The feeling of comfort in the house depends primarily on cleanliness, ambient temperature, fresh air and light levels. And if the first can be ensured by regular cleaning, then other factors depend on the design features of the building and its technical development. Moreover, the issue of heat occupies the main place. Why? Because a comfortable temperature gives a person the opportunity to relax, to feel freedom.
The modern market offers us many options for heating the house from traditional radiators to innovative air systems. All of them promise the creation of equally excellent conditions of existence, sometimes at a fairly favorable price. But if you think about it more deeply, is it possible that heat transfer technologies as different as infrared and water heating can produce the same effect? Of course not, the sensations will be completely different. To achieve a really high degree of comfort, you need to take into account a lot of different nuances.
History of the idea
Has anyone noticed that even at hightemperature in the room, if a draft walks on the floor, it is still cold. Or intuitively do not want to touch the ice walls. Maybe that's why all houses with wooden interiors feel unusually cozy. The point, of course, is not the material, just the wood is warm to the touch, and the body feels it. Noticing 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, heating technology was used with a rough - heated wall that passed through the rooms of the building. This was possible by creating a complex chimney system with many channels within this wall. Later, in the period of the 60s, they developed a project for the construction of multi-storey panel houses from concrete elements with channels inside. It was supposed to launch through them (and there were actually operating objects) a coolant in the form of hot air.
The project was not widely used due to the difficulty of mounting the panels, which had to be precisely aligned and the joints between them had to be well sealed. But the principle itself became the ancestor of modern technologies for organizing warm walls.
Wall heating as a heating element
The modern wall heating device is somewhat different from its prototype. Thus, 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 hot water circulation and special heating wires,powered by electricity.
Another feature is the creation of a heat-insulating layer that does not let heat out if the outer wall is heated. The very 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 a quick heating of the air.
Pros and cons of the system
The "warm wall" system is deservedly considered one of the most effective because:
- Creates an excellent thermal effect at a lower coolant temperature than traditional convection systems. This is due to the large area of the thermal panel.
- Produces a pleasant tactile sensation.
- Does not dry the air, as it does not have open oxygen-burning elements.
- Distributes heat more evenly in space, because it immediately heats a large volume of air.
- 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. Does not require the use of welding, metal-cutting tools.
The inconvenience of such heating is that warm walls should not be covered with furniture. It is not advisable to drill them, because it is difficult to determine where the channel can pass. If a violation of the system has occurred, then this can result in a seriousrepair.
Where this type of heating is applicable
The "warm walls" system is designed in such a way that it can be technically feasible in any room. It is easy to install it on any wall, naturally, not after a major overhaul and decoration. 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 that block the wall plane: auditoriums, office space, bedrooms and corridor passages.
- 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, warehouses, hangars, bathrooms, swimming pools, workshops.
- As an additional type of heating to the existing one, but the power of which is not enough for full heating.
- In vestibules to create a thermal barrier.
What types of coolant are used
Standardly applicable two types of coolant:
- Liquid. Ordinary water, which, as in any water heating, circulates in pipes under a certain pressure.
- Electric cable. Works on the principle of underfloor heating.
Warm water walls gradually heat up the surface and, importantly, are environmentally friendly. But it is not always possible to install such a system in multi-storey buildings, or rather,get permission to do so. After all, the violation of the tightness of the channels and the leakage of liquid 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 install and 20% less economical than water walls. Partially, operating costs are reduced by using temperature controllers, but this is not particularly felt with large wire lengths. Heating based on electricity does not destroy the structure of the box, but it is not so harmless to humans. Each wire generates electromagnetic radiation that can adversely affect he alth.
Materials for organizing warm walls
Warm wall - heating, which is a complex multilayer system. Basically, it is placed on external load-bearing elements to make a barrier and reduce the heat loss of the building. The correct pie looks like this:
- External wall insulation. Provides frost protection for the frame.
- The wall of the building structure.
- Internal insulation. Prevents the penetration of coolant energy into the unusable area of the bearing wall.
- Channel system with coolant and fasteners.
- The outer layer covering the system. It can be made of plaster or drywall. This is a useful heated plane, the heat from which is transferred to the room.
Internal insulation of warm walls is installed only if there is an external wall insulation. Otherwise, the wall left without heating will freeze, become damp, and a fungus will appear. All fastenerssystems are made of materials that are not subject to oxidation, such as stainless screws and plastic clips. The coolant channels are mounted from polypropylene pipes or electrical wires in a plastic braid. A layer of plaster is fixed on a special mesh. Plaster can be cement, gypsum and lime mortar based.
Installation of warm walls
There are rules for organizing water-type wall heating:
- Pipe placement is best done in a horizontal direction. Such a scheme is easier to vent if a traffic jam suddenly forms.
- The pipes are laid according to the principle of a snake, and the supply of hot water is organized 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 pitch of the horizontal lines is increased towards the ceiling to save materials. It does not make sense to intensively heat the space in the upper layers - a person simply will not feel this heat, and the energy consumption will be noticeable.
- It is advisable to install de-airing devices at the top of each circuit.
- 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; interiorinsulation is used only if there is an external one. In no case should the wall freeze through, otherwise such heating will do more harm than good.
- All fasteners are fixed to the load-bearing wall, not to the insulation.
- To heat thin interior walls, it is not necessary to put 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 kept to a minimum. Otherwise, the heated air inside will rise up, and “warm ceilings” will turn out, the walls will not warm up well. This nuance should be taken into account.
When the "warm wall" system is laid, it is necessary to carefully work out the installation scheme. To do this, right on the spot, you can draw the location of the heating pipes and the points of their connection to the main. It is important to remember that the longer the horizontal section in the coil, the more likely the possibility of air in it. Therefore, it is more expedient to break a long section into several smaller ones, and the entire system into as many circuits as possible, in each of which put a circulation pump. All supply pipes are covered with thermal insulation so as not to lose useful power.
Heated floor on the wall
Quite convenient way to heat the walls with the help of electric floor heating systems. They are produced in three versions: electric cable on the base, cable in coils and infrared film material.radiation.
Installation of warm walls of electric type before water ones has a number of advantages. System:
- Prone to air pockets.
- Has a small thickness. Therefore, a thin layer of plaster is enough to hide in the wall.
- The mesh-based cable is easy to mount to the load-bearing surface, and no additional mortar reinforcement is needed.
- Lighter and cheaper fasteners are used for mounting.
- The insulation of the current-carrying heating cable is made of a material that can compress and expand under the influence of temperature. This in turn reduces the mechanical load as the element heats up and expands.
- Structurally simpler, as it directly converts electricity into heat, without requiring additional equipment in the form of a boiler and pumps.
Although it is convenient to apply underfloor heating to the wall, it is expensive and not suitable for laying near plumbing elements. For greater efficiency, it requires a lining of heat-insulating foil material.
Maintenance
All heating systems require monitoring and maintenance. Water warm walls differ from conventional water heating in a large volume of liquid content. As a rule, water is rarely changed in standard radiators, but they are located in only 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, radiationdirty water can inhibit biological organisms, weakening their immunity. Therefore, it is advisable to change the water in the system every season.
In the process of work, it is necessary to periodically check the automatic deaeration devices. They may 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 highest speed on the circulation pump, expelling air plugs. The same is desirable to do during prolonged power outages.
Conclusion
The “warm walls” heating device is a rather large-scale project. It requires both serious material investments and technical knowledge and construction skills. But the versatility of the idea allows the system to be used not only as a building heating. In summer, by running cold water through the pipes, you can lower the temperature in the room, creating an air conditioning effect. Moreover, such an "air 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. And what? It turns out two in one!
