Most often, bimetallic radiators are installed in apartments and country houses today. This type of battery has a low cost, has excellent performance and looks aesthetically pleasing. Sometimes living quarters are also heated using cast-iron, steel or aluminum models. The dimensions of heating radiators are one of the key factors, which should be paid attention to when buying.
Benefits of Bimetal Heating Radiators
The popularity of batteries of this kind is explained very simply. Cast iron radiators are reliable enough, but they do not look too aesthetically pleasing. In addition, they are difficult to mount. Aluminum batteries look modern and attractive. However, this metal does not tolerate contact with oxygen in the coolant well. Therefore, aluminum radiators quickly fail and begin to leak. Steel batteries last longer. However, at the same time, they do not look so aesthetically pleasing.
Bimetal models combine the advantages of aluminum and steel radiators. In a modern interior, such batteries fit simply perfectly. The sections in them are made of aluminum. At the same time, they serve for a long time, since the pipes through which the coolant flows through them are made of steel.
What to consider when choosing battery sizes
Install radiators usually under the windows. This arrangement allows you to spend energy coolant as rationally as possible. With this in mind, the sizes of heating radiators are usually chosen.
The battery is mounted in such a way that the distance from its upper edge to the ledge of the window sill is at least 10 cm. At the same time, the radiator should be located at a height of about 8-12 cm above the floor. Therefore, the potential of the radiator is not fully utilized. Thus, when choosing a battery, you must first look at the height. It should be less than about 20 cm than the distance from the ledge of the window sill to the floor.
Dimensions of bimetal heating radiators: height
In the manufacture of radiators, like any other equipment, of course, certain standards are followed. Bimetal radiators (depending on version) according to the passport can have heights of 200, 350 and 500 mm. All of these options are quite popular, and you can purchase them if necessary without any problems. However, the figures 200, 350 and 500 mm are not the actual height of the radiator, but indicate only the distance between the centers of the inlet and outlet pipes. But the battery sections themselves usually have a slightly longer length. What sizes of heating radiators in height will be the most convenient, you can find out if you add 8 cm to the center distance. Thus, a battery with a marking 350 will occupy about 430 mm under the windowsill, a model of 500 mm - 580 mm, 200 - 280 mm.
Radiator Width
According to this indicator, the battery should be selected as carefully as possible. The width of the radiator depends on the number of sections, which can be different. The required number of such elements for one battery is calculated by a special formula. It is believed that for heating 10 m2 of a room, 1 kW of radiator power is required. The formula for calculating the required number of sections, thus, looks like this: N = S x 100 / Q. In place S, you need to substitute the indicator of the total area of ββthe room in which the radiator will be installed. The value of Q is the power of one section. The last indicator is easy to determine. The manufacturer usually indicates the power of one section in the technical data sheet. This indicator can be different, but most often its value is close to 180 W (for models 500 mm). 8 cm is the width that in most cases has one section of a heating radiator. The size of the battery, therefore, directly affects its power.
For example, we will calculate the heating radiator for a room of 30 m 2 . In this case, the formula will be as follows: 30 x 100/180 = number of sections. That is 16-17 pieces. In this case, the radiator width will be large - 16 x 8 = 128 cm. Radiators are installed under the windowsill, usually in a special niche. Such a wide radiator may not fit in it. In this case, you just need to purchase two batteries of 8 sections. Each will be 64 cm wide. When choosing the number of sections, among other things, it should be taken into account that the length of the radiator should cover at least 70-75% of the window opening.
Battery thickness
The sizes of bimetal heating radiators , therefore, may be different. Their depth is usually 80 or 100 mm. Sometimes on sale there are also options for 90 mm. In this case, the choice depends solely on the personal preferences of the owners themselves. If the niche for the battery is deep, you can purchase a radiator thicker. If the wall is in the same plane with the edge of the window sill, itβs worth, of course, to buy an 80 mm radiator. In this case, if necessary, it will be easier to disguise.
Sizes of cast iron radiators
Standard Soviet batteries of this type had a height of 580 mm, a rib width of 94 mm and a thickness of 140 mm. Many owners of houses and apartments still consider such models to be the most reliable. Therefore, cast-iron radiators are in demand today. Manufacturers, of course, noticed this and began to deliver to the market, including cast-iron radiators in a retro style, featuring a very attractive design. If desired, you can buy, of course, such batteries. Their sizes can be different. There are low, standard and high models of this type on the market. The approximate sizes of cast iron heating radiators of different types can be found in the table below.
Dimensions of cast iron batteriesBattery | Center distance (cm) | Height (cm) | Depth (cm) | Section Width (cm) |
Low | thirty | 38.8 | 14 | 9.3 |
Standard | - | 64.5-66 | 10-17,4 | 4,5-6,3 |
High | - | 66-98 | 60-203 | - |
Very often, stylish cast-iron retro radiators have small legs. In this case, the height is calculated, of course, taking into account them.
What are the sizes of steel heating radiators
Structurally, such batteries differ from both cast-iron and bimetal ones. They are steel radiators, a single panel of a rectangular shape. Inside it there are channels designed for the coolant. There are also steel tubular radiators on sale. In appearance, they resemble cast-iron models. Tubular batteries, in turn, can be sectional or solid.
Steel heating radiators in height and width can be very different. When choosing such radiators, first of all pay attention to the thickness. The higher this indicator, the more powerful the battery. The thickness of steel radiators depends on the number of panels and rows of fins. The latter indicator can range from 0 to 3. Thus, the thickness of the steel radiator is most often 61-170 mm.
The width of the tubular heating radiators depends on the number of sections used in them. Due to their special design, models of this type are usually installed only in offices or administrative premises.
Aluminum models
There are aluminum heating radiators, dimensions in height and length having significant or small. But the most common option is such batteries with a center distance of 350 and 500 mm. Approximately 80% of all aluminum models available on the market have exactly this height. But sometimes radiators with a center distance of 20-80 cm are also on sale.
Recently, manufacturers have begun to produce very interesting skirting models of aluminum batteries. Visually, the sizes of heating radiators of this variety are very small. It's all about their low height. However, the length of such models can be quite large. If desired, in the market today you can find very interesting vertical aluminum radiators. For such models, the height can reach 2-2.5 m, and the width can be insignificant.
The depth of the radiators of this variety, as well as bimetallic ones, can be equal to 8 or 10 cm. The width of the section of the aluminum battery in most cases is 8 cm.
Features of the installation of radiators
The dimensions of bimetallic radiators, as well as cast iron or aluminum, should therefore be selected as carefully as possible. Whatever the dimensions, however, the battery may have, it is, of course, necessary to install it correctly. To the wall, heating radiators are usually mounted on brackets. Before installing them, markup is mandatory. Mount radiators either strictly horizontally, or with a slight slope in the direction of the coolant flow. In the latter case, it is easier to remove air plugs from the sections. The batteries can be connected to the mains in three ways: bottom, diagonally and sideways. In any case, an individual valve should be installed on each radiator. This allows you to repair the battery without having to turn off the entire heating system as a whole. Also, for each radiator, a Mayevsky crane (or some modern analogue of it) is installed without fail.