The saying “Everything is good in moderation” takes on particular relevance when talking about heating in winter. If you can fry eggs on your batteries, then you have two ways: open the window ( and get cold????) or install temperature controllers on the batteries. What are they and how to choose?
What is a thermostat for a heating battery
Heating temperature controllers have been actively used in the West since the middle of the last century. Initially, they were intended to save heating costs. European manufacturers still focus on this function, developing the direction of electronic temperature controllers and thermostats for heating with economical operating modes. However, in Russia, heat regulators are often purchased for another - secondary - purpose: to reduce the temperature of heating a room. Some apartments are heated so intensively that their owners have to open the windows even in a thirty-degree frost. In such cases, the main task is to normalize the temperature regime and create a comfortable living environment for a person. However, in recent years, the issue of saving resources has gradually come to the fore, and helping devices are becoming more and more in demand.
So, who needs a temperature controller for a heating battery:
- those who suffer from heat in their apartment during the heating season,
- for those who want to save on heating costs.
Types of thermostats for a radiator
Ball valve for radiator. Strictly speaking, this is not a thermostat at all, but a locking mechanism. But it would be wrong not to mention it: in some cases, this is the only option to reduce the intensity of heating. For example, for cast-iron batteries that take a long time to cool down and heat up for a long time, automatic thermostats for a radiator are not suitable, and a ball valve allows you to shut off the flow of coolant (hot water in the heating battery) and thereby reduce the temperature in the room.
Cost: from 200 rubles.
Battery thermostats, unlike ball valves, do not need to be controlled manually, they work "by themselves" - of course, after setting. Any thermostat for heating radiators consists of two parts: a valve and a control element. A valve is, roughly speaking, a piece of pipe with a closing mechanism (working cone). It crashes directly into the heating battery. But the control element is attached to the valve. It acts on the blocking mechanism, causing it to lower or rise, thereby partially closing and opening the flow channel.
Types of control elements:
1. Thermal head. Has no power supply. It reacts to the ambient temperature. Below we will analyze its device in detail.
Cost: from 1,000 rubles.
Temperature controllers on the battery reduce the intensity of heating by reducing the amount of incoming coolant. They do not affect the heating pipes in any way!
2. Electronic regulator, or thermostat. The thermostats are equipped with a temperature sensor and a processor. The flow control of the heating medium is based on the readings of the sensor. And the processor allows you to program the thermostat for the radiator to the operating mode suitable for your home. For example, you can set the minimum heating power during the weekday, when all your family members are busy with activities outside the home, and increase the temperature in the evening to return to warm rooms.
Electronic thermostats require mains or battery power. The most modern models allow you to control the process via the Internet or a mobile application.
With the help of electronic thermostats, heating costs can be reduced by 20-30%. It is estimated that when using a thermostat in houses with an individual heating boiler, the cost of a thermostat pays off in 1 year.
Cost: from 2,000 rubles.
The design of the regulator with a thermal head
Thermal head regulators are the most common temperature regulators for a heating battery. Let's talk about how they work.
Inside the thermal head there is a bellows with a temperature-sensitive composition (liquid or gaseous). The bellows is a sealed chamber, the corrugated walls of which can stretch when heated and return to their original shape when cooled.
Passing through the pipe of the heating battery, the coolant heats the composition inside the bellows. Increasing in volume, the bellows presses on the rod, which, in turn, presses on the working cone. The flow of coolant to the radiator is partially or completely blocked. Gradually, the bellows cools down and contracts. The cone rises and opens the passage for the coolant.
The composition inside the bellows (working medium) can be liquid or gaseous. Fluid bellows are generally less expensive because they respond more slowly to temperature changes. Gas is more sensitive and therefore allows you to adjust the intensity of heating more accurately. If you are dealing with large areas, want to equip several radiators with thermostats and strive to save resources, then give preference to gas bellows. If you purchase a regulator for one battery, then the speed of response of the working environment will not be of fundamental importance to you.
Installing thermostats for a radiator consists of two parts: installing a valve and installing a control element.
The thermostatic valve cuts directly into the battery supply pipe. First of all, it is required to shut off the flow of coolant and drain the water from the radiator. Next, you need to cut out a fragment of the supply pipeline and install a valve in this place. For single-pipe heating systems, you will also have to install a bypass - a bypass, a jumper between the supply and discharge pipelines. The bypass will allow the coolant to circulate without obstacles through the heating system at home, even if you turn off the heat supply in your apartment.
As you can see, installing a radiator valve requires certain skills or the involvement of a specialist. But with the control element, whether it be a thermal head or a thermostat, everything is much simpler: it is simply screwed to the valve on the thread or inserted into special grooves and snaps into place. The first way is much more common, so if you want to be able to choose from a larger range of control elements and not be limited to one manufacturer, choose a threaded valve.
Some manufacturers of heating batteries equip their products with factory valves, to which you can purchase any suitable thermal head for threading. If you recently moved into a new building, examine your batteries, it may well turn out that this is exactly your case.
Installing regulators on heating radiators has a few more subtleties. Here are the most important ones:
- Choose thermostats with the ability to completely block the coolant flow: it may be needed to service the radiator. Another option is to install a mechanical regulator - a ball valve - in front of the valve.
- If possible, the valve should be installed so that the thermal head is turned horizontally, “looking” into the room. Otherwise, the heat rising from the battery will constantly expand the bellows and the temperature controller will not work properly.
- An electronic thermostat with a built-in sensor should not be placed behind decorative screens and blackout curtains. The sensor will display the temperature directly next to the battery, and it is several degrees higher than in the room. If curtains and screens in front of batteries are necessary for your interior, then pay attention to the thermostat with a remote sensor.
- If you are faced with the task of regulating the temperature in several rooms at once, then keep in mind that buying thermostats for all batteries without exception is irrational. Install sensors on half or two-thirds of the batteries in each room - this will be enough.