on the starting cost of the equipment and its subsequent installation. Based on this indicator, we obtain the following data:

Electricity. Initial investment up to 20,000 rubles.

solid fuel. The purchase of equipment will require from 15 to 25 thousand rubles.

Oil boilers. Installation will cost 40-50 thousand.

Gas heating with own storage. The price is 100-120 thousand rubles.

Centralized gas pipeline. Due to the high cost of communication and connection, the cost exceeds 300,000 rubles.

Video description

For a visual comparison of various heating systems, see the following video:

Conclusion

If we take into account the comparison of the costs of arranging heating systems, then the solution is often unambiguous - electricity. However, the calculations take into account the availability of fuel, its efficiency, the speed with which the selected system will pay back the investment, and a host of other indicators. Therefore, even with a limited budget, you should not rush to conclusions, you need to make an informed decision that will bring you the maximum benefit.

Holidays in the country for many of us is a key aspect of the summer period. However, today a dacha is no longer just a place for seasonal recreation, but in most cases, a solid capital building that can accommodate residents at any time of the year. Even at the design stage of a country house, many of the owners of suburban areas are trying to provide for possible options for organizing heating of a residential building. In a dacha cooperative, which is usually located within reach of the city's transport infrastructure, most summer residents are trying to find an acceptable way to make heating for their dachas.

Today, the problem of heating a country house remains relevant, so it's time to consider options for organizing the system in the country on your own.

Choice of heating system. What needs to be focused on?

The heating season is an important part of city life. Another thing is when we try to spend more time in the countryside, despite the changing seasons. Making heating for a country house means turning your own cottage into a cozy home, designed for year-round living and frequent visits. The complexity of the issue lies elsewhere. Which heating system to choose? How real will it be to organize heating for a summer residence with your own hands.

The first step, on which your choice depends, is an assessment of the technical condition of the country house. Here it is important to take into account every detail, without losing sight of the smallest details and nuances, namely:

• what building material was used to build the cottage;
• assessment of the remoteness of the country house from the nearest engineering and technical communications;
• availability of available energy resources.

These factors will allow you to make the right choice on which autonomous heating system to stop.

The choice of heating option is largely influenced by the size of the cottage. The larger your house, the more energy resources you need to fully heat the interior spaces and, accordingly, the heating costs look more significant.

Do-it-yourself effective heating of a summer house at minimal cost can be done if the house is small and your visits to the summer cottage mainly occur in spring, summer and autumn. The best option in this situation would be. Rare inclusions and small internal volumes will allow you to effectively use electricity for heating. The costs in this case will be negligible.

For a country house, convectors and fan heaters are usually used. Many inhabitants of dachas actively use oil radiators during the cold period. All of the listed devices are local sources of heat and can be easily transferred from one room to another. As the best option with electricity, infrared heaters can be distinguished. With a minimum of energy consumption, a high thermal effect is achieved.

As an alternative to electricity, convection ovens are perfect for a small country house. Such heating units are efficient and economical. One load of solid fuel can be enough for the entire period of your stay in the house, especially since such heating is absolutely independent of the energy supply.

Important! If you want to equip your cottage with electric heaters, you must take into account the power of the electrical wiring in the house. It is desirable to have a switchboard and a power cable designed for a voltage of 380V. For convection ovens, a specially equipped place is required, equidistant from the walls and having non-combustible linings underneath.

Trying to preserve the aesthetics of the interior, many of us prefer fireplaces and stoves. Such heating options are suitable for short-term heating of a small house. From a purely aesthetic point of view, or briquettes are convenient, but this heating option is short-term, solving a local problem. It is necessary to constantly add fuel to maintain a comfortable temperature. In addition, the quality of heating may be affected by the insufficient thermal efficiency of the building itself.

An option with a fireplace or stove can be considered if there are no power lines in the neighborhood, there is no problem with firewood or other solid fuels.

Worth paying attention! If your main fuel for a fireplace or stove is wood, coal - there is a high probability of entering the interior in a large amount of combustion products, soot, soot and CO 2, which can affect the level of comfort. The correct equipment of the hood and chimney can solve the problem.

For example, we can give the two most common options for a fireplace stove:

• fireplace, the pipe of which has a section of 100x125 mm;
• fireplace with a rectangular chimney, dimensions 150x50 mm.

In order to achieve the desired effect during the operation of a fireplace with a closed combustion chamber, you will need 8 cubic meters to burn 1 kg of firewood. meters of air. The combustion process and the quality of heating in this case directly depends on the condition of the duct.

For owners of large country houses, which are designed for a large number of inhabitants and can be suitable for year-round living with the appropriate equipment, it will already be an order of magnitude more difficult to make heating in the country with their own hands. Here you have to think about other options for heating a country house.

If the cottage is large, what solutions to the problem exist?

Your dacha is your second home, you spend a lot of time in it, the level of domestic comfort requires constant maintenance of an acceptable temperature, hot water supply and constant operation of household appliances.

In this situation, it is the best option, especially if the gas main runs close to your site. If there is no gas, you can limit yourself to autonomous heating using solid fuel and electric boilers. To date, there are models of boilers that are effective when working in such conditions, provide heat and comfort to fairly large suburban residential buildings.

Installation of a summer cottage heating system begins with the development of a project. In each individual case, it is necessary to calculate the most appropriate power of the heating unit, which can cope with the tasks. By submitting an application to the gas industry, you will receive the necessary specifications, which are already the basis for the development of the project and the preparation of cost estimates.

The first task is to establish a source of energy supply. You decide for yourself how to heat your home, use either electricity or give preference to gas. You can stop at solid fuel boilers. The main task is to make with your own hands the most autonomous heating system, independent of external factors.

On a note: liquid fuel boilers for heating private residential buildings are ineffective due to excessive domestic pollution of the surrounding space.

Installing a gas boiler, installing heating for your summer house, including laying pipelines and connecting heating radiators, you will have to decide these issues yourself. The supply of a gas pipe to the boundaries of your site is carried out at the expense of the energy company. In accordance with the new rules and procedures for connecting gas to private households, the connection procedure itself has been greatly simplified. No more than 3 months must pass from the moment of submitting the application for connection.

The new procedure applies to the category of summer residents who spend no more than 5 m 3 of gas per day on heating and household needs. According to preliminary calculations, this volume is quite enough to heat a house with an area of ​​200 m 2, including hot water supply and the use of a household gas stove.

Do-it-yourself heating of a country house using gas from the central gas pipeline is a convenient, practical and economically sound solution. As a win-win option, you should stop at an open-type heating system. For a small country house, even a two-story one, this option is very convenient, since the circulation of the coolant is carried out in a natural way. You yourself can lay pipes under a slope, and a difference of two floors will ensure the normal functionality of the heating system. The diagram allows you to roughly imagine what the heating system in your country house will look like.

Forced circulation is more practical, however, in this situation, electricity is required to operate the pump. In winter, especially in bad weather outside the city, power outages are not uncommon. When connecting the system on your own, you must follow the instructions and the project, otherwise the heating may be inefficient, and fuel consumption will increase significantly. The best option is to invite gas specialists for heating equipment in the country.

The power of the heating boiler is determined approximately, at the rate of 1 kW of heat per 10 m 2 of the area of ​​\u200b\u200ba residential building. The resulting number is multiplied by a coefficient that is approved for each region of our country. So for the southern districts the coefficient is from 0.7 to 1.0, for the regions of Central Russia the coefficient is 1.5. For the northern regions from 1.5 units to 2.

An alternative source of centralized gas supply, when your dacha is located far from infrastructure facilities, is a gas-cylinder installation.

How to make heating in the country, if you have the funds, and the technical capabilities of the cottage satisfy the technical conditions of the heating system, the answer is simple and clear. You can always find the best option if you competently and economically justify the solution of the problem. Electricity, wood or coal, gas, in any case, you get a source of heat for your dacha. Another question is how the chosen option will meet your needs, whether the economic effect will be achieved.

To get a more complete picture, you should familiarize yourself with the economic parameters of using various types of fuel for heating. The data is shown in the table below:

A country house should always be heated, regardless of whether it is seasonal housing or year-round living in it. If you plan to stay in winter, then capital heating is necessary, if seasonal - heating is possible only with electrical appliances. In any case, it is important to consider options for creating heating in the country with your own hands.

The first step is to decide what the heating system will be used for. The main task, of course, is to heat the country house, maintain a temperature that is comfortable for living. Besides, heating can be used in the country for:

• baths or water heating for showers;
• cooking and boiling water;
• drying fruits and vegetables for the winter;
• drying things and shoes needed in the damp autumn or spring.

Heating in the country, the choice of energy sources and the installation of the heating system depend on various factors. These are communications brought to the house (water, gas, electricity), and the plan of the house, and the building materials from which the building was erected, and the number of residents, and the frequency of visiting the summer cottage.

There are several options for the heating system at home, depending on the energy sources used in the house:

• gas heating;
• electric heating with or without water heating;
• wood stove, fireplace;
• heating boilers;
• solid fuel or light fuel heating units.

The most economical and efficient option is gas boilers. But the savings are manifested only with year-round use. The gas is burned and converted into thermal energy in a gas boiler, which, using a pump, supplies the heated coolant to the heating radiators. The gas equipment is fully automated and equipped with a control system, so you can not be afraid for the country house during your departure.

To connect to the central gas main, you need to issue a lot of permits, install a meter. All this requires certain costs and time.

If it is not possible to connect to the central network, you can use gas in cylinders. But at the same time, you need to constantly monitor the fuel level and periodically change it.

A group of cylinders is connected to the boiler through a reducer. This design is the most economical. If it becomes possible to connect to the central gas pipeline network, then it will not be difficult to do this, you just need to slightly re-equip the system. But even such a connection scheme needs permission from the gas service and the connection of the meter. If this is not done, then unauthorized connection will result in large fines for the summer resident.

Another way to heat a house is electric. This option is not the cheapest, but the most affordable - there is electricity in every home. Electrical equipment has a compact size and fits perfectly into the interior of the house, and the installation and maintenance of such a system requires a minimum of time.

An economical option for heating a summer house - an electric boiler with water heating. You can also install a separate piece electric heater in each room, but this will certainly come out more expensive. Water heating works on the same principle as gas heating.

Heating the cottage with an electric heater is not the best option, because you have to heat all the rooms at once, and this will lead to a large consumption of electricity. So let's consider a more economical option - electric boilers.

Both ordinary water radiators and the “warm floor” system can act as electric heating. Electric boilers are silent, do not emit smoke, combustion products and smell, have any level of safety - fire, electrical, chemical, etc. And also it does not need to obtain permission to connect the system.

The disadvantages include high power consumption. The power of electric boilers usually reaches 3.5-7 kW, electric heaters 1.2-2 kW. For them, you need to build a separate electrical panel, connect RAM and other devices.

There are many alternative heating options for electric boilers and electric heaters. Some of them may be more economical, but almost all of them are used periodically - when residents come to their summer cottage.

One of the most profitable options is infrared emitters. They heat objects in the room, which then give off heat. Walls are also included in the number of objects, which helps to heat a large area. Most often, such heaters are installed closer to the ceiling.

Electric fireplace. It will not be difficult to install it, and, moreover, it does not require special permissions, skills and knowledge. You can place it in any room without restrictions. The main advantages of electric fireplaces:

• no need to build a chimney to remove combustion products;
• do not require a lot of space, because they are built into the wall;
• in summer you can enjoy imitation of fire;
• there are many models of fireplaces suitable for different interiors;
• mobile, can move to any place (for example, after repair);
• the power consumed by the fireplace, as a rule, does not exceed 2 kW.

Heating convectors. This type of heating can be used in any premises, has small dimensions and original design. The design is very simple, making it easy to install and maintain. They evenly heat the air in the room, which does not require a lot of energy and helps to save. You can create a system of convectors to provide heat to the entire country house.

The price of a convector fluctuates on average around 3 thousand rubles. It has a thermostat and a heat sensor, due to which the high-quality operation of the device is ensured. The maximum heating temperature reaches +80 degrees. The device is completely safe, so you can not be afraid to get burned.

Alternative heat sources include water convectors. They are of three types:

1. wall. The most popular option. It is light in weight and therefore can be attached anywhere.
2. floor standing. The only difference from the wall-mounted ones is the mounting of the device.
3. Embedded. This model solves two problems at once - heating and design.

Oil electric heaters. Such devices consume electricity more than others, because they have a large heating inertia. But they also cool down more slowly than other electrical appliances, while they do not consume electricity. There are mobile and stationary versions of the device. They are most often used to warm one room. In many radiator models, there are several modes of operation with which you can adjust the intensity of heating.

Electric ventilation devices are a great option for heating a room. They are quite cheap and quickly warm up the room due to the air that is supplied from the spiral with the help of a fan. The disadvantages of the device include drying the air and noise.

Such heating of a country house can be called one of the most reliable options. It can be used as the main and additional type of heating. It is not necessary to bring the mains to the furnace - you only need to take care of the supply of coal and firewood. If there is no electricity in the country, then the oven will help to cook food, heat water and even bake bread.

Depending on the size of the room, you can choose the oven you need in terms of size and material. You can also fold a brick oven with your own hands, which will have a compact size and elegant design. If it is not possible to build a stove yourself, you can purchase a ready-made option - a cast-iron stove. Both brick and cast-iron stoves can have different functions:

Summing up, we list the advantages and disadvantages of stove heating of a summer residence. The advantages include:

• autonomy of the installation;
• low fuel price;
• profitability;
• constant readiness for operation;
• the ability to cook food and heat water;
• installation can be done by yourself.

The main disadvantage of the furnace can be called the fact that it constantly needs to be monitored and periodically loaded into it with fuel. Other disadvantages of the design include:

• The efficiency is much lower than that of boiler heating;
• it is important to periodically service the stove, for example, to clean the chimney;
• a brick oven takes up a lot of space and requires some experience to assemble it.

Boilers running on diesel fuel, kerosene or fuel oil cannot work independently, they must be connected to a liquid heating system with batteries and radiators. It is also necessary to equip a separate fireproof and ventilated room for the boiler room.

Liquid fuel boilers are single-circuit and double-circuit. One circuit is used to heat the cottage, the second heats water for domestic needs. According to the design of ZhT, boilers are wall-mounted or floor-mounted.

The floor installation has large dimensions, so it is better to install it in a separate room. In addition, such an installation makes quite a loud noise. Wall-mounted equipment is smaller and can be located in the kitchen, and additional appliances can be used to suppress noise.

Solid fuel appliances

Such equipment runs on solid fuels: coal, wood, briquettes, shavings, peat, etc. It has become popular recently due to the rise in price of other heat sources and the rather low price of solid fuels. Solid fuel appliances work in conjunction with a liquid heating system.

The advantages of such devices are low price., ease of maintenance, the possibility of using cheap raw materials. The system works autonomously and safely, and one batch of fuel burns from 17 hours to 2 days.

Negative properties - low efficiency, a constant supply of raw materials is required, which must be stored in a separate building. In addition, it is necessary to constantly clean the chimney and combustion chambers from soot.

What are the requirements for heating a cottage? What to look for when choosing equipment? How to organize the system? What energy carriers are better to bet on? How to calculate your expenses? You will learn about this in this article.

Unlike residents of apartment buildings, owners of private cottages have to solve a number of pressing issues in organizing efficient heating and saving the heat received. In a sense, it is even more difficult for summer residents, since the vast majority of suburban villages do not have a centralized infrastructure. Not only a gasified house is considered a great rarity, in many places there are serious problems with power supply, which is extremely unstable, therefore, willy-nilly, almost alternative heat sources are in favor with the Russians. The situation is slightly facilitated by the fact that we usually do not live in the country all year round, which means that it is only necessary to survive outings in the off-season months, well, and maybe a couple of days in winter.

If we talk about the implementation of heating a country house, then first you need to decide on some fundamental points. For example, what do we consider a dacha? For some, this is a small one-story building, not burdened with heaters. For others, a medium-sized full-fledged cottage, perhaps even a real mansion. The second point is how the country house is operated. Practice shows that it is necessary to consider three options, depending on which it would be advisable to choose one or another type of heating:

1. The owners come on weekends and holidays. In winter the cottage is empty.
2. People regularly visit the house, in winter it is necessary to maintain positive temperatures.
3. The dacha is a place of permanent residence.

The main criteria for choosing heating equipment for summer cottages

To find the most efficient way of heating for specific conditions, it is necessary to understand what functional and operational features characterize modern heating equipment. Let's see what criteria users and manufacturers use to compare boilers, stoves and heaters.

Fuel type

Obviously, this is the main point, since equipment operating on different types of energy carriers differs in many ways. However, it should be noted that energy efficiency here fades into the background (all types of systems have equalized with their efficiency, they are confidently striving for one hundred percent), and the first roles are assigned to ease of use and economic benefits. Further in the article, we will not delve into heating based on the energy of the sun or heat from the bowels of the earth, we will focus on real and affordable options, consider the pros and cons. This is electricity and "everything that burns."

So, heating can be:

• electrical;
• gas (main gas, imported gas);
• on liquid fuel (fuel oil, diesel fuel, used engine oil ...);
• on solid fuel (firewood, flights, coal, peat briquettes, grain waste ...);
• combined boilers.

autonomy

For a holiday village, this can be a vital requirement - as we said, it’s just a disaster with engineering communications. In fact, very few heating systems are completely independent of external supply, mainly electricity.

Firstly, most modern boilers are equipped with electrical control / control systems, so if the lights are turned off, they stop working. Some (usually imported copies) are extremely sensitive to voltage and frequency drops, they cannot function without stabilizers.

The second point is the presence of electric blowers that provide air flow to the combustion chambers or transport heated air through channels to various rooms in the building.

The third nuance is circulation pumps, which also require 220 volt power. They are installed to forcibly increase the speed of movement of liquid heat carriers through pipes. This allows you to choose convenient ways for laying pipelines and even optimize the system in terms of heat engineering, but autonomy is completely lost. Meanwhile, there is a completely independent gravitational system tested for decades, which is now considered archaic.

Important. Some electrically dependent boilers, after turning off and on the light, resume work automatically, while others need a manual reset.

It turns out that even wood-fired boilers can only be partially autonomous, pay attention to this. The problem of dependence of heating on the availability/stability of electricity can be partially solved by emergency use of generators.

Mobility

If heating is needed occasionally (off-season), then it makes sense to choose equipment that you can bring with you or dismantle for the winter and summer. As a rule, it is not tied to chimneys, duct systems and pipelines with radiators. Obviously, modest dimensions and low weight are important here. Truly mobile heaters are quickly deployed in any room depending on current needs.

Features of the coolant

Basically, several approaches can be distinguished.

Units that heat liquids transported through pipelines. Heat exchangers are located on the walls (radiators) or in the floor (pipe floor heating), such systems are great for evenly distributing heat between all rooms of large houses, including two-story ones, and can also heat free-standing buildings. Water heating by a system of taps and thermal heads is well regulated, does not burn oxygen, operates quietly, and maintains the operating temperature for a long time due to its heat capacity. The disadvantages of this type of heating are: inertia (heats up for a long time), additional costs for pipelines, installation complexity, stationarity. Also, in the event of an accident in winter, water can freeze in the pipes and damage them. For the winter, water must be drained, as well as prepared when filling the system. The problem of defrosting pipelines is partially solved if antifreeze is used as a coolant instead of water.

Air heating. Heat can be transferred directly with the help of heated air, if it is forcibly distilled through insulated channels to various rooms in the house. The main advantage of this method is the uniform distribution of heat. Many heating systems do not have air ducts, they heat the masses in their immediate vicinity, and those are already mixed with cold air through convective movement. Sometimes this process can be enhanced by fans (various convectors). In any case, the air increases its temperature from contact with a heated surface, no matter what it is - a stone rough, a red-hot spiral, a hot boiler casing, a floor covering lying on top of a heated film floor.

This should also include long-wave infrared units, which heat the “processed” surfaces, and the air is heated from them. Air heating works quickly (we can create comfortable conditions in the shortest possible time), it is the least material-intensive (and therefore economical), as a rule, mobile, and can be integrated with the ventilation and air conditioning system. The disadvantage of ductless air heating lies in one unpleasant effect - the further the room is from the stove, the colder it is. Such systems work well in relatively small houses with a minimum of partitions - this is, in fact, the average cottage looks like.

Now peculiar hybrids are quite widespread: these are furnaces and boilers, which, in addition to a water jacket or a built-in coil, have well-developed air intakes or uninsulated cases. All heating units with a hob should also be included here - it heats up well, and the room where the boiler is located no longer needs to install radiators.

Economy

Furnaces and boilers according to this characteristic are best compared, taking into account the cost of the consumed energy carrier to achieve the same power per unit of time. It turns out that we need to know how much the heating unit "burns" fuel in kilograms (liters, cubic meters) in order to produce one kilowatt of thermal energy. Knowing the power of the boiler, we get the exact figures for heating costs, for example, per day.

First of all, the cost of operating heating depends on the type (read, cost) of the consumed energy carrier - the price of a kilowatt of heat can differ significantly. The second is the efficiency of the boiler, it depends on the type of construction: how much heat is removed from the carrier, and how much is lost. Note that the efficiency of the equipment is sharply reduced if the fuel is used poorly prepared. For example, in gas it can be ballast impurities, for firewood - heat release reduces excessive humidity. Next, we give approximate calculations for the main types of systems.

There is also such a thing as efficiency, in fact, telling about the gluttony of the unit (like gasoline consumption per 100 kilometers for a car). The higher the efficiency, the cheaper it will be for us to own a boiler. Its calculation is confusing and incomprehensible for a simple user, foreign and domestic manufacturers are calculated using various methods. Very often, sky-high efficiency indicators of "innovative" boilers exist only on paper, so let's leave it for the consideration of professionals.

Do not forget about the initial cost of heating equipment and all other elements of the system (pipelines, radiators, air ducts, chimneys ...). Not all know-how can be affordable for a simple gardener. Not all units, even the most economical ones, will be able to pay off with country use - you have to find a middle ground.

Power

The power of the heating boiler is selected depending on the size of the cottage. Too powerful boiler will cause energy overruns, in addition, equipment for large rooms is more expensive. Too weak a boiler may not be able to cope with heating. The general formula for power selection is quite simple: for every 10 m 2 of a house (with a ceiling height of no more than 3 meters), you must have 1 kW of equipment power. This is for normally insulated buildings in the Moscow climate zone. And, for example, for the northern regions, a power-increasing coefficient of 1.8-2 is used. Poorly insulated or summer cottages during winter operation require a significant correction for heat loss - you will have to use equipment twice or even three times more powerful.

Ease of use

Most of all, users are interested in whether the boiler can operate in automatic mode, how often preventive maintenance is done and how much it costs. For solid fuel systems, it is important how often you need to load a new portion of fuel, and how often you have to remove the ash. It should not be forgotten that many energy carriers require preparation and special containers / areas for storage. Not the last question: a specific sample of heating equipment is installed in any room, or it can only be located in the utility room.

We choose heating equipment for a summer residence by type of energy carrier

Gas heating

The use of natural gas boilers is the most successful solution for heating any private houses. The undoubted advantages of gas boilers can be considered:

• low cost of energy;
• the ability to operate the system in automatic mode;
• cleanliness of the process (no: waste, odors, harmful emissions, hazardous combustion products).

Let's take a look at the cons:

• far from all settlements are gasified;
• the cost of connecting to the gas main can cost several hundred thousand rubles, installation and commissioning of the boiler costs 15-25 thousand;
• strict installation requirements (mandatory chimney, minimum room dimensions, etc.);
• almost all modern gas boilers depend on electricity;
• once a year it is necessary to carry out preventive maintenance of equipment, verification of the meter.

Gas boilers can operate on both ordinary gas and liquefied gas - they only need to be slightly modified. Some models (usually low power) may include special additional parts in the kit. The use of liquefied gas allows you to operate gas installations offline. For this, imported cylinders or gas holders (large steel tanks for gas injection) are used. The cost of heating equipment using a gas tank will be up to 300-400 thousand, but the cost of gas will be less than if you bring it in cylinders.

For calculation, let's take a house of 150 m 2 - this is a boiler with a thermal power of 15-16 kW. Liquefied gas needs about 1.3 kg per hour of work - at a price of 30 rubles per kilogram, this is almost 40 rubles per hour - 960 rubles per day.

Consumption of main gas is up to 1.6 cubic meters per hour. At a price of about 5 rubles per cubic meter, this is 8 rubles per hour, or up to 200 rubles per day.

The cost of imported gas boilers starts at 750 USD. That is, Russian counterparts are about 30 percent cheaper.

Electric heating

Heating using electricity can be carried out by boilers that heat a liquid heat carrier, or locally - convectors, oil heaters, underfloor heating, heat guns, infrared devices such as UFO. Electric heating is in any case the most compact and convenient. For its implementation, a chimney is not needed, the equipment can be installed anywhere. Such systems lend themselves perfectly to automation and precise power adjustment, they practically do not require maintenance.

Electric heating also has disadvantages. Firstly, problems may arise when the power supply is turned off or unstable. Secondly, the energy consumption limit can be limited, which is very important for holiday villages. As a rule, approval is required for the installation of equipment with a capacity of more than 10 kW, and three-phase power is also required. The most important thing is the high cost of energy. A boiler with a capacity of 14-15 kW will “use” about 350 kW per day, at a kilowatt price of 4 rubles, it comes out to 1,400 rubles.

The cost of an electric boiler is quite moderate, for example, the Stealth-14L model from the Galan company has a price of about 600 USD. e. Approximately the same price for the Skat model from Proterm. But branded equipment of the same capacity will be twice as expensive (Bosch Tronic PTE 14).

Mobile electric heating has the same advantages as stationary (boiler), but in this case, you can do without piping - one convector or an oil heater with a power of 1.5-2 kW is installed in each room. Electricity costs will be similar, but if necessary, you can quickly change the configuration of the entire system, at the end of the heating season, you can take out all the equipment. For comparison: a good quality one and a half watt convector from European companies (Electrolux ECH / AG-1500 EF or UFO ECH / 15) costs about 100-120 USD. e.

Heating for cottages on liquid fuel

Diesel boilers are not widely used, but for a country house this is an option that is quite acceptable in terms of practicality. Oil-fired boilers are produced in floor-standing design, they are always dependent on electricity, as they use forced-air fans in their design. Fuel enters the combustion chamber from a special tank with a volume of 1.5-5 tons. The obvious advantages of diesel systems are:

• good automation of work;
• fine adjustment available;
• the possibility of transferring equipment to natural gas (for example, if gasification of the village is planned).

The disadvantages of diesel boilers are also known:

• electrodependence;
• the need for regular maintenance;
• stationarity (requires a boiler room, chimney, pipelines, large containers, access roads ...);
• low quality of domestic diesel fuel;
• high price of the received heat.

A diesel boiler consumes approximately 0.08 liters of diesel per hour to produce a kilowatt of thermal energy. We remind you that we expect a house of 150 m 2, this is 15-16 kW / h of heat - 1.28 liters of fuel per hour. In monetary terms, this is about 40 rubles per hour, or 960 rubles per day, which is comparable to the prices for liquefied gas.

The cost of a diesel fuel boiler is in the region of 1000-1500 USD. e. (KITURAMI STSO-13R, Buderus Logano G125 SE, Navien LST-17K).

Buderus Logano G125 SE

A type of liquid fuel boilers is equipment that can run on used engine oil, some types of vegetable oil. The performance of these units is almost the same as that of diesel engines. As for operating costs, for clarity, we give the following figures: the fuel consumption of the 30-kW DanVex B30 model (Finland) is about 3.3 liters per hour - that is, about a liter per kW. The cost of the Finnish miracle is about 10,000 USD. That is, there are also simpler cars, for example, De Dietrich (France) with a price of 4000 USD. e.

Solid fuel heating

Solid fuel heating systems use coal, firewood, pellets, various agricultural waste as an energy carrier. They can heat the coolant, or give off heat directly into the air.

The main attraction of boilers that run on wood, peat briquettes and coal is the availability of fuel, its low cost. In addition, the equipment is relatively inexpensive. Most of these units do not depend on electricity. The disadvantages of such units can be considered the need to produce several bookmarks of fuel per day - there is no automation of the process. Mandatory organization of the chimney is required. The efficiency of the equipment directly depends on the calorie content of the fuel and the degree of its preparation - the firewood must be dried (ideally, about a year). It is necessary to organize covered areas for storing firewood / coal / pellets.

The approximate coal consumption of a 15 kW boiler is about 3 kg / hour, firewood will need up to 7 kg per hour, and pellets - 3.5. Depending on the prices in a particular area (they vary greatly), operating costs can be calculated.

Among solid fuel units, several groups of equipment can be distinguished:

conventional boilers, using a liquid heat carrier, which can be supplemented with electric heaters. For example, Dakon DOR F at a price of 800 USD. e., or ATMOS D 15 - from 1000 c.u. e.

Dakon DOR F

Pyrolysis boilers(long-burning boilers without oxygen access) - Buderus Logano S121-2 WT, Bosch Solid 5000 W-2 - at a price of about 2500 USD. e.

Pellet boilers(work on special granules, which are automatically fed from the bunker) - Galmet Expert GT-KWP M, Altep KT-2E-SH (up to 3000 c.u.).

Galmet Expert GT-KWP M

Fireplace stoves, including those with cooking hobs - OLYMP (Serbia) or Wamsler Cliff (Hungary) at a price of about 800 USD. e.

Buleryany(a modern analogue of a potbelly stove, a heater-heater with two working chambers) of various manufacturers, the average price for a unit of 15 kW is about 450 USD. e.

When choosing equipment for heating a summer house, it is necessary to be guided by the features of the operation of the house and the availability of one or another coolant. Practice shows that hybrid units are the most successful for a country house - for example, firewood is used during the day, and electricity is used at night (you can even get night billing from the authorities). As for the performance of the furnace or boiler, it makes sense to have a small, up to 20%, power reserve. However, do not forget that you can save a lot of money on heating if you insulate your home well. Yes, and do not write off the good old stone stove, if you put it in order and learn how to heat, then boilers and fireplaces will not be needed.

Apply, chop, then constantly monitor in time to throw fresh firewood to the burned-out firewood. This is very annoying, especially when you need to do something and do not want to be distracted. Yes, and you can just miss the moment for worries, and the stove will go out. In such a situation, of course, comes to the rescue.

What I just did not try, heating my house in the cold season! It all started with ordinary oil. But over time it turned out that they are far from being as effective as other new heating systems.

The thing is that the oil heater heats the air almost only near itself. Of course, convection occurs, the movement of warm air upwards and slightly to the sides, but such a radiator warms up the room as a whole for quite a long time. It can be considered useful if it stands somewhere next to you when you are working at your desk. And for heating, especially the faster one that we are talking about now, these heaters are hardly suitable.

In search of a solution to the problem of heating rooms in the country, I tried many different options. The solution with electric floor heating turned out to be very useful. we arranged on the first floor: a heating cable was laid under the tiles. The sensations are pleasant and unusual: at a low air temperature in the room as a whole, you feel very comfortable. The feet are warm and the head is cool. The tiled floor with the laying mortar gradually warms up and keeps the temperature for a long time, gradually giving off heat to the room.

We made our “warm floor” a very long time ago, back in the “last century”, practically experimentally, and my husband did not believe in its effectiveness. So we "forked up" then only for half the amount of cable required according to the calculations for our premises. Yes, and the floor heating system is rather inert, it does not heat the floor instantly. Therefore, with the advent of frost, it is necessary to use additional sources of heating rooms.

It turned out that the best and fastest warms up the air in the room fan heater or "heat gun". Due to the forced air supply, an active circulation of the warm flow occurs throughout the entire volume of the room. The room warms up very quickly, but it also cools down just as quickly after turning off the appliance.

He also has a couple of drawbacks: he is quite noisy and consumes too much electricity - 2 kW. So I settled on small infrared heater.

It consumes at the maximum mode 1.2 kW. But for my small rooms, it is enough to turn it on in half mode, if the temperature outside the walls of the house is about zero degrees or slightly lower. That is, a room of 16 m² is heated in the mode of 0.5 kW. This is enough to keep the temperature in the bedroom on the second floor with half-brick walls, mineral wool and lined with clapboard, around + 18 ... + 20 ° С, when the thermometer shows 0 ... + 5 ° С outside the window.

This photo is not mine, but I have exactly the same domestic production. And recently I purchased another one, similar, but Turkish, small, with a maximum power of 1.5 kW. It has 3 heating elements and therefore allows you to set the mode to 0.5 kW, 1 kW or 1.5 kW, depending on the heat demand.

Infrared heater with 3 heating modes

I install an infrared heater on the floor or a little higher - on or a stool - in the far corner of the room. Close to install it is inefficient, because then it heats up a small area in front of it strongly, while other surfaces fall into the shade and do not heat up. And unpleasant.

The infrared heater works on the same principle as our luminary - the Sun. Have you noticed how warm it is in the sun in spring? But one has only to go into the shade - and immediately freeze. This is because infrared radiation does not heat the air, but the surfaces, and they then give off heat. So it gives off heat when warmed by the sun, and in the same way, heated walls, surfaces of furniture and floors give off heat in a room.

Infrared heaters must be handled carefully: they get very hot on the front side, and any object that comes into contact with it can ignite. The distance to flammable objects must be at least 40 cm. And in no case should this device be covered with anything!

I also have a couple of large UFO heaters - models with one large heating element. But I like them less: the lamp heats up too much, and there is no smooth adjustment of the incandescent power. The thermostats installed on them simply periodically turn on the lamp at full power, and then turn it off. Perhaps this is not important for heating the room, but when you are present in it, the sensations are very unpleasant: it irritates the difference from too much heat when the lamp is turned on to a sharp cold when it is turned off. Therefore, I chose a small heater with two heating modes for myself.

UFO heater. Photo from autocentre.ua

If you, like me, go to the country in winter and sometimes stay there overnight, it is worth buying electric mattresses or electric sheets. They allow you to warm up the bed well before going to bed. I turn on such a mattress, laid under a regular, not too thick mattress, some time before bedtime. He manages not only to warm up, but also to dry the bed, which will certainly become damp if the house has been empty and cold for a long time.

I do not dare to sleep with the electric mattress turned on. Once upon a time, grief almost happened to acquaintances: a blanket began to smolder from a malfunction of the heating pad, and the owner almost died. So I just warm up the bed well and then turn off the mattress. This is enough to keep you warm all night long. Well, if it suddenly gets cold, just turn it on for a while to warm up a little, and then turn it off again. Such a mattress or sheet consumes quite a bit - 40-60 watts.

This is how things are with heating in my country house now. But in dreams and plans - a device infrared space heating. There are many options: from heating panels to infrared film floors, laid just under the carpet.

Infrared panel. Photo from freemarket.kiev.ua

For the first time I learned about these systems somewhere in the year 2000-2002. I was at the international exhibition on heating and water supply and, passing by one of the pavilions, I suddenly felt a gentle warmth. Couldn't figure out where it was coming from. There were no heaters in sight. Only a very beautiful reproduction of Van Gogh's painting with his famous cypresses. And next to the table, two handsome, narrow-eyed Korean boys were bustling around, handing out pieces of some unusual film to visitors.

It turned out that it was the same infrared film, which consisted of flat carbon rods connected to each other on both sides by a special flat copper bus and sealed between layers of transparent plastic. And just such a film was hidden under a wonderful warm picture on the wall. What I later learned about this heating system impressed me very much.

Infrared film systems work according to a special principle. They do not just warm up, for example, flooring (tile, linoleum, carpet), like most other floor heating systems. About 90% of infrared radiation is in the far range. These heat rays penetrate the floor covering, pass further and heat objects that fall into their field of action. Including the human body. Unlike other room heating systems, the infrared system is not afraid of drafts - after all, it is not the air that warms us, but the rays. It does not dry the air and even additionally ionizes it.

Judging by the numerous publications of the results of research conducted by various reputable institutions, infrared heating system is also very useful. She, like the sun's rays, not only warms, but also heals the human body. Without the Sun, its long-wave radiation, there would be no life on Earth. These rays are even called biogenetic. It is well known that the absence of sunlight for a long time negatively affects our health: immunity falls, we are overcome by diseases, and our health worsens. Our body needs a constant supply of long-wave heat.

A sick heart, kidneys, impaired blood circulation, colds, sore joints, excess weight, cellulite, skin burns, reduced immunity, digestive problems, nerves, injuries, skin diseases - all this, as the researchers write, successfully treated with infrared radiation. And some US scientific laboratories (O&P Medical Clinic, Infrared Therapy Researches) even report the effectiveness of far infrared radiation in destroying certain types of hepatitis virus, reversing cirrhosis of the liver, inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, treating psoriasis, increasing the production of own insulin in diabetics and neutralizing the effects of radiation. irradiation.

Of course, you need to choose a heating device according to your conditions and preferences. You can familiarize yourself with various models and choose the right one for you in our market, section.