Why electric heating?
Is it worth installing electric heating for an apartment or house?
Electric heating, electric heating – you ask why? Natural gas is by no means an eternal source of energy, and there is an opinion that in the very near future humanity will have to completely abandon its use and switch to cleaner energy, one of which is electric. Everything that required the consumption of gas or gasoline has already been slowly converted to a new energy carrier – and household appliances that provide comfort in your apartment or house are no exception. The proof of this was the appearance on the market of a large number of various electric heating devices and electric heat storage systems. It is also interesting that even today in USA, with the right combination of equipment and day-night tariffs, electric heating is cheaper than gas heating.
To date, there are not so many installations capable of providing heat for living space, office and industrial premises. Therefore, sacramento electrician offers you to buy and install electric boilers designed to create a centralized heating system or convectors for local heating or more modern heat pumps capable of pumping heat from the environment, warm electric floors and other electrical equipment.
What is electric heating. Pros and cons of electric heating.
Today in USA, electric heating is becoming the most relevant due to the problems with gas supply and the increase in gas tariffs. More and more people are already deciding to abandon gas heating and switch to alternative types of heating. If you have decided to install an electric boiler in your home or business or are at the stage of making a decision, it will be useful for you to learn all the pros and cons of an electric boiler.
The main disadvantage of electric heating was the high price of electricity compared to the price of gas. However, in connection with the change in tariffs and the increase in the norms of electricity consumption and when using electric heating, this deficiency was eliminated. Even on the contrary, with proper use of electricity, electric heating can cost less than gas heating today. In fact, the electric boiler has one drawback – dependence on an uninterrupted power supply. However, this drawback can be eliminated by installing additional equipment. Also, when installing high-power boilers, it is necessary to comply with certain requirements for the electrical network (voltage 380 V, current strength at least 25 A).
Electric heating: its types and types.
Electric heating can be divided into the following categories and subcategories:
1. Water – a traditional heating system equipped with:
– an electric boiler;
– a heat pump.
2. Air heat is generated decentralized (directly on each individual electrical device and without connection to the pipeline):
– direct electric heating (heat fans, convectors, infrared heaters, etc.);
– electric floor heating (electric warm floor).
Air electric heating.
Air heat is generated decentralized (directly on each individual electrical device and without connection to the pipeline).
If homeowners decide to install electric heating in a private house, today they have the following systems to choose from:
– direct electric heating – electric heating without an intermediate heater (fan heaters, convectors, infrared heaters, etc.);.
– electric floor heating (electric warm floor).
The simplest type of electric heating is direct electric heating. In this case, heat is transferred directly into the room by fan heaters or convectors. To heat the air, their heating elements must be heated to high temperatures.
Infrared heater – heat only in the radiation zone of the heater. Otherwise, heating occurs using an infrared heater. Heat is transmitted in the form of radiation and heats not air, but only solid objects. The temperature on the surface of the heater itself, as in the case of underfloor heating or panel heating, remains low. It will be warm and cozy in the area of the infrared heater, but as soon as you leave the radiation area, you will feel cold. Similar systems are used in restaurants to maintain pleasant warmth in open areas.
Unlike fan heaters or convectors, which are installed somewhere in the room in the form of bulky devices, the heating surfaces of the infrared heater can be masked. For example, made in the form of a picture and mounted on a wall or ceiling.
Heating elements – suitable for bathrooms. When an electric current passes, they heat the coolant inside (oil, water). Such a system is used, for example, in towel dryers. They are convenient to use in a bathroom with floor heating as additional heating. This allows you to maintain a constant temperature in rarely used bathrooms.
ADVANTAGES:
– The electric heater can be installed without much effort.
– An outlet is usually sufficient for connection.
DISADVANTAGES:
– Installation requires connection to a power source or outlet.
Electric heated floor – a high level of comfort.
Electric heating of a private house – a warm floor heating system using water consists of pipes that are laid in the floor screed. Doing this in old buildings is often difficult due to the thickness of the entire structure.
Electric underfloor heating mats are thin and can be laid directly under the new floor covering. Like traditional systems using hot water, electric underfloor heating creates a pleasant microclimate in the room
ADVANTAGES:
– Simple and compact installation.
– High level of comfort and coziness in the room.
– Low acquisition costs.
DISADVANTAGES of electric underfloor heating:
– When damaged, diagnosis and repair are quite difficult.
Water electric heating.
The electric boiler is simply and easily integrated into any water heating system.
Only electricity is required for its installation. The electric boiler has a high efficiency – almost 100% and quickly heats the coolant in the heating system. It is easy to connect to the existing heating system. Perhaps the only problem when using electric heating with a boiler is the high cost of electricity.
The cost of water electric heating will be lower if:
– switch to a special tariff for houses heated by electricity – 90 kopecks. for 1 kW * h of heat up to 3000 kW * h of electricity per month;
– install a two-tariff meter – 45 kopecks. for heating at night up to 3000 kW * h per month and 90 kopecks. over;
– use a buffer tank to accumulate heat at night (it makes sense if the area of the house is more than 150 sq. m).
A heat pump is the cheapest cost of heat.
The heat pump works exclusively on electricity. It extracts additional energy from the air (air) or the ground (geothermal) and converts it into heat. It is the most economical source of heat supply in comparison not only with other types of electric heating, but also with all other sources of heat. The heat pump is easily integrated into the water heating system as the main or additional heat source.
It is necessary to take into account that the maximum temperature of the coolant in such a system will be 55-60 C, which requires a special selection of radiators for the temperature schedule 55/40.
An indicator of the efficiency of a heat pump is the SOR coefficient. Depending on the type of heat pump, it is within 2.5-4. This means that 1 kW * h of electrical energy produces 2.5-4 kW * h of thermal energy.
If we take SOR = 3, then the cost of 1 kW * h of heat will be three times less than the cost of 1 kW * h of electricity. For example, if:
– switch to a special tariff for houses heated by electricity – 30 kopecks. for 1 kW * h of heat up to 3000 kW * h per month and 56 kopecks. – from above
– install a two-phase meter – 15 kopecks. for heating at night up to 3000 kW * h per month and 30 kopecks. above.
How much does electric heating cost and when does it pay off?
Although individual electric heating systems have many advantages, they all consume electricity. Each kilowatt-hour of heat costs UAH 1.68 (as of 2017/18). This is 2.2 times more than the cost of 1 kilowatt-hour of heat when using gas – 70-80 kopecks.
However, if there is an opportunity to switch to the electric heating tariff, in which the cost of 1 kilowatt-hour is UAH 0.90 and additionally use a dual-tariff meter, then the cost of electric heating can be equal to that of gas. And if you use a heat pump at the same time, then the cost of 1 kilowatt-hour will be 0.3 hryvnias, which is also not bad at all.
The use of electric air heating can also be profitable – first of all, when it is installed in sporadically heated or rarely used rooms, for example, summer houses: because the costs of equipment for the central heating system are much higher than the costs required for air electric heating. Or if the house is so well insulated that the need for heating is very low.
Electric heating – what conclusions can be drawn .
Electric air heating is often simpler, at least when buying, cheaper than an electric boiler or heat pump for water heating. However, one should not forget about the high operating costs. If electric heating is supposed to be used in the mode of long-term operation or permanent residence, then it is still easier to use a traditional heating system.
