We propose to consider a new kind of heaters for a private house or apartment - the so-called electric batteries. The product is presented as a high-tech latest product with a light bulb energy consumption, heating the room no worse than an electric convector or a water heating radiator. Since any economical devices cause keen interest of users, we decided to find out how reliable the statements of sellers and manufacturers are.
Types and arrangement of electric heaters
We immediately warn that we are not talking about traditional infrared or convector type heating devices. We consider electric batteries made in the form of conventional mounted radiators (shown in the photo).
At the moment, online stores offer 4 types of electric radiators:
- sectional heaters of the "dry" type;
- ceramic heating panels;
- vacuum wall radiators using electricity;
- universal vacuum batteries that can operate on electricity or a classic coolant - water.
To make positive or negative conclusions about the listed heaters, you need to understand their structure and principle of operation. Plus, to study the feedback of users who managed to buy and check the operation of electric batteries for heating a private house. We will analyze each product individually.
Liquid-Free Sectional Heaters
In appearance, the product resembles a sectional radiator made of aluminum alloy, mounted on a wall and designed to work in a water heating system. Only on the sides are decorative plastic panels, one of which is mounted a control panel with a display.
Inside the device device looks like this:
- sections of the battery are cast from an alloy of aluminum with silicon (silumin) and equipped with heat-exchange fins;
- a tubular heater (TEN) with a power of up to 200 W is built into each section;
- the elements are twisted with each other, and the heating elements are connected to the power line in a parallel circuit;
- heating is controlled by a temperature controller connected to the electronic unit.
Note. The user sets the desired room temperature on the display, and the thermostat maintains it automatically. Switching to the economical mode of operation is available when half of the electric heating elements are inactive.
The principle of operation is extremely simple: the device is connected to the network, the heating elements heat the ribbed sections that transfer heat to the room. Since the maximum surface temperature is 80 ° C, heat transfer occurs in two ways - infrared radiation and convection (direct heating of air). The required power is gained by the number of sections.
Now the fun part. The price of an electric radiator with a power of 0.8 kW from 4 sections of a standard size of 500 mm, offered by the Russian company Effect Effect, is 210 cu. e. (12.5 thousand rubles as of autumn 2017). For comparison: the convector of the famous European brand Nobo (Nobo) model Oslo NTE4S-10 with a heat transfer of 1 kW costs 9,200 rubles. or 155 y. e.
Reference. The price of 1 section (500 mm high) of the Italian Global aluminum radiator, outwardly similar to the electric battery, is 9 oz. e.
Ceramic Panels
These products with a pleasant external design are a “layer cake” of several elements shown in the diagram:
- The front part is a ceramic plate 10–20 mm thick. It is usually decorated with a cute pattern or photo printing.
- Behind the stove, a heating element is installed - a chrome-nickel spiral laid by a snake (another option is a carbon heater).
- A metal sheet profiled with an "accordion" is adjacent to the back of the heating element.
- The last detail is the protective cover.
There are no revolutionary solutions in the design of the ceramic electric panel, although the device is quite successful. The spiral heats the front plate and the rear steel sheet to 80–85 ° C, which is why the first radiates infrared heat, and the second heats the air passing through the bends of the profile due to convective circulation. There is a control panel and a thermostat.
The power of ceramic electric batteries depends on the size. The panel 0.6 x 0.6 m consumes (respectively, gives to the room) about 350 W, depending on the manufacturer. To give you an idea of ceramic electric heaters, we suggest watching a short video. Just do not take seriously the words of the speaker about the wonderful properties of the device.
Another interesting reference. The price of a product of 1200 x 600 mm per 0.99 kW, comparable in power to the Nobo convector mentioned above, is 15.9 thousand or almost 270 oz. e.
Vacuum radiators
A steam-drop heating electric battery, it is also an energy-saving vacuum radiator, it is also a liquid mini-boiler, operates on the principle of a gravity-type closed two-phase thermosiphon. Have you breathed out?
Now let's move on to a human language that is understandable to users. The heater is a sealed chamber (thermosiphon) with evacuated air, where a certain amount of bromide salt solution is poured. Under the sections there is a second chamber with air or water heating elements with a power of up to 1 kW. The algorithm of work is conceived as follows:
- After switching on, the tubular element heats the lower chamber.
- Since a vacuum is organized in the upper chamber, the liquid begins to boil at a lower temperature (according to manufacturers, from 30 ° C).
- The solution turns into steam filling the entire vacuum battery. Upon contact with cold walls, it gives off heat and condenses, flowing back into the lower zone with drops. Hence the name is vapor-droplet, and 2 phases are the evaporation and condensation of a liquid.
For reference. The principle of thermosiphon (more simply - a heat pipe) involves the transfer of a large amount of heat at the time of evaporation and condensation of the solution. In this, it is similar to the operation of an air conditioner that transfers heat energy from a room to a street and vice versa. Here, the transfer is carried out from the heater to the room air, the intermediary is a solution of bromide salt.
As in other electric radiators, the design provides a thermostat that limits the heating of the fluid - the working fluid. Universal vacuum heaters are able to work with a conventional coolant - water supplied from the boiler to the lower chamber. TEN in this case is removed. We watch the next video, mentally filter the enumeration of the incredible parameters of the device.
Well and for the order we will specify the price. A heater called “closed-circuit heating device” PKN-3-0.5 for 4 sections, made in Russia, costs 220 u. (13100 rub.). Chinese counterparts can be found cheaper.
We are looking for real advantages of heaters
Advertising of the listed varieties of electric radiators focuses on the main parameter that attracts buyers - profitability of 20 ... 70%. In the description of the goods, scientific theories are developed to confirm the declared savings in any way. Other tricks are also used: instead of thermal power, the heating area is indicated in the characteristics.
We will throw away the myth of extreme efficiency with a simple explanation. No matter how high-tech the design of electric batteries is, it serves only as a transmission link. Thermal energy is produced by the heater (or brings water from the boiler), and the remaining elements of the heater only transmit it to the premises of a country house.
Hence the conclusion: if the power consumption of the heating element is 1 kW, then you will get 980 watts of pure heat (efficiency = 98%) regardless of the device of the heater.The more “bells and whistles” made around the heater, the higher the price of the final product. The efficiency of these "innovations" in terms of heat transfer tends to zero.
Now, one by one, we will consider the remaining advantages declared by sellers and immediately comment on them:
- The “dry” type apparatus and ceramic panel are easy to install on the wall and do it yourself. There is nothing to argue, the characteristic is correct.
- Electric batteries are completely autonomous. Clarification: they depend only on electricity.
- Rapid room heating thanks to two components of heat transfer - infrared radiation and convection. The statement is incorrect, the heating rate depends primarily on the power of the device. Infrared and convective heat exchange can boast of ordinary water heating batteries.
- Due to the large thermal inertia of the radiator cast from aluminum (!), The heat transfer continues after the unit is turned off, and this saves money. The characterization, to put it mildly, is erroneous. Aluminum alloys cool and heat instantly, the thermal inertia of this metal is practically absent.
- Ceramic panels with a beautiful pattern fit perfectly into any interior. Absolute truth.
- The maximum surface temperature is 80 ° C, so the heater is fireproof and does not burn oxygen. We attribute this property to the advantages of electric batteries, but with the caveat: 80 degrees is hot, it is dangerous to burns for small children.
Note. It is customary to protect hot surfaces from children with decorative screens, but the latter block the path of radiant heat, converting it into convective heat (the casing heats up and interacts with air).
Liquid mini-boilers are generally overgrown with mysticism. They have no pressure and little heat carrier, so the heat transfer is supposedly higher. Another example: in the process of condensation of a liquid, a huge amount of energy is released that goes to heating. True, it is not said where this heat volume came from, because the power of the heating element is only 1 kW. Probably from space.
Brief conclusions
This is not to say that electric heating radiators are not suitable for heating private houses, cottages and apartments. They honestly give off heat generated by a tubular heater. If its power is 1 kW, the heater will be enough for 10 m² of housing (in the temperate zone).
Judging by the reviews of homeowners who believed in advertising, attempts to heat such a quadrature with a 500 W device failed.
Users will swallow all advertising statements when the price of products becomes competitive with other heaters. But since the cost of electric batteries is 1.5–2 times higher than the price of convector-type heaters, the meaning of such a purchase is lost. Despite all the real and imaginary advantages.
We would like to delete ceramic panels from the list of useless products. They look nice on the walls and are able to heat small rooms. The main thing is to choose the right devices for power or use for local heating.
How to make an electric battery yourself
If you are tempted to organize the simplest and cheapest heating installation, make an electric battery with your own hands from an old cast-iron radiator. What you need to buy:
- TEN with a power of 0.3-0.8 kW with a water thermostat;
- 2 end caps with gaskets;
- a foot with a Mayevsky crane;
- room thermostat;
- wires with a cross-section of 2.5 mm².
Note. Select the tubular electric heater along the length of the radiator - the element must go through all the sections.
Electric battery assembly is simple: install a heater in the lower hole of the last section, lubricating the gasket with a high-temperature sealant. Screw the foot into the opposite upper hole, open the Mayevsky cock slightly. Cover the remaining side openings with plugs, fill the battery with water.