Choosing a water heater: electric, gas

Hot water in the home is needed - no doubt about it, and projects of modern residential houses necessarily laid system of hot water (DHW).

Apartment buildings supplied with hot water centrally - connecting the domestic hot water to the backbone heating plant, and the owners of cottages in the absence of such an opportunity to resolve this issue install water heating devices.

In addition to expensive dual-circuit heating boilers, designed also to be connected to the DHW system, there are many other types of water-heating devices, different view of energy consumption, design and other technical characteristics.

At the same time ways to meet housing needs in hot water is constantly replenished with new technologies, and existing heaters for tap water are improved. Consider the most common types of machines that are used for heating the cold water in the water pipe system, and the point of water intake.

Appointment of household water heaters and requirements to them

Water units are designed to meet the domestic hot water requirements and, depending on the species, may It is used to ensure complete DHW or compact devices mounted on individual points water intake. Some types of water heaters can be used as alternative instruments used during repairs of the main equipment and main heating plants.

According to the type of energy consumed water heaters are divided into electric and gas, but both varieties of these devices must meet the following requirements:

security - a set of parameters that minimize the risk of explosion or fire in the building, getting the person an injury or poisoning;
Efficiency - power water heating device must provide an actual demand for hot water, and the cost of operation of the heaters - commensurate with the effect;
aesthetics - natural condition of the demand of modern household appliances.

Types of water heating devices

Household water heaters produced today on the mechanics of its heating can be divided into the following groups:

flow hot-water heating device;
water heaters;
aggregates flow-cumulative warming.

Let us consider these groups represented in the market as gas and electrical appliances.

flow-through units

Water flow-type devices, which are meant energy consumption are divided into gas and electric, automatically activated when opening the faucet and produce heating of a moving water stream through the walls water supply. Depending on the species, the action of the flow heater can provide all users of domestic hot water, some of them, or one sampling point of hot water.

Gas hot-water heater

This domestic water heating device, sometimes referred to by the name of the inventor of the column Junkers, made over a hundred years, but due to their merits, has not lost popularity even today.

Simplistically gas boiler consists of a housing in which the burner is mounted, a heater and a security system. The first models of the device works in the following, very simple principle.

hot water passes through the gas line heat exchanger column, which housed the burner. The main body located manual feed gas to the burners levers, and next to them was igniter - continuously burning a small nozzle. For supplying hot water to the water tap point opened, whereupon a shift lever manually supplied gas to the burner. The flame burners warmed heat exchanger that heat transferred thereto passes through the water. To stop the supply of hot water at the tap gas manually overlaps with burners extinguished, whereupon the point of water intake valve closed.

Sequential Modifications modern gas water heater is a complex water-heating equipment with a high degree of operational safety, design options which allow you to select a device in accordance with the decoration style premises.

Such water-heating unit consists of the following units:

body of metal;
burner ignition device;
automatic ignition system;
Copper heat exchanger coil;
Complex devices automatically stop the flow of gas in case of overheating of the unit, the fall draft in the chimney, the extinction of the burner, excessive or insufficient water pressure in the water;
mechanisms for manually adjusting the intensity of the combustion gas and water movement;
a diffuser with an outlet for connection to a chimney;
in receiving and outlet fittings for water;
Gas fitting liner.

When opening the tap water a geyser is enabled automatically - by means of water pressure impact on the diaphragm water node, which opens the gas supply to the burners and simultaneously turn on the ignition device igniting the gas in the heat exchanger. With insufficient or excessive water pressure in the system gas to the burners will not be served.

Most geysers are located outside on the body controls the degree of heat and intensity movement of water through which manually set desired temperature value at the output displayed on display.

With more complex devices - columns of hot water modulation structure adjustment is made automatically.

Important! Controlled temperature water by diluting it with cold with a mixer at the point of consumption impairs automation and results in premature failure of the heater.

gas hot-water columns are produced with several types of ignition devices - working from the home network 220, hydraulic generator, battery or piezoelectric.

Of these species is the least reliable battery-powered device due to the unpredictability of the resource.

To make an emergency shutdown of a water heating unit on the gas column, a special key.

gas combustion products are removed from the chamber through the outlet pipe to the chimney in compliance with safety regulations.

The most common in domestic atmospheric gas column - equipped open type combustion chamber, into which oxygen is supplied with air from the room.

More sophisticated, but complicated, is water-heating unit with a closed combustion chamber, using the outside air, which additional fan is blown through the coaxial chimney - tube with double acting gas flows counter orientation. However, these units have a significant drawback - elektrozavisimost because the fan is powered by mains.

How to choose a gas column

By buying this hot water unit to focus on its power is difficult, so you need to choose the column on performance - it contains the product in the passport and measured in l / min (liters per minute) during heating of water to 25 degrees. The higher the score, the more points the water intake when running the column can work at the same time. For example, a device with a capacity of 10 l / min, is capable of providing one user.

With limited budgets and frequent power cuts would be appropriate to choose the atmospheric hot-water column with a non-volatile battery-powered ignition system or a piezoelectric element. Quality batteries, such as Energizer or Duracell, provide speakers to work for 2-3 months.

If no flat chimney shaft smoke output pipe unit can be output through the wall or transom window Binding. With open-type combustor tube may be conventional, with a closed chamber - coaxial and column - turbo, with a fan.

Important! In the absence of vertical flue to take smoke ventilation shaft is prohibited!

When wear water networks acquisition gas ignition device column of hydrogenerator not appropriate due to its vulnerability to waterhammer.

In order to neutralize this factor, it is necessary to install an additional gearbox.

Important! Constantly burning pilot light of outdated models of columns at the end of several months of work provides tangible addition to fuel consumption and, in addition, destroys the front wall of the heat exchanger. Therefore, the purchase of gas columns should be discarded.

Electric water heater column

Stationary flow-through electric heating unit consists of a tank, in which, depending on the volume is mounted, one or more high-power heaters. Water heating comes from its contact with the heater during the passage of the tank.

The performance of most of these devices ranges from two to four liters per minute, so providing secondary feed water temperature at the tap of the consumer, for example, washing or spray soul.

But it produced electric flow heaters and more power consuming current voltage of 380 V and able to provide hot water several points consumers.

Stationary heaters water flow type convenient its compactness and ease of use, but the heating elements in the 3-10 kW is required to connect the individual lines and causes an increase in power consumption of the heaters.

Electric heater-flow valve

A variety of electrical heaters are flow-type water heating devices that combine the tap and apparatus for heating water.

Such a device is mounted to the sink and is connected to the water supply. the heater is powered by a 220 V network

The principle of operation is based on heating the water while passing through the heater housing, wherein the heater is located. The heater turns on automatically when you open the tap and, due to the low internal volume of the housing and high-power heating element, the water is heated almost instantly - after 3-4 seconds after turning it on already warm output.

Water temperature is controlled by the intensity of its passage through the apparatus, the adjustment range is 40-60 degrees.

Such devices are also popular due to its portability and ease of use, yet powerful heater (3-3.5 kW) requires a separate line wiring.

Accumulating water heating device

Water accumulating aggregates principle of operation different from the flow in the presence of a particular container body volume in which the hot water heated by cooling or least Incoming cold instead expended hot. To slow the cooling water tank is equipped with thermal insulation, which saves fuel and resource heater. Furthermore tank with water stored in the case of heating devices and security apparatus.

Accumulating device boilers produced gas and electric.

Gas storage units

The device, also called a boiler, consists of a tank with capacity of 50 liters -300 with integrated heat exchanger, in which the combustion gas. the combustion products are discharged from the heat exchanger through a gas pipe.

Filling the water boiler is automatic, as it flow. Feed into the container of cold water comprises a flow of gas to the burner, the gas supply is turned on and the burner ignited. The flow of heat from the combustion gas is sent to the turbulator - tubular element of special design, which takes place through the walls of passing heating water. After heating the water to a temperature controller mounted on the pressure sensor closes the gas supply and burners are extinguished.

Boilers incremental steps as geysers, differ in combustor performance type (Open, closed) and power supply automatic ignition device (battery, piezoelectric element, household electricity grid). Advantages and disadvantages relating to these components in the gas heater, and relevant for boilers.

Most models of boilers because of the significant size and weight are produced in outdoor performance. But the device is relatively small capacity (50-100 liters), mounted on the wall, quite heavy and require a sufficient margin of safety foundation.

How to choose a gas boiler

Choosing a hot water storage-type unit, it is necessary to know the average daily consumption of hot water for a family. Statistics and analysis show that the number of daily hot water consumption by one person is between 50 and 70 liters. Multiplying this value by the number of family members, giving a total daily consumption in view of the fact that hot water, depending on the time of year and destination, to varying degrees, diluted with cold during use.

In practice, the optimum amount of the boiler to be installed in their own home should be 150-200 liters, for stays of large families with small children - and more than two hundred.

Power gas hot water boiler starts from 4 kW, a device with a tank volume of 150 liters equipped with burners 7 kW - calculation of the total heat capacity per hour.

A perfect manufacturing tank material - stainless steel, but such models have a high cost. Price boiler with tank from steel with an internal protective coating (enamel, glass porcelain, titanium) below, but their quality is unfortunately impossible to test. Hence the conclusion - you need to buy a boiler from a reputable manufacturer, in this case will be helpful to know the opinion of the repairman of these units in your city.

Electric hot-water storage-type units

The unit as a device for gas, is a steel tank, placed in the housing slightly larger. Between the walls of the tank and the thermal insulation body is arranged like a thermos flask. At the bottom of the tank is installed a thermostat heater and two pipes - in receiving the cold water and an outlet for hot water.

The device is connected to the water supply flexible hoses with threaded connections at the ends and the opening is filled with water to a hot water tap sink mixer. When the water heater in the network it is heated to a temperature of TAN trailers manually on the thermostat - 50-85 degrees, and then disables the sensor heating. PETN Job resume automatically after the start of hot water consumption, in return when it goes into the tank is cold, or after lowering the temperature in the tank 2 degrees.

By water feeding method for electric storage boilers are classified into pressure and gravity.

Boiler pressure type crashes into the hot water system so that when opened in a mixer with hot tap water to the tank begins to flow cold. pressure sealed boiler tank, so the pressure of cold water in the hot pressed out of the tank and fed to the crane - the selection of the hot water in such devices is made from the upper layers.

An advantage of the pressure type hot-water aggregates is the ability to use a single device for providing hot water to all points of DHW system, albeit not at the same time - if you open a few taps, the water in which the output is not enough warm.

Disadvantages of pressure boilers:

accumulation of sludge in the tank and the need for periodic cleaning of the tank, the precipitate not only impairs the quality of water, but also exacerbates the deposition of scale in PETN;
Water in reservoir pressure cylinder is locked between the mixer and wash-return valve, preventing maintenance of hot water in the riser, and hence is under pressure; by overlapping the central water supply system of the boiler tank partially emptied (up to 20% by volume), and inside it will create a vacuum - the pressure drops cause cracking in the internal protective coating tank;
the check valve has the shutoff device design, gives the hot water riser in a dangerous increase of the heating pressure - part of the electricity is wasted;
more laborious procedure for replacing the magnesium anode, which prevents corrosion of the tank.

Gravity boiler

The device is non-pressure water heaters type much easier. In fact, it is a container with a lid equipped with float-type valve, which is also mounted with a heater thermostat - heating water is made to the temperature preset for the thermostat manually. Reservoir often made of polypropylene, the tank container may be from 5 to 100 liters or more.

Unconfined heater tank is not sealed from the top, the water is not in it under pressure, and because of its revenues in the device must be placed on a raised platform. When a sufficient volume of water tank unit can serve pressureless and 2-3 intake point.

Non-pressure device - an outdated kind of housing hot water system equipment, but as a source of hot water for the garden or just a shower in the apartment it is quite suitable.

The use of these devices is also justified in the water supply pumps water supply system including at the opening of the tap.

Advantages of non-pressure units:

durability reservoir;
availability price range;
ease of installation.

Disadvantages:

limitations in performance and pressure;
presence overflow factor at failure of the float device.

Flowing water heaters, storage type

Flow-hot-water storage units are essentially a combination of the flow-through heating devices and instruments incremental steps. At the heart of the machine - the capacity of a certain size and a large capacity heater, which contact with the moving flow of water entering the tank is heated rapidly.

In the simplest models of electric heaters of this type are used pressureless diagram in more complex - standard pressurized.

The main advantage of aggregates flow-funded construction - in the presence of water, heat, hot already when entering it in the tank, that is, high-performance operation.

The capacity of most of these heaters is 10-50 liters, some models are equipped with mixers, but it is made and more powerful devices, e.g., line units Gorenje GBK capacity from 80 up to 200 liters.

Advantages of water heater flow-funded construction:

combining the advantages of the two taken as a basis for water-heating devices will neutralize their disadvantages;
most compact models;
switch the flow during the cooling mode, the water in the tank quickly output device in the operating mode;
when unconfined performance - a good option for a shower or a garden.