In winter, the heat in the apartment directly depends on the work of utilities. Even if the radiators in the house are a little warm even in severe cold, it makes sense to take the heating of residential premises into your own hands. To do this, you can install a special heating element for a heating battery with a built-in thermostat. Installation of this device is not difficult, but it is better to take care of it before the start of the heating season. Let's deal with everything in order.
What are electric heaters
TEN is a tubular electric heater. In fact, it is a hollow tube made of stainless or carbon steel. Inside there is a wire spiral, which has a high resistance index. A brass nut is provided for installation, which is screwed into the heater. The heating element is installed in any radiators, suitable for both old cast-iron batteries and modern aluminum and bimetallic ones.
The best option is considered to be a heating element equipped with a thermostat. This device will allow you to control the temperature and protect the heating element from overheating. Given that the device will be installed in a heating radiator, water will play the role of a coolant.
Electric heaters work quite simply. After connecting to the home network, the spiral installed inside the tube begins to heat up, transferring energy to the coolant. If the device is equipped with a thermostat, the required temperature is set. After the batteries reach the set temperature, the electrical circuit will open and the heating element will turn off. When the liquid in the batteries starts to cool, the device will turn on automatically.
The heating element with a thermostat has several additional modes:
- Turbo. In this mode, the heater turns on for a short period of time, but at the same time uses the maximum power. Turbo mode is used to quickly warm up the room.
- Antifreeze. This feature is relevant mainly for non-residential premises. The heating element operates at minimum power, preventing the system from freezing in emergency cases.
The electric heater for the battery allows you to turn the heater into an autonomous system with minimal cost, time and effort.
TEN in a heating battery: how to choose
When choosing a heating element for a radiator, several characteristics are taken into account:
- power;
- battery type compatibility;
- element length;
- type of automation (internal or external).
The price of a heating element ranges from 750 to 1500 rubles. and depends on power, manufacturer and other parameters.
Power
The power of the heater varies from 800 to 2,000 watts. When choosing, you can be guided by the following scheme:
- 20 W/m3. Such power is suitable for new buildings that have excellent thermal insulation.
- 30 W/m3. Recommended for apartments with plastic windows, walls and floors equipped with reliable thermal insulation.
- 40–50 W/m3. Heaters with this power are recommended for use in old houses.
Battery Type
Electric heaters for different radiators differ in the shape of the outer part of the body, material, thickness and diameter of the plug. The product passport says for which batteries the heating element is intended.
On a note. The plugs of cast iron radiators usually have a 32 mm thread, aluminum - 25 mm.
Heating tube length
The length of the heating element must be sufficient to ensure the circulation of the coolant in all sections of the battery and the uniformity of heating. The optimal size corresponds to the length of the radiator minus 10 cm.
Manufacturers
Good reviews have Italian Thermowatt heating elements, Ukrainian Electron-T, Polish and Russian models. Products from China are not always of high quality.
Heating element installation: important features
The heating element is mounted according to the following scheme: one of the battery plugs is unscrewed, and a heating element is installed in its place using a threaded connection. A rubber gasket is used to ensure the tightness of the joint.
ibuilder.decorexpro.com/en/ recommends: it is best to screw in the heaters instead of the bottom plug. There is a logical explanation for this: heated water will rise and cold water will fall, which will ensure the efficient operation of the heating element.
This procedure is repeated in each room of the apartment. We remind you that installation is carried out before the start of the heating season.
It is important! Shut-off valves and a bypass must be installed near the radiator to which the electric heater is planned to be connected. If there are no valves, all the heat will go to the neighbors. If there is no bypass, the common house heating system will be broken.
A few more important points:
- Do not use excessive force during the installation process. It is not necessary to tighten the contact nuts and the heating element fasteners with force. Brittle material may burst.
- It is strongly recommended to install a safety valve or a small expansion tank after the shut-off valve with a volume equal to 10% of the battery volume. This is due to the fact that when the coolant in a closed system is heated, it expands and increases the pressure in it.
Rules for operation and maintenance
In order for the heating element installed in the heating battery to serve as long as possible, the following rules are observed:
- The heater is switched on only when there is water in the battery. If liquid enters an already heated instrument tube, a small thermal explosion may occur. As a result, not only the heater will fail: the heating battery may be damaged.
- During operation of the device, scale will form on its surface, which must be periodically cleaned. The recommended maintenance schedule is once every three months. If the thickness of the scale on the heating tube exceeds 2 mm, the heat transfer will decrease and the device may fail.
- To exclude possible power surges, it is recommended to connect the heating element through an uninterruptible power supply or a stabilizer. When installed, the heater is grounded.
- Manufacturers recommend using only distilled water as a coolant. In apartment buildings with a common riser, this requirement is unrealistic, so you need to clean the heaters from scale more often.
Conclusion
Installing a heating element is one of the ways to ensure comfort and coziness in residential premises. This design can be compared with an electric oil radiator, but it provides faster and more uniform heating of all rooms in the apartment. But you need to keep in mind that with the constant use of such a device, electricity bills will grow very significantly. The installation sequence of heating elements radiator is shown in the video below.
