Electrical supply of a private house, as well as the arrangement of a heating and sewerage system in it if it is located far from centralized communications, is a rather difficult task. However, modern technologies and equipment make it possible to solve it quite effectively.
Autonomous Home Project
Before proceeding with the construction of a residential building, it is necessary to draw up its drawings indicating the methods of supplying all necessary communications. An autonomous house will be comfortable only if it has:
- electricity,
- gas,
- heating,
- plumbing,
- sewerage.
About how exactly all these types of communications can be summed up if the house is located far from centralized engineering systems, and we'll talk further.
Power supply
The most difficult thing to make an autonomous house comfortable for living is if it is located far from power lines. There are three ways to ensure a stable power supply to a building:
- By installing a liquid fuel generator. Such equipment solves the problem of providing buildings with electricity very effectively. By connecting a pump and a boiler to the generator, it is possible to equip the house, including plumbing with heating. The disadvantages of this method of power supply of a private house can only be attributed to a rather high cost. Liquid fuel today is expensive, and you will need a lot of it. In addition, a separate room with good sound insulation will have to be built for the generator.
- By installing a wind farm. This method is highly economical. You won't have to pay a penny to get electricity. However, the costs at the initial stage will be very high. After all, it is not enough just to install a windmill. You will also need equipment to store energy and convert DC to AC.
- Having assembled a mini hydroelectric power station. This method is good if a river or a large stream flows near the house.
- By installing solar panels. In this case, you will not have to pay for electricity either. However, such equipment will be very expensive.
Most often, homes in remote areas are electrified using generators. In the event that there are other buildings nearby, it makes sense for neighbors to chip in and install a wind generator that provides electricity to all houses at once. Mini-hydroelectric power stations and solar panels are practically not used in our country.
How to choose a generator for your home
Autonomous power supplya building erected in a remote area is usually arranged taking into account the following recommendations:
- If the building is located near power lines, but the power supply is irregular, it is advisable to use a gasoline generator. Such models are usually not too expensive, but their resource is somewhat limited.
- Completely autonomous power supply is usually arranged using a diesel generator. This is a very productive equipment, designed for long-term operation.
- Generator power is determined by adding the power of all consumers plus a margin of 15-20%. In small country houses, gasoline models with a power of up to 2 kW are usually used to provide emergency power supply. For a residential building, diesel generators with a capacity of 30 kW or more are more often chosen. This equipment is able to provide a country house with electricity uninterruptedly.
Features of gasoline and diesel generators
Gasoline autonomous power plants for the home can be designed for 500 or 1500 hours of operation. According to this indicator, they are significantly inferior to diesel models. There is also professional equipment of this type on the market, designed for 3000 hours. But such generators are quite expensive.
Diesel models are reliable and have a long service life. The only inconvenience that arises when using them is the need to run at full load every 100 hours. The fact is that this type of equipment does not tolerate idling very well.
Wind turbines
The design of autonomous stations of this type usually includes the following elements:
- Mast-mounted blades, rotor and generator.
- Batteries with charge controller.
- Inverter to convert current.
- Electric drive for orientation following wind direction.
- A sensor that monitors the movement of air masses.
- Emergency stop system (used in stormy winds).
- Automatic switch to diesel generator or centralized power supply.
How to choose
The efficiency of a wind turbine depends on two main factors: wind speed and blade area. For example, with 1 m2 of the receiving device, at a speed of movement of air masses of 3 m/s, you can get about 6.5 W of energy, at 21 m/s - 2.2 kW. For a small country house, installations with a capacity of no more than 0.1-2 kW are usually chosen. For a residential building, you will need equipment of at least 20 kW when using an electric boiler. An autonomous house, the project of which provides for gas heating, solid fuel or liquid fuel, is usually electrified from a 5 kW wind generator. Such equipment will be quite enough for the uninterrupted operation of basic household appliances - a refrigerator, TV, computer, washing machine, etc.
Autonomous gasification
To live outside the citywas comfortable, of course, it is necessary not only to provide an autonomous house with electricity. The building must also be gasified. If for a stove it is enough to buy a cylinder and fill it every 3 months, then to equip the heating system, you will have to purchase much more sophisticated equipment.
Large tanks are called, with the use of which autonomous gas heating of the house is equipped, gas holders. They are usually filled with a mixture of propane and butane and are designed for pressures up to 1.6 MPa. The sizes of such containers can be different - from 2700 to 20,000 m3. For a private house with an area of 200 m3, the use of a gas tank of the minimum volume will be quite sufficient.
Connection registration
You cannot install this equipment yourself. You need to contact a private or regional gas company. In the first case, the cost of work will be slightly higher. The fact is that autonomous gasification of a house is possible only after obtaining various kinds of permits. Private firms usually take care of the collection of all necessary documentation. When contacting a regional company, you will have to go through the authorities on your own.
Dig a hole of appropriate size under the gas tank. The tank is installed on a metal base. A trench is dug to the house from it and a highway is laid. Before the start-up of the equipment, testing activities are carried out in the presence of representatives of Rostekhnadzor.
Heating
Get warmstand-alone country house can in many ways. Usually, the installation of a heating system for a residential building in the absence of centralized engineering systems includes the following steps:
- Installation of the boiler. At the moment, both electric and gas, as well as solid fuel and liquid fuel varieties of this equipment are produced. The first option is chosen if there is a wind generator of sufficient power. A gas boiler is connected to the tank with propane and butane, respectively. In all other cases, solid fuel or liquid fuel boilers are used. The first type is more economical. Equipment that runs on liquid fuel is more convenient to use.
- Installation of highways. Currently, autonomous heating of a house is usually arranged using polypropylene, steel or metal-plastic pipes.
- Installation and connection of batteries. The most popular variety at the moment are bimetallic radiators. Somewhat cheaper and less durable aluminum models are also sometimes used.
- Installing the expansion tank. Depending on the design, it is located either next to the boiler or in the attic of the building.
- Installation of the circulation pump. It is placed on the bypass on the return pipe in the immediate vicinity of the boiler. A filter is placed in front of the pump to clean the coolant.
- Set up a security group.
- Pressure testing and start-up.
Today, an autonomous house, located far from centralized engineering systems, is most often heated usingliquid fuel boilers. However, since this type of equipment is quite expensive, gas installations powered by tanks, as well as electric models operating from large windmills, are gaining more and more popularity recently.
Plumbing
At the moment, only two types of heating boilers are produced - single-circuit and double-circuit. For a house located in a remote area, the second option would be the most suitable. When using a double-circuit boiler in the house, you can arrange not only heating, but also a full-fledged plumbing.
Drilling a well is usually entrusted to a company specializing in this. The cost of their services depends on the depth of groundwater in the area. To save money, it is worth pre-ordering geodetic surveys on the territory. A water pipe is brought to the house through a trench with a depth not higher than the level of soil freezing. Internal wiring is carried out according to the project with the connection of the hot water line to the boiler.
Autonomous sewage disposal system
If power lines and even gas pipelines are available in almost any village, then most residents of remote settlements do not even dream of sewerage. Almost all owners of suburban real estate face the need to install a system such as an autonomous sewage system in a private house. It is assembled as follows:
- The central riser is mounted. In a one-story house, its installationoptional, but desirable.
- At a distance of at least 5 and no more than 15 meters from the house, a hole is dug and a septic tank is installed.
- From it to the building a highway is being dug below the freezing level of the soil. The trench must have a slope of at least 3 cm per linear meter.
- Most often, an autonomous sewage system in a private house is assembled using polyethylene, polypropylene or metal-plastic pipes. Before laying them, the bottom of the trench is laid with rubble. The pipes are covered first with sand and then with earth. The elbows of the sewer system can only be arranged at an obtuse angle.
- Wiring inside the house is carried out in compliance with SNIP standards. Do not place the toilet above the kitchen or living quarters. The distance between plumbing fixtures should not be less than 25 cm. The toilet bowl is located in close proximity to the riser. The further it is installed, the greater the likelihood of blockages. Washing machines and dishwashers are connected to the lounger via flexible pipes. Siphons must be installed under the bathtub and sink.
Ready autonomous home: price
Today, if you wish, you can not only order a project of a building equipped with all necessary communications. Some construction companies also sell ready-made autonomous country houses. Most often these are prefabricated cobbled or modular frame-panel structures. These houses are quite expensive. Depending on the types of equipment used and the size of the building itselfthe price can vary between 1-3 million rubles and more.
