The feeling of comfort in the house depends primarily on cleanliness, ambient temperature, freshness of air and the level of illumination. And if the first can be provided with regular cleanings, then the remaining factors depend on the design features of the building and its technical study. Moreover, the issue of heat occupies precisely the main place. Why? Because a comfortable temperature gives a person the opportunity to relax, feel freedom.
The modern market offers us many options for heating a house from traditional radiators to innovative air systems. All of them promise the creation of equally excellent living conditions, sometimes at a fairly reasonable price. But if you think deeper, is it possible for such different heat transfer technologies as infrared radiation and water heating to produce the same effect? Of course not, the sensations will be completely different. To achieve a really high degree of comfort, you need to consider a lot of different nuances.
History of the idea
Has anyone noticed that even at a high temperature in the room, if there is a draft on the floor, it’s still cold. Or intuitively I do not want to touch the icy walls. Maybe that’s why all houses with wood interior feel unusually cozy. The matter, of course, is not the material, just the wood feels warm to the touch, and the body feels it. Having noticed such moments, the designers developed a heating system “warm walls for the house” and “warm floor”.
The idea, of course, is not new, and in all the houses of the old building, where there were stoves, the heating technology was applied by a rough - heated wall passing through the rooms of the building. This was possible by creating a complex chimney system with many channels inside this wall. Later, in the period of the 60s, they developed a project for the construction of multi-storey panel houses made of concrete elements with channels inside. It was supposed to start up (and there were actually operating objects) a heat carrier in the form of hot air.
The project was not widely used due to the complexity of panel installation, which had to be precisely aligned and well sealed joints between them. But the principle itself became the founder of modern technologies for organizing warm walls.
Wall heating as an element of heating
The device for modern wall heating is somewhat different from its prototype. So, hollow structural elements for the passage of hot air are no longer made. And you can heat almost any plane by installing coolant channels. Such channels include polypropylene pipes for circulating hot water and special heating wires powered by electricity.
Another feature is the creation of a heat-insulating layer that does not allow heat to pass outside if the external wall is heated. The essence of the project is to create a thermal barrier between the interior and the street. Plus, a large area of ​​the heated surface provides quick heating of the air.
Positive and negative sides of the system
The “warm walls” system is deservedly considered one of the most effective, because:
- It creates an excellent thermal effect at a lower coolant temperature than in traditional convection systems. This is due to the large area of ​​the thermal panel.
- It causes a pleasant tactile sensation.
- It does not dry air, as it does not have open oxygen-burning elements.
- More evenly distributes heat in space, because it immediately heats a large amount of air.
- It does not cause positive air ionization, like any metal heating element. This prevents the accumulation of dust and pathogenic bacteria.
- Requires less powerful circulation pumps, which saves energy.
- Easy to install. It does not require the use of welding, metal cutting tools.
The inconvenience of such heating is that warm walls should not be covered by furniture. It is not advisable to drill them, because it is difficult to determine where the channel can pass. If a system violation has occurred, then this can result in serious repairs.
Where is this type of heating applicable?
The “warm walls” system is designed in such a way that it can technically be feasible in any room. It is easy to install it on any wall, of course, not after major repairs and finishing. The question is, will this type of heating be effective in a particular room? There are a number of preferences here:
- Ideal spaces where there is a minimum of equipment and furniture blocking the wall plane: classrooms, office rooms, bedrooms and corridor aisles.
- Places with high humidity: saunas, laundries, baths, showers. Such heating contributes to good drying.
- Areas that are difficult to equip with other heating systems: garages, storage rooms, hangars, bathrooms, pools, workshops.
- As an additional type of heating to the existing one, but whose power is not enough for full heating.
- In the vestibules to create a thermal barrier.
What types of heat carrier use
Two types of coolant are standardly applicable:
- Liquid . Ordinary water, which, as well as in any water heating, circulates in pipes, being under a certain pressure.
- Electric cable . It works on the principle of underfloor heating.
Warm water walls gradually heat the surface and, importantly, are environmentally friendly. But it is not always possible to install such a system in multi-storey buildings, or rather, obtain permission for this. After all, a violation of the tightness of the channels and fluid leakage can lead to the destruction of not only the internal coating of the room, but also the structure of the building.
Warm electric walls are more expensive to bookmark and 20% less economical than water. Partially, the operating costs are reduced by using temperature controllers, but this is not especially felt with large wire sizes. Electric-based heating does not destroy the construction of the box, but it is not so harmless to humans. Each wire creates electromagnetic radiation that can adversely affect health.
Materials for organizing warm walls
A warm wall is heating, which is a complex multilayer system. Basically, it is placed on external load-bearing elements to make a barrier and reduce heat loss of the building. The correct cake looks like this:
- External wall insulation. It protects the frame from freezing.
- Wall of the building structure.
- Internal insulation. Prevents the penetration of coolant energy into the non-useful area of ​​the bearing wall.
- Channel system with coolant and fasteners.
- External system covering layer. It can be made of plaster or drywall. This is a useful heated plane, from which heat is transferred to the room.
Internal insulation of warm walls is installed only if there is an external wall insulation. Otherwise, the wall left unheated will freeze, become damp, and a fungus will appear. All elements of the system fasteners are made of materials that are not susceptible to oxidation, such as stainless screws and plastic clamps. The coolant channels are mounted from polypropylene pipes or an electric wire in a plastic braid. A layer of plaster is fixed on a special grid. Plaster can be cement, gypsum and based on mortar.
Installation of warm walls
For the organization of wall heating water-type has its own rules:
- The location of the pipes is best done in the horizontal direction. Such a scheme is easier to breathe if a stopper suddenly forms.
- Pipes are laid according to the principle of a snake, and the supply of hot water is arranged from below, and the return from the upper end. This is dictated by the law of physics, because hot air rises, gradually warming up the entire room.
- The horizontal line spacing is increased in the direction of the ceiling to save materials. It does not make sense to intensively warm the space in the upper layers - a person simply will not feel this heat, and the energy consumption will be noticeable.
- At the upper point of each circuit, it is advisable to install air-venting devices.
- If the pipe is covered with plaster, then the latter is applied in two stages using a reinforcing mesh - metal for the first layer and fiberglass for the finish. In this way, the possibility of cracking the wall from temperature changes during heating and cooling is eliminated.
- When installing systems on a stone base: brick, concrete, cinder block; internal insulation is used only if there is an external one. The wall should never freeze, otherwise there will be more harm than good from such heating.
- All fasteners are fixed to the load-bearing wall, and not to the insulation.
- To heat thin interior walls, it is not necessary to lay thermal insulation under the pipe, the plane will warm up on both sides.
- If the pipe is closed with drywall (dry installation), then heat reflectors must be installed under it, and the thickness of the air layer should be minimized. Otherwise, the heated air inside will rise up, and you will get "warm ceilings", the walls will not warm up well. This nuance should be taken into account.
When the “warm wall” system is installed, it is necessary to carefully work out the installation diagram. To do this, right on the spot, you can draw the location of the heating pipes and the points of their connection to the highway. It is important to remember that the longer the horizontal section in the coil, the more likely it is that air will appear in it. Therefore, it is more expedient to divide a long section into several smaller ones, and the entire system into as many circuits as possible, in each of which to put a circulation pump. All supply pipes are covered with thermal insulation so as not to lose useful power.
Warm floor on the wall
A rather convenient way of heating the walls with the help of electric systems is “warm floor”. They are produced in three versions: an electric cable on the base, a cable in coils and a film material of infrared radiation.
Installation of warm walls of electric type over water has several advantages. System:
- It is not subject to formation of air jams.
- It has a small thickness. Therefore, to hide in the wall, a thin layer of plaster is enough.
- The cable on the mesh base is easy to mount to the bearing surface, and you do not need to use additional reinforcing material for the plaster.
- For installation using lighter and cheaper fasteners.
- The insulation of the current-carrying heating cable is made of a material that can be compressed and expanded under the influence of temperature. This, in turn, reduces the mechanical load during heating of the element and its expansion.
- Structurally simpler, as it directly converts electricity to heat, without requiring additional equipment in the form of a boiler and pumps.
Although it is convenient to apply a warm floor to a wall, it is expensive and is not permissible for laying near plumbing elements. For greater efficiency, it requires lining of a heat-insulating foil material.
Maintenance
All heating systems require monitoring and maintenance. Warm water walls differ from conventional water heating in a large amount of liquid content. As a rule, standard radiators rarely change water, but they are located only in a few places in the room. The channel system of warm walls permeates large areas. Given the latest discoveries of scientists in the field of energy, the emission of dirty water can inhibit biological organisms, weakening their immunity. Therefore, it is advisable to change the water in the system every season.
In the process, you need to periodically check the automatic air blower devices. They can leak. It is also necessary to monitor the pressure in the system and control the return temperature. If it does not warm up enough, turn on the largest revolutions on the circulation pump, driving out air jams. It is advisable to do the same with prolonged blackouts.
Conclusion
The heating device "warm walls" is a fairly large-scale project. It requires both serious material investments, as well as technical knowledge and building skills. But the universality of the idea allows us to use the system not only as a building heating. In the summer, driving cold water through pipes, you can lower the temperature in the room, creating the effect of conditioning. Moreover, such a "conditioner" is much safer - it does not create drafts. Therefore, when deciding which heating to apply in your home, it makes sense to take this factor into account. What? It turns out two in one!