How to choose an economical electric boiler for home heating

The equipment market is replete with a large number of such heating devices. When making a choice of an electric boiler, an uninitiated user can easily get confused in the differing indicators and technical characteristics.

We will tell you how to choose an electric boiler, when heating with an electric boiler is justified, how to calculate the power, reduce heating bills.

Advantages of electric boilers

• Simple design, minimal heat loss and the highest efficiency factor in the heating season - up to 99.5%.
• There is no need to install it in a separate room at home or summer cottage.
• Electricity, as an energy carrier, does not need to be delivered or stored, which cannot be said about gas or coal.
• Electric heating boilers are safe: in case of water leakage, the electric circuit will open, the electric boiler will turn off.
• Environmentally friendly, no chimney is needed, since no harmful substances and decay products are released during operation.

In the absence of hot water supply, you can choose a double-circuit heating boiler, which is also used as a heating boiler, which is especially important for a summer cottage or a private house. The consumer will have hot water around the clock.

See also - Solid fuel boilers for long burning - rating of the best 2019

TOP-3 best electric boilers for heating

1. Protherm Skat 9 KR 13
2. EVAN EXPERT 9
3. MORA-TOP Electra Comfort 15K

Calculation of the power of an electric boiler - the main indicator of choice

Let's figure out the most important characteristics of electric boilers. Power is the main one, its choice depends not only on the heating area, but also on the presence of an insulating layer and insulation, wall material, and the quality of other building materials.

Power is provided by a heating element, an electrode or an inductance coil (depending on the type of boiler). It is defined in kilowatts (kW) and ranges from 2 to 60 kW.

Sales consultants use a fairly simple formula for calculating the power of an electric boiler, 1 kW of electric boiler power is taken as a basis for every 10 sq. m premises. Let's say we have a private house with an area of ​​100 sq. m, to heat such an area, we will need an electric boiler from 10 kW.

Important:

Consider the heat loss of your home. If the house is not sufficiently insulated, there are bad windows, the power of the electric boiler should be chosen more than the recommended one for your area.

The performance of the heater is taken into account when calculating the heat engineering of a private house, as well as when calculating the power of hot water supply. This will allow you to select an average value in order to compensate for the heat loss.

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Detailed calculation of the power of the electric boiler

The power for heating a private house, summer house or apartment with an electrical heating device is equal to the heat power. To calculate it, they are guided by several simple rules:

• for heating 1 cu. m.at home or summer cottage, you will need about 40 W of power;
• for each of the windows it is necessary to add 100 W, on the door - another 200;
• these data are averaged and depend on climatic conditions: residents of the Far Eastern and Siberian regions multiply the total number by 1.5-2, the coefficient in the middle regions of the Russian Federation is 1.2, and the southern regions use a coefficient of 0.7-0.9;
• for a house or a summer residence, the result of the calculation is multiplied by another 1.5, which is associated with heat loss due to the construction of the roof and the surface of the floor (especially in the absence of a basement).

Let's give an example for a house in the south of the country with an area of ​​80 sq. m., with a ceiling height of 3 m, six window openings, one entrance door. House area - 80 sq. m. must be multiplied by 40 W, then multiplied by 3 (ceiling height indicator), add 200 and 600 W (door and windows). The resulting value is multiplied by the private house and regional coefficient - 0.7 and 1.5. As a result, we get 10,920 watts.

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Installation features

A wall-mounted electric boiler for low-power heating (for example, the Mini or Economy series) has a single-phase voltage of 220 V. For devices with a voltage of 380 V, a three-phase voltage is required.

For an ordinary household outlet, you can choose a low power wall heater of the Economy or Mini class, which consumes no more than 3.5 kW. The power limit is calculated as follows: 16 A is the current in household outlets. With an average voltage of 220 V, we get the maximum power - 3520 W (220x16).

Despite the fact that the technical characteristics of mini or economy boilers up to 12 kW can be connected to a single-phase power line, experts recommend connecting models from 6 kW to a 380 W power line.

Before installing a wall-mounted electric boiler, a cable with a recommended cross-section of 1 mm and a calculated load of 8 A is drawn from the shield. Floor-standing boilers are more productive, owners of houses with a large area should choose this type of boilers.

Types of electric boilers

Depending on the class, purpose and performance, electric heating boilers are:

• floor-standing and wall-mounted: the second device is more compact, which does not affect its performance;
• single-phase (220 V) and three-phase (380 V): this indicator depends on the area of ​​the room;
• single-circuit and double-circuit: the former will provide heating for a private house, the latter will also provide hot water in the tap;
• Heating elements, induction and electrode.

Heating element boiler

The most common type. The wall-mounted apparatus is a tank in which several heating elements are placed. The choice of this mini-boiler is optimal for an apartment or a house, since it is economical due to the multi-stage control mechanism and is easy to maintain. Economy models are the cheapest compared to induction and electrode models. They are also used in conjunction with water heaters. The wall-mounted boiler has manual and automatic modes. Selecting the latter sets the desired temperature at night. The disadvantage of heating elements can be attributed to the appearance of scale, which reduces performance, if not dealt with.

Often, a wall-mounted mini-boiler has a circulation pump to stimulate the movement of the coolant. In modern models, antifreeze can be used instead of water.

Induction boiler

Consists of a small dielectric tube and a ferromagnetic rod. The coolant moves through the tube. The passing electric current heats the rod, which increases the temperature of the coolant. Many people choose such heating devices, because they are durable, compact and economical: thanks to the "soft start" function, they consume 2 times less electricity than heating elements. Their vulnerability is a complex control unit.

Electrode boiler

The so-called "direct action" unit, since there is no heating element. It heats up due to the flow of alternating electric current through the coolant with a frequency of 50 vibrations / second.Heating is carried out due to the rapid movement of water ions. Such an electric boiler is safe, since in the event of a system leak, it will automatically turn off.

The disadvantages include an increased requirement for water, which must have the required resistance. It is also necessary to periodically replace the electrodes, they dissolve over time. To avoid the risk of electric shock, heating with an electrode unit is possible only if there is a good grounding.

What should be considered when choosing and installing an electric boiler?

To determine which electric boiler is better to choose, you need to consider the following factors:

• the estimated heating area of ​​the house, dacha, apartment;
• type of premises;
• weight and dimensions of the device;
• operational period;
• efficiency indicator;
• price limit.

Installation method

Depending on the installation method, you can choose:

• electric boiler with lower branch pipes (inlet and outlet);
• electric boiler with a lower inlet pipe, an upper outlet pipe location.

Wall mounted mini boiler

An economy-class wall-mounted mini-boiler will perfectly heat the room, if the following nuances are also taken into account when installing it:

• The meter can affect electricity consumption. It is advantageous to choose a multi-tariff electricity meter that takes into account the operation of the unit at night.
• A pump off delay program is useful.
• Having made a choice in favor of a circulation built-in pump, you can further increase the efficiency of the equipment by several percent. It increases the speed of movement of water in the system, heating a private house or apartment is faster.
• The efficiency of the appliance can be increased by using pipes of a smaller diameter. The heating time of the water will decrease, therefore, the energy costs will decrease.
• The performance of the equipment also depends on the type of control. For a private house, it is advantageous to take an economy-class wall-mounted appliance with an automatic control panel, since the automation increases the efficiency by 1/4.

But since mechanical control is considered more reliable, mechanically controlled boilers are the most optimal for long-term heating of rooms with a large area.

Rating of electric heating boilers - the choice of the best company

The rating is taken from the sales statistics for 2015-2016. Based on the rating, you can choose the best electric boiler from a popular company.

The most popular manufacturers of electric boilers:

1. Protherm
2. Vaillant
3. Kospel
4. Evberg
5. Dakon

Domestic firms RusNit and EVAN are also popular.

According to the results of the rating of electric boilers, we can safely call the Protherm brand the most popular. We have studied hundreds of reviews and we can confidently say about the reliability of this manufacturer!

Electric heating boilers - reviews

Alexander (Moscow)

Electric boiler PROTHERM 12K

The boiler was advised by a friend, so he took an already proven technique. It has been working without failures for 2 years. I do not recommend buying PROTHERM THERMOLINK S without a regulator, after installation, the savings became tangible, the advantages of this boiler increased.

Advantages: Not great. Fits well into the room

Disadvantages: Small noise during operation, which is not always audible

Marina (Rostov on Don)

Heating boiler Protherm Skat 24K

It is a pity that domestic manufacturers do not make such quality! Bought and forgot!

Advantages: Proterm uses high quality copper heating elements. Soft start system - the electric body does not turn on immediately at maximum power, but with a delay, which prolongs the service life. High-quality stainless steel heat exchangers. The ability to use not all heating elements for heating. The presence of a built-in circulation pump, while it is almost inaudible.

Disadvantages: EXPENSIVE! Quality comes at a price.Production in the Czech Republic and Slovakia - hence the price! A voltage regulator is required, otherwise you can forget about the guarantee.

See also:

• Choosing a solid fuel boiler for long burning: rating of the 10 best boilers
• 11 best water heaters for home according to user reviews
• 13 best gas-fired boilers according to buyers' opinion
• 17 best electric boilers according to buyers' opinion
• 19 best indirect heating boilers according to customer reviews