For heating residential and domestic premises, many devices with different operating principles are used. Mostly in heating equipment, one or another type of fuel is used: gas, diesel oil, firewood, coal. Electric household hot water boilers have become the most versatile.
They are often used to heat water as well, providing a house or industrial premises with hot water supply. There are combined storage systems used both for organizing hot water heating and water heating. In this case, a device with several inputs / outputs is used, and the cumulative effect preserves the water temperature in the event of a power outage.
Why is electricity so popular?
There are many disputes regarding electric heating, first of all, in this case, the cost of electricity is discussed. But, despite the rather high cost, in many houses you can find household heating boilers powered by a 220V network. Most often these are water heating storage boilers, but they are used for heating.
Rice. oneConsumers are attracted by a whole set of advantages, one of which is that electric energy is supplied even to remote suburban settlements, which makes it possible to organize constant water heating with storage properties in the country, regardless of any fuel reserves. The possibility of providing hot water due to the operation of a storage water heating boiler is also interesting.
In addition, a number of advantages of electric storage boilers are noted in comparison with analogues fueled by gas, liquid and solid fuels:
- Low cost of storage household electric boilers.
- Simple installation of storage systems, you can do it yourself.
- The compact dimensions of the device, most often they are made in a wall-mounted version, which is very convenient for a storage system.
- There is no need for regular maintenance of storage systems.
- Low power requirements for electrical wiring, even if the hot water unit is used for heating, they use the accumulative action due to the special design of the housing.
- There is no negative impact on the environment and human health; you do not need a separate room to install an electric storage water heater.
- Almost complete noiselessness, this is especially important when using the device in a heating system that is constantly on. The accumulative properties of such systems give an even greater effect.
The advantage of electric water heating is that it is much easier to organize the exact temperature of water heating and hot water supply. A storage system is often used to reduce energy consumption.
Another important point. Electric water heaters work practically in advance, without preliminary purchase of fuel and without the risk that it will run out at the most inopportune moment. This method allows you to provide the house with constant heating with storage water radiators and heated water.
Of course, storage electric boilers also have disadvantages. For example, with power surges, the automation may fail, and the heating will turn off right during the heating season, the water heating will stop and there will be a risk of breakdown. But in most cases, malfunctions do not occur more often than with other types of boilers. The cumulative effect of water in the heating system will help a little here, but repairs cannot be avoided, as well as worries about heating the room in other ways.
What are electric storage boilers?
Structurally, a water heating electric boiler looks like a metal case with a heating element located inside. It is connected to the water supply system, cold water is supplied at the inlet, and hot, almost boiled water is obtained at the outlet (although the temperature can be adjusted within wide limits).
Similar electrical equipment is used for hot water heating. In this case, there is no constant water supply, but the medium pumped into the pipes of the heating system heats up. But more often there are household water heating boilers for heating water, because their use is relevant for any heating system, even the presence of a connection to a centralized system does not exclude this form of heating running water.
Rice. 2Almost all water heating electric storage boilers are equipped with an automation unit that independently maintains the temperature inside the tank at almost the same level. When the lower threshold is reached, heating is automatically turned on, and after fixing the upper limit, the power from the heaters is turned off. So, the owner is given the opportunity to leave the boiler unattended at any time of the day, and the water will always be hot, thanks to the cumulative effect of many models.
The cumulative effect is achieved mainly due to the construction of the boiler, made in the form of a "pie", also, for example, they make insulation for the walls. Continuous access to the household electrical supply network ensures that the boiler heats up when it cools down.
Power supply in electrical appliances for heating water is used mainly from a 220V network, but the capabilities of this line may not be enough for water heating of a large house. In this case, electrical appliances are installed to heat the water, which are powered from a 380V three-phase network.
Often, there are indicators on the control panel of a storage boiler that show the current operating mode and indicate possible problems in its operation.
For example, this is how you can find out about a heating element shutdown, an emergency in the water supply and other failures that prevent the normal operation of an electric boiler.
Different ways of electric water heating
Despite the external similarity, the electric water heating boiler may differ in operation, and quite strongly. Although all models have one parameter in common - all developers try to apply the cumulative effect. It saves energy for heating a hot water heating system or a hot water storage tank for hot water supply.
Rice. 3 Heating elements differ in different boiler models
In the catalogs, there are models of storage boilers, although they look similar to each other, but with a different method of heating water.
So, three options are common:
- Electrodes.
- Induction.
The first type of heating elements is considered morally obsolete, although it is found everywhere, both in storage boilers for a water supply system and for a boiler used in heating. These models have the highest consumption of electrical energy and lower efficiency due to the absence of a direct effect on water and heat loss in the insulation layer of the heating elements.
Another disadvantage of storage electric boilers with heating elements is manifested in the event of interruptions in water supply. In the absence of water or other media, they can burn out due to overheating, the automation does not always have time to emergency shutdown the heating of the boiler. Even in them, the water heats up noticeably slower than in other options.
The electrode system is more efficient and safer. On the one hand, direct contact with water eliminates heat loss, on the other hand, it makes the storage boiler more economical.
In the absence of a carrier, the contact between the electrodes disappears, and the system turns off by itself, without any automatic sensors. Their only drawback is the loss of efficiency when scale appears on the electrodes. Due to the cumulative effect of many models of electric boilers with such a heating system, this problem is not noticed immediately, but after several years of use.
Boilers with a different operating principle are relieved of this, due to electrical induction, which heats water in a storage boiler without physical contact with it. The effectiveness of such models is maximum and remains for the entire period of service, because during operation, the appearing scale does not affect the process of heating the carrier in any way and the electric energy is used in the storage boiler for its intended purpose.
Rice. 4 Internal boiler structure with induction heater
The only drawback is the relatively high cost of storage boilers with an induction coil in the design, which also affects the size of the body. In other directions, the characteristics exceed the available options with heating elements and electrodes.
Features of water heating with an electric boiler
Often, for safety reasons, not water is pumped into the heating system, but a liquid that does not freeze at negative temperatures, which even with electric heating, which, in principle, allows you to organize a constant temperature. The power supply system is susceptible to emergency situations, like any other centralized networks, there are also preventive interruptions in the supply of electrical voltage. If you can do without hot water for some time, even storage water heating in severe frosts will simply defrost, no storage "gadgets" will save you.
Rice. 5An electric device for heating water, due to the cumulative effect, keeps the water hot for some time, but it will not last for a long time. Therefore, with periodic use of the house, as is the case with village or country houses, it is better to pour special antifreeze into the heating system. It also increases the storage effect, better retaining heat and saving electrical energy.
Of the most popular antifreezes, solutions of salts, organic substances or mineral oils are known.
So, in practice, they are often used:
- A solution of ethyl alcohol with water 45-55%, allows you to leave the house unattended up to frost at -35-40ºC.
- A solution of glycerin with water 60-70% - gives frost resistance up to -30-40ºC.
- A solution of acetic acid with water 62%, with which the carrier can withstand cold down to -24ºC.
- Sodium chloride solution with water 30% - provides stability up to - 21ºC.
Of course, many solutions require ensuring the tightness of the heating system, but in practice today it is not so difficult to do this, stores have all the equipment and accessories necessary for its installation. Electric storage devices with such a scheme provide completely autonomous heating, as long as the electric energy is paid on time.
If, when installing an electric storage boiler for hot water supply, it is not necessary to make a separate connection to ensure a reliable line. Whereas in heating, storage electric boilers with increased power are often used. For them, a separate line with autonomous protection means is drawn to ensure safety.
Combined heating can often be found when electrical appliances for heating are used to increase the cumulative effect. The main heat comes from a solid fuel or gas boiler, and an electric "backup" maintains it at a given level.
Which electric boiler manufacturers are the most popular?
In Russia, electric boilers are popular for heating water and water heating, not only of domestic but also foreign production. There are models of boilers for domestic and industrial use that have characteristic features. All of them use electric voltage for their work, depending on the power, a 220 or 380 V network can be used. Almost all modifications of the accumulative action.
Rice. 6 In the catalogs of manufacturers there is a large assortment of boilers
Of the most famous manufacturers, several import brands can be noted:
- BOSCH. German manufacturer of electric boilers, including those with a system for accumulating water heating storage.
- DAKON. Czech developer of electric heating and hot water supply systems, including storage models of boilers.
- MORA. Another brand from the Czech market for electrical storage systems.
- PROTHERM. One of the most popular brands from a European manufacturer from Slovakia. Storage systems are also produced under this brand.
The latter brand is considered to be more in demand by Russian buyers. Operational practice shows that their storage electric boilers work better in conditions of domestic failures in the power supply network.
Among the Russian representatives of the industry, aimed at the production of boilers for electrical systems for supplying hot water and heating buildings, the following brands stand out: ADIN, RusNIT, EVAN, HOTSTAR and others. The advantages of boilers from domestic developers are their greater adaptability to the peculiarities of Russian electric lines (constant surges, voltage drops, etc.). Storage systems are produced for both water supply and heating.
The scope of application of different models can be determined by one of the popular brands of the Russian market for electric boilers for water heating "Nevsky".
- "Economy". The model with a maximum power of 12.5 kW is designed for heating houses, baths, including for organizing a heat-insulated floor system. The boiler is capable of heating up to 100 sq. m premises. It is provided to work in conjunction with a thermostat and a pump, which make it possible to make the heating of the heating more uniform.
- "Comfort". Storage boiler for autonomous heating of country houses, baths, kindergartens with a total area of up to 300 sq. m. The maximum power of the model is 30 kW. It uses electronic control of operating modes.
- "Universal". The boiler model provides heating of a hot water heating system for warehouses, residential buildings with a total area of up to 1250 sq. m. Its power reaches 125 kW. The design has a connector for connecting a controller that records the ambient temperature and a GSM control module.
- "Industrial". The storage boiler provides heating of industrial premises with a total area of up to 5000 sq. m due to a maximum power of 500 kW. In this model, overload protection is installed on each heating element, which protects the electric circuit of the storage boiler from overheating, and the water heating from breakdown.
One and the same manufacturer usually presents to the market products for household and industrial use on an equal basis with each other, because the demand for heating equipment is approximately the same for both categories of buyers.