Many dwellings, whether it is a summer house, a private house, a cottage or a modern apartment, can not do without an individual heating system. The heat source is a boiler, and most heating boilers are volatile. That is, in the event of a power outage, the coolant will not be able to move through the pipes. Accordingly, no heat will be supplied to the heating radiators.
In the cold season, the lion's share of electricity is consumed by consumers for heating. Due to the excessive consumption of this resource in networks, power outages and blackouts often occur. In such situations, it is important to use an uninterruptible power supply for the heating circulation pump.
Why do I need an uninterruptible power supply for the pump
The use of such a backup power source for the heating pump will save home appliances from failure and prevent unnecessary repair costs. The uninterruptible power supply for the circulation pump for heating corrects power outages and switches the power source to the batteries.
Important: an incorrectly selected power source can cause electronic circuit boards to burn out in heating equipment. Damage will result in expensive repairs, and in a cold climate it is also dangerous to defrost the heating system, as well as frostbite people. Sometimes owners of boiler equipment want to save. They are trying to make an uninterrupted heater for a heating pump with their own hands. However, this is fraught with the occurrence of a fire or failure of not only the pump, but also the expensive boiler.
The principle of operation of the uninterruptible power supply
Equipping heating systems with forced circulation sources saves up to 20-30% of fuel. This is a lot. Therefore, systems with forced circulation of the coolant are especially popular. But the pumps have a big drawback - they depend on the presence of voltage. The boiler instantly ceases to function in the slightest accident on the power line.
Installing a UPS allows the heating system to operate independently of a centralized power supply.
Heating system circulation pump
For normal heating operation, it is important that the coolant circulate through the heating pipes at a certain speed. So all radiators will quickly and evenly warm up. If the water returns, making a circle along the heating circuit, is still warm, then the load on the boiler decreases, which extends its working life and significantly reduces the energy consumption for heating the room.
The circulation pump consists of a housing and a rotor, on which an impeller is installed on the motor shaft, which is responsible for the movement of the coolant through the heating pipes. They are of two types:
- They work according to the wet principle: in them the shaft and the impeller are immersed in the liquid. It acts both as a cooler and as a lubricant.
- Functioning on a dry principle: in such devices, the working units do not touch the liquid. Seals installed between the drive and the housing do not allow moisture to enter.
Circuit pump backup power supply
To maintain the efficiency of the heating system in case of emergency, backup power units are connected to such pumps. It is effective. In a normal situation, they accumulate energy that they give to the pump during an unexpected power outage. On sale you can find a wide variety of models of circulation devices, and for each of them you need to choose the appropriate UPS.
You do not have to interfere with the operation of such an uninterruptible power supply for the circulation pump for heating, since the device fulfills its duties completely autonomously and switches the power from the main to emergency almost instantly. Also, the unit quickly and simply returns to its normal mode and continues to accumulate energy.
Basic requirements for uninterruptible power supply
Despite the simple device, the pumps themselves are very moody to the power supplied to them. Therefore, the UPS connected to the heating system must give a clean sine wave at its output.
It matters and the ability of such a power source to work for a long time. Gas boilers have low power, so this criterion is not so important for gas equipment. What about other species? Solid fuel boilers, on the other hand, require much more power, and, accordingly, the uninterruptible power supply for the heating circulation pump must be more powerful and be able to work for a sufficiently long time.
In order to increase the battery life of the UPS, additional battery packs are connected to them, which is quite expensive. Another option is to use external batteries. Such blocks do not equip batteries at all. A UPS with connected batteries can operate long enough to provide the solid fuel boiler with the required room heating.
Phase-dependent and phase-independent blocks are distinguished. Accordingly, when connecting devices of the first type, it is necessary to observe the correct connection of the phase and neutral.
Before purchasing an uninterruptible power supply for boiler equipment and, in particular, automation for a circulation pump, it is necessary to determine exactly what load it must withstand in the first minutes of start-up. The so-called starting voltage. The fact is that when you turn on the pump (as, indeed, most equipment), the voltage rises sharply. The built-in battery, designed for 10-15 minutes of operation, is quite enough for most appliances used in private heating systems.
If it is required that the pump runs longer, additional batteries are connected to the UPS for the heating circulation pump, depending on the capabilities of the source itself. It is important what range the input voltage has. The wider it is, the better, since the UPS will switch to emergency mode less often, which will extend its uptime.
The main types of uninterruptible power supplies
Two types of backup power sources are available for circulation pumps:
- Line-interactive - those devices that have 1 or 2 batteries with a capacity of up to one hundred amperes per hour and are inexpensive.
- Sources of double conversion are those that can produce a pure sine wave at the output and play the role of a voltage stabilizer in parallel. They can work longer autonomously and consist of at least 3 rechargeable batteries having a capacity of up to one hundred amperes per hour. The cost of such UPSs is very high.
If the long work of such a unit is required, then it is better to purchase a more expensive model. The quality of the batteries also matters, which is also undesirable to save on, despite the fact that sometimes such batteries can be more expensive than the UPS itself. For heating boilers, the types of such blocks are even more diverse.
If the owners are counting on many years of trouble-free operation of the device, it is better to give preference to more expensive models. Also, do not save on batteries (sometimes these devices are more expensive than UPSs).
If it becomes necessary to replace the heating boiler in the case of a phase-dependent UPS, this will be difficult, and you may need to purchase a new unit. Therefore, many prefer phase-independent models of suitable power.
Important: only a pump may be connected to an uninterruptible power supply for a circulation pump! For the maintenance of some other devices, its capacity is not enough.
The benefits of a UPS for a circulation pump
The UPS for the pump supplies the current exactly the quality that is necessary for its normal operation and has a high efficiency.
In the event of a power outage, the UPS switches the device to independent power for up to two days and protects it from power surges.
UPSs for circulation pumps are easy to install, no noise, and easy to use.
UPS installation and calculation
According to the principle of installation, the UPS for the heating circulation pump is divided into floor and wall.
The first, due to their high power, are large and impressive in weight. Therefore, it is more convenient to place such models in the basement, and rechargeable batteries in a sealed cabinet to protect them from moisture.
Among the many brands of uninterruptible power supplies offered to the consumer, UPS for Cyber Power heating circulation pumps deserve attention.
So, reviews about such a model as Cyber Power Value 800EI are the most positive. The only drawback that users note is the loud fan noise during operation.
The Cyber Power CPS 600E model proved to be on the good side, which worked for many without complaints for 8-10 years.
Inelt brand UPSs offer ready-made kits for boiler equipment with 1, 2 or 3 batteries from 700 W to 1050 W. Owners respond positively to the Inelt Intelligent 1000LT2 UPS model. This is a 1050 W power kit with three batteries.
Judging by the reviews, manufacturers such as Eaton, Energy Technologies and N-Power have proved to be quite good.
Correct determination of the UPS capacity will help not overpay for this expensive equipment. To determine which UPS to purchase for the pump, you need to divide its power by the operating voltage of the batteries. Multiply the obtained value by the required battery life - 1, 2, 3 hours, etc. And of course, you should purchase a UPS with a power reserve.
You can make an uninterrupted heater for a heating pump with your own hands, but it is better to purchase a high-quality device and not risk it.
Properly selected UPS will last a long time and save expensive equipment.