Methods of heating and energy sources for heating of a conventional family house

The choice of heating and energy sources for said heating of a family house is one of the key preliminary decisions the owner has to decide during construction or reconstruction. It is possible to use a compromise between the costs associated with the acquisition of a heating system, the time required for installation and the comfort and well-being in heated spaces.

What method of heating and which energy source to choose for heating of a family house?

A properly chosen source of energy for heating of a family house has a much greater impact than it might seem at first glance. Heating with solid fuels in the form of wood or coal has been in decline for a long time, whether due to uneconomical operation of solid fuel boilers, high space requirements for coal / wood storage or the need for regular service. Heating with solid fuel boilers is also very difficult to regulate. In recent years, this problem has been largely solved by accumulation tanks, which will allow the boiler to operate in optimal mode, because it saves excess heat for later, but multiplies the cost of purchasing and maintaining a heating system and takes up a lot of valuable space. Account must also be taken of the obligation to inspect solid fuel boilers and to clean the chimney regularly (at least once a year), which are other regular costs of operating a heating system that many people often forget. These costs can climb into the thousands.

When choosing an energy source, it is therefore important to take into account not only the possibilities and preferences of future residents of the house, but also what sources are commonly available in the locality. Coal or wood can be imported virtually anywhere, but it is necessary to solve their space-intensive storage, in the case of wood, in addition, its processing (cutting, splitting). The gas pipeline network in the Czech Republic is also not one of the densest, in smaller cities there is still the possibility of a gas connection, but in the Czech Republic many areas are completely untouched by gas.

The Czech market is saturated with manufacturers, importers and sellers of gas boilers and solid fuel boilers to such an extent that familiarization with individual brands and types and choosing the appropriate one has become a task for a person to take a week off at work. The situation is not better in the heat pump market either. The general popularity of heat pumps arose mainly from the possibility of using a government subsidy for their acquisition. The cheapest heat pumps and boilers usually do not need to be taken into account at all. Their low purchase price is usually offset by cheap parts and poor quality workmanship, in the case of heat pumps also by high noise. The problem is with the service and maintenance of lesser-known brands of heat pumps and boilers after the warranty period ends.

Sellers of gas boilers also sometimes tend to “oversize” the boiler against the heat loss of modern houses. It is rather a bad habit from the past, when the houses were not as well insulated as we have today and at the same time the gas boilers did not have high efficiency, so it was necessary to install gas boilers with high output. However, in the case of modern low-energy houses, a high-performance boiler can ultimately lead to higher heating costs because it switches more often, which leads to higher gas consumption. When deciding on gas heating, it is also important to take into account the costs of installing a gas connection and gas distribution, in case the gas is connected only, for example, to the beginning of the street. Gas boilers and flue gas outlets for gas boilers are also subject to the obligation of regular inspection, so there are additional costs for the operation of the gas heating system.

When producing heat using boilers or heat pumps, we talk about central heating. Heat is produced, for example, in the basement or technical room where there is a boiler that heats the water. Heated water is then distributed to the individual heated rooms of the building by means of pipes and pumps. On the way from the technical room to the heated room, heat losses occur in the water distribution system, which can reach tens of percent in extreme cases.

All types of boilers, whether gas or solid fuels, are subject to inspection. It is not good to underestimate them, in the case of gas boilers and flue gas outlets, if the service is neglected, the flue gas may leak, in extreme cases even an explosion, when heating with solid fuels there can catch soot in a long-time uncleaned chimney . There is no risk of these worries when heating with electricity.

One of the important helpers in the selection and implementation of heating of a family house is the heating project and calculations of heat losses of the building. It is important to install heating with an output at least 20-30% higher than the heat loss of individual rooms. Well-processed and calculated heat losses of the building should therefore be one of the documents that must be kept before choosing the energy source and heater for heating. The wrong choice based on poor quality documentation can ultimately result in many times higher heating costs.

At the same time, it is important to regulate the heating system correctly for the most economical operation. We are each different and we prefer different temperatures in different rooms. Generally more difficult to control heating includes water radiator systems, direct heaters, because these heaters heat to a high temperature. Due to the large temperature difference between the heater and the room, there is local overheating and swirling of the dust. On the contrary, low-temperature underfloor heating is one of the most controllable. The simplest is the regulation of heating films. The heating films are controlled in a 0/1 manner, ie they either heat or do not heat. When installed directly under a floating roof, it is a direct heating and the reaction to the required temperature changes is immediate.

Electricity is the most available source of energy, nowadays it is connected in every household. Heating from electricity is therefore the easiest way to heat a family house, even from the logistics point of view.

Boilers for solid fuels or gas, precisely due to the forced increase in their low efficiency, switched to controlling the conversion of input energy into heat using computers and electronics. Whether you are heating with coal, wood, gas, direct heaters or using carbon heating films, in the event of a power failure, you will not be heating anyway. So don’t be fooled by the argument that you won’t be able to heat your house with heating films in the event of a power outage. Without electricity, you won’t be able to heat with any other type of heating today.

Does electric heating concern some type revision?

The wiring revision could be performed if it was possible to place your favorites on the outdoor heating. If this is not the case, for example, the insurance company wants to reduce the insurance indemnity in the event of an insured event. Wiring inspection is a must, whether you heat with electricity or not. There is no unexpected cost associated with the electrically printed method during the entire heating system lifespan.

In modern low-energy houses with low heat demand, from the point of view of the cost of the entire heating system, it is uneconomical to heat with complex hot water systems. The initial investment in electric heating is much lower, installation is simpler and less time consuming, and electric underfloor heating does not take up space anywhere such as a boiler or heat pump. Maintenance, failure and service life of the heating system must also be taken into account.

In general, it is pointless to install complex and expensive heating systems in today’s well-insulated houses, when we can implement the entire heating much more easily. In modern houses with low heat loss, the operating consumption of heating films is very close to a heat pump. In addition, the heating foils are maintenance-free, nothing is rotating anywhere (compressors, pumps, fans), water does not flow anywhere, nothing hums anywhere and does not place demands on valuable living space.

Are you interested in our LARX CARBON-FILM.COM heating system and in an independent price offer? Do not hesitate and contact us via the contact form on our website and together we will find a suitable solution for heating of your building.