Heat distributors allow you to take into account the consumed thermal energy with maximum savings in terms of payment. At the same time, there is a tendency to reduce heat consumption. In order to correctly and successfully implement such a scheme, it is necessary to take into account three aspects that are interrelated. First, the regulatory and technical base is being developed and approved. Secondly, reliable and cost-effective regulatory and accounting tools are selected. It is also necessary to treat heat consumption rationally, take into account its payment depending on actual use.
Mounting bases
At the state level, an appropriate law has been adopted, according to which individual heat meters must be installed in reconstructed and erected residential buildings.
The relevant regulations allow the installation of heat distributors. Apartment meters are used for horizontal wiring of heating systems, they are installed on the inlet heating outlet. In the case of vertical wiring, these devices are not suitable for two reasons: they are too expensive to mount on each radiator element, and they are notcapture the meager costs and temperature change to be measured on each heater.
How does the device work?
Heat distributors after 4-5 minutes measure the temperature of the radiator at a specific point, the results are stored in non-volatile memory as a thermal difference between the battery area and the air in the room. Therefore, the readings are identical to the amount of heat that came from the radiator during the accounting period. The data is taken into account in arbitrary units, which are subsequently multiplied by the heatsink coefficient corresponding to the specific type and dimensions of the device.
With the same temperature readings in the room, as well as on the surface of radiators of different sizes, the data of the distributors will be identical. However, the heat transfer of a large device is higher. To correct this moment, there is just the specified coefficient. Each manufacturer has accounting tables for this indicator for all types of radiators. Information is included in computer programs for recalculation, which is automatically recorded during payment.
Heat accounting procedure
The apartments are taken annually and the total is dispersed by the actual figures. Tenants are given a balance between the amount of payments, taking into account approximate rates, and the final payment. The final amount is counted for the use of heating in the next year. Therefore, if there are personal heat meters, the amount of payment for heating depends on the actual use in the houses. Heat distributors are tested every 10 years.
The payback period for such installations for a two-room apartment is no more than one year with a service life of thermostats up to thirty, and distributors up to ten years.
Organizational rules
There are several rules that will help organize apartment-by-apartment accounting using a heat distributor for a battery. These include:
- Mandatory installation of thermostatic regulators on heating units.
- At least 75 percent of rooms should be equipped with correction and distribution units.
- The heat energy spent on heating a residential building should in fact be taken into account by a meter common to the house.
- In the housing office, it is necessary to recalculate for citizens according to the readings of metering devices.
Radiator type options
Any radiator heat distributor can be used with different wiring of the heating system, and it is much cheaper than a meter. The device is easy to install, maintain, the operational period is at least ten years without additional verification.
Vertical buildings account for more than 90 percent of the available housing stock and the majority of residential buildings under construction. In such constructions, apart from distributors, there are no other effective apartment metering technologies.
It is worth noting that the considered device takes into account onlypart of the heat supplied from the battery to the room. Some share is lost due to heat exchange through external wall partitions. These losses depend not only on the provided design and construction solutions, but also on the outside air temperature.
Installation
For correct operation, the heat distributors in the apartment must be correctly installed. Most manufacturers have developed and implemented installation technologies for various types of heating units sold in the respective market.
Some devices cannot be equipped with a distributor for technical reasons:
- Appliances containing steam.
- Models placed in the floor screed.
- Modifications that emit heat from the ceiling of the room.
- Units with built-in electric fan.
- Devices regulated by air valves.
- Devices where it is impossible to stop the circulation of the coolant.
- Outdoor air related products.
A specialist who installs valves professionally can determine other restrictions in each specific situation that prevent installation.
Financial highlights
On a two-pipe riser, you can easily install regulators and heat distributors. For single pipe installations, bypasses will be required to install the heat supply control unit. Counters in the room are installed regardless of their availability. The cost of a unit is from a thousandrubles, the price of the system is from 5 to 6 thousand. It consists of a distributor, radio transmitter, valves, bypass. The device gives information about the amount of heat given to the room (kW / h). From an economic point of view, it is advisable to install distributors together with regulators.
According to the results of a full calendar year, the readings of each distributor, taking into account the radiator coefficient, will be similar to adjacent devices. After removing the information, tenants can roughly estimate the amount of payment. When tariffs are increased, the costs will correspondingly increase proportionally. Real savings can only be made with the proper operation of thermostats by reducing the temperature of the radiators.
Features
The units under consideration have a number of nuances regarding models and installation. For example, a distributor for underfloor heating is included in the whole heating system of a dwelling, it is distinguished by a special nature of functioning. Considering that the coolant circulates through all pipelines of the unit, its preparation is carried out separately. To isolate the floor heating water installation from the "supply" and "return", it is planned to install a floor heating manifold, which is completed with a pump group, a check valve and a distributor.
In addition, the units are divided into brands. There are many manufacturers, among which the Pulsar brand can be distinguished. It was developed by a German company, produced using European technologies and hasthe following benefits:
- Aluminum adapter included in product price.
- It is possible to remove data without entering the dwelling.
- A free program is available to take readings.
- Simplified setup and operation techniques are applied.
- Provides an open exchange protocol and protection against external heating.
In addition, the Pulsar heat distributor has an indication of its removal from the radiator, a shutdown function for the summer period and the ability to verify readings using a checksum.
