A cozy house is a home in which it is warm and bright. The indicator of comfortable temperature in it depends on the heating circuit. In apartment buildings, central heating systems operate. Therefore, the temperature in the premises depends directly on the work of utilities.
Differently arranged heating schemes in private homes. Previously, most houses were heated with wood. For this, stoves and fireplaces were built.
Now heating systems are significantly modernized. Not only they are being improved, but also the fuel that is used.
Briefly about the main sources of heat in homes
For heating private housing often use electricity or gas, firewood or briquettes. To choose the most efficient type of fuel, it is worth briefly familiarizing yourself with some of them.
Electricity
Heating is the last to be launched. This is one of the ultimate communications of housing. Electricity is used when it is impossible to connect other types of space heating. In the process of building a house, rooms are often heated using electric heaters or from various current generators.
Gas
Natural gas is used when it is possible to bring it to the house, the availability and connection of appropriate certified equipment. It should be noted the high cost of arranging a private home with gas.
Firewood
In Russia and neighboring states rich in forests, firewood is a popular type of fuel. It is inexpensive, environmentally friendly, affordable. To use it, you do not need to purchase special boilers, batteries. But this fuel has become significantly inferior to briquettes.
What is pressed fuel, what are its pros and cons, is it worth it to use?
Briquettes
First of all, briquettes are pressed fuel from the husk of agricultural materials, from peat, coal chips, waste from the woodworking industry. Regardless of the material from which the production of briquettes is carried out, the mandatory stages are the processes of drying and pressing of the feedstock.
Types of briquettes
Recently, briquettes are gaining more and more popularity. More recently, a significant share was occupied by coal and peat species. But the production of fuel briquettes is not always harmless for ecosystems in the places of manufacture.
Coal briquettes
Several decades ago, many heated houses with coal-based fuel. The production of briquettes from this raw material is carried out next to coal mining enterprises. In this case, the starting material is coal dust, dust. Production waste is poured into the press, and at the exit smooth, regular-shaped briquettes are obtained. Then they are dried to obtain a moisture index in accordance with state standards.
Peat briquettes
The production of peat fuel briquettes is a lengthy process. The main deposits are located in marshy areas. Before picking peat, these lands must be dried by means of land reclamation, which harms the flora and fauna of these places.
The process begins with channels through which water is pumped. All vegetation is removed. This takes about three to four years. The top layer of the earth is milled, then turned over and dried in the sun. After which it is raked into the shafts, which are removed and poured already by the mountains of peat. Properly collected and stacked raw materials are not afraid of either rain or snow.
After the extraction and processing of peat at the site, it is fed to production workshops. First, the raw materials are poured into dryers, where its humidity decreases to twenty percent. Then the press lays it in the gutter, where it goes with a continuous tape. At the end of the gutter, peat falls off under its weight in pieces of equal length.
Formed bars go to the warehouse or immediately for shipment and delivery to the buyer. Consumers know that such briquettes are more convenient to use than loose peat. They dust less, it is more convenient to put them in places for storage.
What are wood briquettes
All wood chips, wood cuts obtained by sawing trees are sent to special crushing units. Few people know that such briquettes, like wood, are produced from these wastes of woodworking enterprises. The resulting crushed secondary raw materials are dried to a moisture content of four percent. After that, it is fed into the main equipment for briquettes (i.e., for their manufacture) - a pressing machine. Under a pressure of 300 atmospheres, a bar of a given shape is formed. The secret of the burning time is the high density of the briquette and the low oxygen content, compared with firewood.
The benefits of briquettes
The main advantage of the production of pressed fuel is the minimization of waste emissions. Most briquettes are made from secondary raw materials from coal and wood mining and processing enterprises.
For end consumers, the undoubted advantage of fuel bars is their compactness. They take up much less space than firewood or coal. Wood briquettes have the lowest ash content. They practically do not leave ash and do not clog chimneys.
The burning time of pressed fuel is several times higher compared to conventional types. This is a great option for heating private homes. It is enough to put briquettes in the furnace, set fire. The gradual uniform combustion of whetstones will make it possible to maintain a comfortable temperature in the premises for a long time.
The disadvantages of compressed fuel
Individual consumers are frustrated by the low level of ash content of briquettes. This disappoints gardeners who use burning residues as fertilizer.
The disadvantage of briquettes is their high hygroscopicity. When raw materials are pressed, a dense layer is formed on the surface of the bars, which does not allow moisture to penetrate inside. But in case of violation of manufacturing technology or storage, they can become vulnerable. Therefore, it is recommended to keep purchased briquettes in dry, well-ventilated rooms.
Coal and peat briquettes have a higher percentage of ash compared to firewood or wood briquettes. When using them, it is necessary to periodically clean pipes and chimneys to prevent impairment of patency.
Coal briquettes smell bad sulfur. They are very dirty. When laying in the furnace, you can get dirty.
Cost
The price of briquettes depends on the raw material from which they are made. Most expensive are the wood bars of the PiniKay brand - from ten and a half thousand rubles.
RUF wood briquettes cost from eight and a half thousand rubles per ton. The price of Standard peat briquettes is approximately 8,000 rubles per ton.
Coal "Anthracite", used for space heating, costs about eleven thousand per ton, and grade "D" - about nine thousand.
Before installing and connecting fuel equipment, it is worth considering which fuel will be used. In the absence of gas, lack of money for the acquisition, installation, connection of equipment, it is more convenient to use wood briquettes. Due to the long combustion process, they can provide a constant temperature in living rooms. They have the lowest ash content. Use does not lead to pollution of chimneys of fireplaces. According to reviews of consumer briquettes, most of them consider them to be an environmentally friendly, convenient, economical type of fuel.