For space heating, it is important at what rate heat is supplied to the room. Since radiators are responsible for heat transfer in traditional water heating systems, the indoor climate depends on how efficiently they cope with the task. The efficiency of heat transfer is characterized by such a parameter as heat transfer or thermal power. In the case of a radiator, it shows how much heat per hour this device can transfer to air under certain conditions. Under the conditions understand the given temperature of the coolant, the speed of its movement and a certain type of connection. At factories, the heat transfer of heating devices is determined during the test on stands, then it is averaged and entered in the product passport.
How efficiently a heater will give off heat depends on many factors. This is the material from which it is made, and its shape, and how the coolant moves inside and what is the heat transfer surface. A little more about all these factors will be discussed below.
How does heat transfer depend on the material
Heating radiators are made of metals for a reason. They have the best combination characteristics, the main of which is the heat transfer coefficient. The table shows data for some metals.
As you can see, for the manufacture of radiators, metals that are far from the best in terms of thermal conductivity are used, but a silver radiator is too much ... Copper is rarely used, and all for the same reason: it is very expensive. Some craftsmen do homemade radiators from copper pipes. In this case, less money is required, but the operation of such heaters is problematic: copper is a rather capricious material and does not work with any medium, it is very plastic and easily damaged, chemically active and enters into oxidation reactions. So here still much attention will have to be paid to water treatment and protection from mechanical influences.
But the next metal - aluminum, is already used quite widely. Although the heat transfer of aluminum is almost two times lower than that of copper, but, compared with other metals, it is quite high. Aluminum is lightweight, heats up quickly and transfers heat efficiently. But it is far from ideal: it is chemically active, therefore it cannot be used with non-freezing liquids. In addition, it conflicts with other metals in the system: corrosion begins, which leads to the rapid destruction of metals. And although the heat transfer of aluminum is the highest - 170-210 watts / section, they can not be installed in any system.
Data on the thermal power of all radiators are averaged. Moreover, for high-temperature operation (90 o C on the supply, 70 o C on the return, to maintain the room at 20 o C). We also mean radiators with an axial distance of 50 cm. Heat transfer with other sizes and conditions will be different.
For apartment dwellers multi-storey buildings there is another option, but almost nothing depends on you here: your heat transfer may decrease due to alteration of the heating system of the neighbors from above. In the houses of the old building, the heating distribution is almost universally single-pipe with a top supply. And if in your apartment the riser at the top became barely warm, someone above you contributed to this. In this case, it makes sense for you to contact management company- they will check the condition of the riser and find out the reason for the decrease in heat transfer.
Results
The heat transfer of radiators depends on the material from which it is made, the shape of the section or panel, on the presence and number of additional fins that improve convection. The method of connection and installation is of great importance.
The main task of any type of heating batteries is the maximum possible heating of the room. The parameter that determines how the device meets the tasks set is their heat transfer. But not only this can affect the frequently occurring problem, which is how to increase the efficiency of the heating battery. Heat loss can be dealt with simple means, but before that it is necessary to find out what can affect the process of heat transfer to the surrounding space. Consider the main factors affecting the efficiency of heating devices:
- Radiator model, number of sections and size of the battery itself;
- Type of radiator connection to the heat supply network;
- Placement of the heating battery in the room;
- The material from which the battery is made.
What is efficiency and how to calculate it
The heat output of heating appliances, which include batteries or radiators, is the sum of the quantitative indicator of heat that is transferred by the battery over a certain period of time and is measured in watts. The process of heat transfer by batteries takes place as a result of processes that are known as convection, radiation and heat transfer. Any radiator uses these three types of heat exchange. As a percentage, these types of heat transfer can vary according to various types batteries.
What will be the efficiency of heaters, in the vast majority of cases, depends on the material from which they are made. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of radiators made of different types material.
- Cast iron has a relatively low thermal conductivity, so batteries made from this material are not the best option. In addition, the small surface of these heating devices significantly reduces heat transfer and occurs due to radiation. Under normal apartment conditions, the power of a cast iron battery is no more than 60 watts.
- Steel is slightly higher than cast iron. More active heat transfer occurs due to the presence of additional ribs, which increase the area of heat radiation. Heat transfer occurs as a result of convection, the power is approximately 100 watts.
- Aluminum has the highest thermal conductivity of all the previous options, their power is about 200 watts.
An important role in increasing the efficiency of heating batteries is played by the connection method, which must correspond to the type of battery and the material from which it is made. A direct one-way connection has the highest heat transfer efficiency and the lowest heat loss. Diagonal connection is used if there is a large number sections and significantly reduces possible heat losses.
The bottom connection is used if the heat-conducting pipes are hidden under the floor screed and does not exclude heat loss up to 10% of the original value. The single-pipe connection is considered the least effective, since the power loss of the heating device with this method can reach 45%.
5 Ways to Increase the Efficiency of Your Heating System
- Keeping the surface of heating devices clean.
No matter how incredible this statement may seem, even a thin layer of dust on radiators leads to a decrease in heat transfer. For example, the efficiency of aluminum radiators contaminated with a layer of dust can decrease by 20-25%. In addition, regular cleaning also needs inner part batteries. The first problem can be dealt with on your own by ordinary wet cleaning, but for the second you will have to contact a qualified specialist. Plumbers are armed with knowledge and skills that will help in a short time to clean the radiator from scale and other contaminants accumulated during operation.
- Painting radiators with paint appropriate for their purpose.
First, for coloring it is necessary to select paint of dark colors. Thanks to this, it will be possible to achieve not only good heating of the batteries, but also a significant increase in heat transfer. Second, you need to choose for coloring suitable paint. As a coating for cast-iron heating radiators, it is better to use enamels known to everyone, and for aluminum and steel batteries acrylic, alkyd and acrylate enamels are more suitable.
- Use of reflective screens.
The heat that the battery radiates spreads in all directions. Therefore, at least half of the useful thermal radiation goes into the wall located behind the heating devices. You can reduce unnecessary heat loss by placing a screen behind the radiator, for example, from ordinary foil or ready-made, bought in a store. When using even a homemade screen made of thin sheet metal not only does the heating of the wall stop, but an additional source of heat is created, since, when heated, the screen itself begins to give off heat to the room. When using a reflective screen, efficiency cast iron batteries, and many others, can be increased to 10-15%.
- Increasing the surface area of the batteries.
There is a very direct relationship between the surface area that radiates heat and the amount of this heat. To increase the heat transfer of radiators, you can use an additional casing. The material from which it will be made must be carefully torn out. For example, aluminum casings have the highest heat dissipation. They are used as an addition to cast iron radiators. With frequent interruptions in work heating systems it is worth considering purchasing steel casings, which retain the heat received from the radiators for a very long time. Accordingly, this type of battery case gives off heat to the surrounding space much longer than others.
- Create additional air flows in the room.
If you direct the air flow to the heating devices, for example, using a conventional household fan, then the air in the room will be heated much faster. In this case, it should be borne in mind that the direction of the air flow should be vertical and directed from the bottom up. With this method, the increase in the efficiency of radiators can reach 5-10%.
Using even one way to improve the heat transfer of batteries, you can significantly increase the temperature in the room and reduce the cost of additional heating. Before you begin to improve the performance of radiators, make sure that they are connected to the heating network correctly and that the heat regulators on the latest generation appliances are set to the required value. In addition, with a constant problem with heat supply, attention should be paid to the thermal insulation of walls and windows, through which heat usually escapes. It is necessary to insulate not only the outer walls, but also those that go to the stairwell.
Winter is getting closer and closer, we are gradually feeling how the days are getting colder. With the approach of winter colds, you need to think about warming your home. It is this topic that our material is devoted to, in which we will consider a way to increase the efficiency of a heating battery.
We present to your attention a video that describes the whole process.
So, what we need to implement our idea:
- several boxed 80s coolers;
- charger from an old mobile phone;
- nylon ties or wire 10 pcs;
- stationery knife;
- soldering iron;
- tin;
- rosin;
- electrical tape;
- crosshead screwdriver.
Slightly clarify some of the nuances with the materials. Box coolers can be removed from old computer power supplies. You should also pay attention to the charger, which should produce a current of more than half an ampere. If nylon ties are not at hand, you can use adhesive tape, copper wire or hot glue. Now that everything is clear with the materials, you can get to work.
We begin to assemble our simple design. To do this, we use nylon ties with which we fasten the coolers to each other. In the end, we should end up with a kind of ventilation structure with five coolers attached side by side. It is imperative to ensure that the fans of all coolers are in the same direction.
We cut off the excess parts of the screeds with a clerical knife.
Now we proceed to connect the wires coming from the coolers. They must be connected in parallel, that is, black to black, red to red. If there are yellow wires on the coolers, then they need to be cut off, because yellow wire- This is the speed sensor wire, which we do not need.
Solder the wires so that we get two stranded wires.
After all the wires are connected to each other, you need to connect them to the power supply. We carefully check the plus and minus of the block, because if the connection is incorrect, the coolers will not spin. We solder the wires from the coolers to the wires of the power supply.
We check. If everything works, feel free to isolate.
It is quite obvious that main task heating radiator is the maximum efficient heating premises. And the main parameter that determines how well the heater copes with this task is the heat transfer of the heating radiator.
The movement of the coolant through the radiator This indicator is individual for each model of radiators, in addition, the type of connection of the device, the features of its placement and other factors affect the heat transfer. How to choose the optimal radiator in terms of heat transfer, how to connect it as efficiently as possible, how to increase heat transfer? We will talk about all this in this article!
HEAT DISCHARGE IS A KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR
HEAT TRANSFER DETERMINATION
Heat transfer is an indicator that indicates the amount of heat transferred by the radiator to the room in a certain time. Synonyms for heat transfer are such terms as radiator power, thermal power, heat flow, etc. The heat output of heating devices is measured in Watts (W).
Building heat flow diagram Note! In some sources, the heat output of a radiator is given in calories per hour. This value can be converted to Watts (1 W = 859.8 cal / h).
Heat transfer from a heating radiator is carried out as a result of three processes: – Heat exchange;
– Convection;
– Emissions (radiation).
Each heating radiator uses all three types of heat transfer, however, their ratio for different types heating devices is different. By and large, only those devices in which at least 25% of the thermal energy is transferred as a result of direct radiation can be called radiators, but today the meaning of this term has expanded significantly. Therefore, very often under the name "radiator" you can find convector-type devices.
CALCULATION OF REQUIRED HEAT TRANSFER
Placement of radiators in the house The choice of heating radiators for installation in a house or apartment should be based on the most accurate calculations of the required power. On the one hand, everyone wants to save money, so you should not buy extra batteries, but on the other hand, if there are not enough radiators, then the apartment will not be able to maintain a comfortable temperature.
There are several ways to calculate the required thermal power of heating devices.
The easiest way based on the number of exterior walls and windows in them. The calculation is done like this:
If there is only one in the room outer wall and one window, then for every 10 m2 of the area of the room, 1 kW of thermal power of heating batteries is needed.
If there are two outer walls in the room, then for every 10 m2 of the area of the room, at least 1.3 kW of heat output from the heating batteries is required.
The second way is more complicated, but it makes it possible to obtain the most accurate value of the required power.
The calculation is made according to the formula:
S x h x41, where:
S is the area of the room for which the calculation is made.
H is the height of the room.
41 - normative indicator of the minimum power per 1 cubic meter room volume.
The resulting value will be required power heating appliances. Next, this power should be divided by the nominal heat transfer of one section of the radiator (as a rule, this information is contained in the instructions for the heater). As a result, we obtain the necessary efficient heating number of sections.
Advice! If, as a result of division, you get a fractional number, round it up, since a lack of heating power reduces the level of comfort in the room much more than its excess.
HEAT TRANSFER OF RADIATORS FROM DIFFERENT MATERIALS
Heating appliances from different materials differ in heat dissipation. Therefore, when choosing radiators for an apartment or house, it is necessary to carefully study the characteristics of each model - very often, even radiators that are close in shape and dimensions have different power.
Cast iron radiators- have a relatively small heat transfer surface, are characterized by low thermal conductivity of the material. Heat transfer occurs mainly due to radiation, only about 20% is due to convection.
"Classic" cast iron radiator The rated power of one section of the MS-140 cast-iron radiator at a coolant temperature of 900C is about 180 W, but these figures are valid only for laboratory conditions.
In fact, in central heating systems, the temperature of the coolant rarely rises above 80 degrees, while some of the heat is lost on the way to the battery itself. As a result, the surface temperature of such a radiator is about 600C, and the heat transfer of one section does not exceed 50-60 W.
Steel radiators combine positive traits sectional and convection radiators. As a rule, a steel radiator includes one or more panels, inside of which a coolant circulates. To increase the thermal power of the radiator, steel ribs are additionally welded to the panels, which work as a convector.
The heat transfer of steel radiators is not much greater than that of cast iron ones - therefore, only a relatively small mass and a more attractive design can be considered among the advantages of such heaters.
Note! With a decrease in the temperature of the coolant, heat transfer steel radiator decreases very strongly. Therefore, if water with a temperature of 60-750 circulates in your heating system, the heat transfer rates of a steel radiator can differ dramatically from those declared by the manufacturer.
Heat dissipation of aluminum radiators significantly higher than the two previous varieties (one section - up to 200 W), but there is a factor that limits the use of aluminum heaters.
aluminum radiator This factor is water quality: when using contaminated coolant inner surface the aluminum heatsink is subject to corrosion. That is why, despite good performance in terms of power, aluminum radiators should only be installed in private homes with autonomous system heating.
Bimetal radiators in terms of heat transfer, they are in no way inferior to aluminum. For example, the Rifar Base 500 model has a section heat dissipation of 204 watts. Yes, and they are not so demanding on water. But you always have to pay for efficiency, and therefore the price of bimetallic radiators is somewhat higher than that of batteries from other materials.
Bimetal radiator in room RADIATOR HEAT MANAGEMENT
DEPENDENCE OF HEAT TRANSFER ON CONNECTION
The heat transfer of the radiator depends not only on the temperature of the coolant and the material from which the radiator is made, but also on the method of connecting the radiator to the heating system:
Direct one-way connection is considered the most advantageous in terms of heat transfer. That is why the rated power of the radiator is calculated precisely with a direct connection (the diagram is shown in the photo).
Diagonal connection is used if a radiator with more than 12 sections is connected. Such a connection minimizes heat loss.
The lower radiator connection is used to connect the battery to the heating system hidden in the floor screed. Heat transfer losses with such a connection are up to 10%.
One-pipe connection is the least advantageous in terms of power. Heat transfer losses with such a connection can range from 25 to 45%.
Advice! Connection Implementation Methods different type you can learn from the video materials posted on this resource.
WAYS TO INCREASE HEAT TRANSFER
No matter how powerful your radiator is, you often want to increase its heat dissipation. This desire becomes especially relevant in the winter, when the radiator, even operating at full capacity, cannot cope with maintaining the temperature in the room.
There are several ways to increase the heat transfer of radiators:
The first method is regular wet cleaning and cleaning of the radiator surface. The cleaner the radiator, the higher the level of its heat transfer.
Paint for radiators It is also important to properly paint the radiator, especially if you are using cast iron sectional batteries. A thick layer of paint prevents effective heat transfer, therefore, before painting the batteries, it is necessary to remove a layer from them old paint. It will also be effective to use special paints for pipes and radiators, which have a low resistance to heat transfer.
For the radiator to provide maximum power, it must be properly mounted. Among the most common mistakes in the installation of radiators, experts highlight the tilt of the battery, installation too close to the floor or wall, overlapping radiators with inappropriate screens or interior items.
Correct and incorrect installation To improve efficiency, you can also audit the internal cavity of the radiator. Often, when the battery is connected to the system, burrs remain, on which a blockage forms over time, preventing the movement of the coolant.
Another way to ensure maximum performance is to mount a heat-reflecting foil screen behind the radiator on the wall. This method is especially effective when improving radiators installed on the outer walls of a building.
There are several other ways to increase the heat transfer of the radiator with your own hands. However, they may not be needed if you initially choose a model that has enough power to keep your home warm!
Prologue.
This year, we are experiencing unprecedented frosts. In some regions of the republic, the air temperature dropped to -24ºС, which is an anomalous phenomenon for warm Moldova. I don’t have a thermometer hanging in my room, but I felt that the hand lying on the table began to freeze, and I had to put a piece of foam rubber under it.
In general, like the Amundsens, we are already accustomed to the coolness, but yesterday the chairman of our condominium, collecting signatures for an appeal to the heat supplier, asked what the air temperature was in our apartment. It is unlikely that the heat supplier will increase the temperature of the heat carrier, but perhaps the chairman wants to demand a penalty under the pretext of providing low-quality services.
Whatever it was, but this event first prompted me to measure the air temperature in the apartment, and then to conduct this experiment.
Of course, to say that this experiment was unclean is an understatement. There are too many variables that could affect the accuracy of the result, ranging from the direction of the wind overboard to the activity of the computer running in the test room.
But, the most important parameter, which at other times would not allow this experiment to be carried out at all, is the stability of the coolant temperature.
The fact is that in warmer periods of time, the temperature of the coolant is actively regulated during the day, in order to save energy consumption. When the temperature is abnormal outside, then all the valves open wide.
Purpose of the experiment.
Confirm or refute the assumption that forced cooling of a steam heating battery, even at a coolant temperature of 42ºС, can significantly increase the heat transfer of the system in an ordinary city apartment.
Temperature sensor.
To determine the effectiveness of one or another method of blowing the battery, it was decided to measure the temperature difference between the coolant before and after the battery central heating.
In fact, I started by measuring the temperature of the battery at different points, but the data received could not be processed.
For this, two identical temperature sensors were made based on KMT-17 semiconductor thermistors.
And this is how the sensors were fixed on the pipes of steam heating. To improve contact with the pipe, the thermistor was lubricated with KPT-8 heat-conducting paste.
To reduce the measurement error introduced by air flows, the sensors had to be additionally insulated with foam tape.
Selecting the optimal fan position.
Coolant temperature measurements were made at different positions of the fan relative to the battery. The fan power, however, did not change.
During the experiment, the temperature of the coolant was 43ºС, the air in the room was 20ºС.
In all cases, the distance from the center of the blades to the center of the battery was 70cm.
The difference in readings between the temperature of the coolant at the inlet and outlet is indicated in arbitrary units, since there was simply nothing to calibrate the thermometer with such high accuracy. At the same time, 0 (zero) conventional units was taken as the reference point, at which the battery cooled naturally.
The air flow is directed from top to bottom, and the angle of inclination of the fan shaft relative to the horizon is 50º. At the same time, the temperature difference at the inlet and outlet of the battery is 11 Conditional Units (hereinafter UE).
The air flow is directed from top to bottom, the fan operates in the “toady” mode (turns from side to side). Temperature difference - 8 UE.
When the battery is blown from the side, the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet is 13 UE.
When directing the air flow to the center of the battery, it was possible to obtain the highest temperature difference - 15 UE.
If you direct the air flow to the center of the battery, but at the same time turn on the "sneak" mode, then the temperature difference will decrease to - 12 UE.
The most advantageous, from the point of view of heat transfer, was the direction of the air flow from the floor towards the plane of the battery.
Experimental data.
First day of the experiment.
All graphs show the change in temperature from 8.00 am to 24.00 at night.
Heat carrier temperature 42ºС.
The graph shows that the system worked more efficiently while the temperature difference between the air and the battery was large. When the difference decreased, the system stabilized.
The air temperature in the center of the room at a height of 65 cm from the floor rose from 15°C to 20°C in 9 hours.
In the future, the temperature rose by another 0.5ºС.
The power consumption of the fan in this case was 35.2 watts.
When, during the experiment, I went out of my room into the corridor, I immediately felt the temperature difference, because by that time I had already taken off my warm clothes.
I went to the barn and brought another fan from there. This fan was not equipped with a power switch, so I connected it through a homemade triac controller, the design of which is described in detail.
Well, life has become better, life has become more fun!
Second day of the experiment.
In the morning I again measured the temperature of the coolant, as well as the air temperature in the room. All values remained unchanged, including the temperature overboard.
During the day, no temperature changes were observed.
Third day of the experiment.
The coolant temperature increased by one degree and amounted to 43ºС.
The temperature outside dropped and reached -15ºС.
At the same time, the temperature in the room increased by another 0.5ºС and reached 21.5ºС.
Fourth day of the experiment.
The coolant temperature is still 43ºС.
The temperature outside in the morning is -15ºС.
The temperature in the room in the morning was 21.5ºС.
Since no significant temperature changes were noted over the past day, I decided to increase the air flow and installed a second fan at 10.00.
After 10-15 minutes, the air temperature immediately increased by one degree, and then by another half a degree and reached 23ºС.
Walk like that, I thought, and at 19.00 I turned on both fans at full power. The temperature in two hours increased by one more degree and reached 24ºС.
Results and conclusions.
- I managed to raise the air temperature in the room by as much as 6ºС, and even by 9ºС in the extreme mode of operation of the fans, which confirmed the assumption that it is possible to increase the heat transfer of the central heating battery, even at such a low coolant temperature.
- When using a conventional household fan without a speed controller, the room becomes too noisy. However, if you use the heat accumulated in the room, then, for example, you can turn off the fan in the bedroom at night, and, on the contrary, turn it on in the dining room. Then, you can use the fan at full power.
- If you are in that part of the room where the movement of air generated by the fan is most noticeable, then a false sensation of a decrease in temperature is created.
- Those who are afraid that the fan "winds" a lot can calculate the monthly energy consumption.
35 (Watt) * 24 (hours) * 30 (days) ≈ 25 (kWh)
Small details.
To quickly and accurately measure the temperature of a steam heating battery, it is enough to apply a small amount of heat-conducting paste "KPT-8" to the ball of the digital thermometer sensor. The contact point during the measurement must be covered with several layers of fabric or a layer of foam rubber.
The above experiment made me question the accuracy of my digital thermometer. To verify the correctness of his testimony, I compared them with the testimony mercury thermometer. To do this, immersed both thermometers in hot water to the same depth and followed the readings as the water cooled.
The continuous operation of the fans immediately revealed the weak point of modern devices.
If the Penguin fan of 1973 has a front plain bearing equipped with an oil seal (the arrow marks the hole for filling the oil seal), which allowed it to work for almost 40 years, then in a modern fan there is no such oil seal.
In addition, the "Penguin" has a spring that prevents the occurrence of longitudinal beats of the shaft. The new fan, after two days of operation, began to rumble, because due to the longitudinal beating of the shaft caused by the eccentricity of the propeller, one of the fluoroplastic gaskets quickly wore out.
To eliminate the longitudinal play, it took several ordinary and two thin-walled washers, as well as a gasket cut out of foam rubber.
First I disassembled the stator.
Then I put thin-walled washers and a gasket on the motor shaft, and with the rest of the washers I increased the gap between the bearings.
To ensure any long-term operation of the fan, I cut out an oil seal from felt, and from some kind of nylon cover a seal plug and pressed it all into a recess around the shaft. Naturally, the oil also did not regret.
I started thinking about buying two dozen 120mm computer fans. I think if you install them directly between the sections of the batteries, then this should reduce noise and increase the efficiency of heat transfer.
Today half the night I wandered around the expanses of the network and came across several interesting resources. This means that life goes on! :) On our website, repair of the electrolux refrigerator is for everyone. If you decide to leave the site, then the sponsors announcement is not the worst place to go.
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Comments (50)
Nobody, when I wrote about CFLs, I meant video filming. For her, I use lamps that say 2700K. In my house, in general, all the lamps are 2700K, simply because we like the light that resembles the light from incandescent lamps. I balance the target and shoot. Everything is as usual.
For photos, of course, flashes are more convenient for a number of reasons. Firstly, you can shoot handheld, secondly, if you shoot with a DSLR, you can provide a large depth of field at low ISOs, thirdly, the spectrum is much better than that of CFLs, fourthly ... again, energy savings.
Part of the heat escapes through the heat transfer windows
Please describe. At least briefly.
More specifically, this is of interest:
I have a solution that I have been using for 20 years.
Somehow the temperature slowly picks up, it's -20 outside the window and somehow you want to heat the room quickly. I tried to put a fan on, but it really makes noise, and due to the fact that it’s cool in the room, excessive circulation gives coolness
Dmitry, you'll have to wait a couple of days until the room warms up. In order for the fan not to make noise, it will have to be prevented. Alternatively, you can install computer 120 mm under the battery, but the efficiency will be lower.
Well, I'll try, at night I'll have to turn it off so that there is less noise
Hello dear discussers! I accidentally stumbled upon a material about a fan and batteries and could not pass by. Maybe someone is interested in my experience of dealing with winter. 1) Increase the number of sections in the battery. It's absolutely quiet and works great. If the batteries are connected to the riser as in the photos in the article (input on the bottom right, exit on the top right, or vice versa), then this will not work - about the first 7 sections will be warm, and then it is useless. It is necessary to connect the input-output diagonally, then the entire battery will be hot (checked by me). There is another, less obvious, way to connect pipes, which not everyone knows about - the entrance is from below, the exit is also from the bottom, from the opposite end of the battery. In this case, the entire battery is also heated (checked by me). Of course, some basic plumbing skills are needed here, but polypropylene works wonders. In some cases, it is convenient to pass pipes (at least one) inside the battery, especially if there are no partitions in your battery (manufacturers are lazy, and in Lately such batteries dominate the market) so that they are less disturbed. Unfortunately, modification of batteries is best done in the summer, and not in the very cold. 2) Of course, increasing the airflow of the battery increases the temperature in the room. The same decorative boxes help to silently increase the airflow of the battery. But most often they are only decorative and cover the battery only from the front and top. It is better to make them yourself from any material (yes, even from cardboard!) So that they wrap around the battery from all sides, without slots on the sides, but with completely open ends at the top and bottom. The battery will develop traction, like a classic stove (samovar, boiler) pipe. To bring this idea to perfection, the casing around the battery should not just end with an open top end, it should continue with an air duct that goes almost to the ceiling. The air duct can go around the window, repeating the course of the upper branch of the riser (hiding the riser in itself). The cross section of this air duct can be 2-3 times smaller than the cross section of the battery casing, so as not to spoil the view of the apartment too much), but still it should be large enough so as not to create noticeable air resistance. I haven’t tried it myself, but I’m sure the draft will increase significantly, the fan may not be required! There will be no noise either. Or rather, I did not try to do this with air, but I tried it with water. So for several years we had a warm shower in the hostel: at the bottom of the heating element from an electric kettle, around it a pipe made of plastic bottle. The water was spinning very strongly, the entire tank had the same temperature. I think that the air will behave in exactly the same way. 3) Well, of course, a fan on the battery! In my life, this served as an emergency measure, allowing me to survive several days of severe frosts, I never left it permanently. The fan, quite right, you need to take a large Chinese floor fan, it is quieter and more efficient, and not the old Soviet small one. Very high speed it is not needed here, the mode is enough when the fan is still almost inaudible, or when it is audible, but not yet annoying. You can slow down the fan by turning on a paper capacitor of 400 volts in series with the motor. The capacity is selected for a specific case by typing. It is compact, cheap and quiet (LATR sometimes makes noise on its own, and a thyristor regulator can make the fan motor make noise). This is especially true if there are children in the house - they will definitely wind up the LATR and the thyristor regulator. And the capacitors are so compact that after selecting the capacitance, they can be hidden forever in the box where the buttons are located near the fan, they will not heat up. If you want to further strengthen the method with the air duct, you can add “computer” fans from below the battery casing as much as possible larger diameter, of course, are also slow. A couple more words on the topic. My batteries do not hang at some distance from the floor, as is customary everywhere, but stand directly on the floor (on plywood 7 mm thick). Therefore, our floor is always quite warm, despite the first floor, that is, there is no layer of cold air on the floor. In the case of air duct casings, it is not necessary to outweigh the batteries, you just need to stretch the casings almost to the floor, leaving only a gap with a total area comparable to the casing section. Then cold air from the floor will be sucked in by the battery and sent upstairs. Here. Sorry if it's confusing, but my life has so much to do with this fight against this fucking cold! In the last 1-2 years, we accidentally began to heat much better. This is due to the fact that our wrecks are demolished one by one, and the rest get more heat. But for most of my adult life, this was far from the case! Good luck to everyone and warmth in the house! spock2004
P.S. If you buy or change batteries, think ten times what type to get. I am very skeptical about the new (relatively) aluminum batteries. Yes, they look nice. Yes, they have somewhat more surface area per unit volume occupied in the room. I don’t have statistics on corrosion, but purely theoretically, they should corrode more strongly than cast iron ones. Though people don't seem to be complaining. People complain about something else. At aluminum batteries quite narrow channels inside. This has two bad consequences. 1) They clog up several times faster with the rubbish that the central heating water brings. 2) They only work well under the condition high temperature water and/or its intensive circulation. And this is far from always found in the expanses of the FSU (I, for example, live in Ryazan). Let's just say, it doesn't occur more often than it does. Of course, if you have a private cottage with a personal closed system heating, with circulation pump and membrane expansion tank, then yes. Then you can use any batteries, even stamped from a thin steel sheet. And for ordinary apartments where “uncle” heats up (to use the funny expression of my grandmother), I highly recommend the old Soviet cast-iron ones! Well, or new Russians, but the same cast-iron ones. They have very low hydraulic resistance, which creates a very good conditions for water circulation. And a very large internal volume of this very water. Therefore, even if it takes many minutes to completely change the water in the battery (like mine), the batteries still remain hot. As hot as they can be in this heating system. Well, and, of course, they don’t get clogged with sediment for a long time (I had to cut “registers” from ten-centimeter pipes, where there was a narrow channel for water, and most of volume is filled with this mixture of rust, oil, scale and God knows what). And another tip: do not paint the batteries!!! Above there was a discussion about what color to paint them. As far as I remember, the color of the surface only affects how it "bakes" to it, and how it radiates depends only on temperature. I'm not sure about this, but I think so, sorry if I'm wrong. In any case, at a coolant temperature of 42 degrees, as in the article, radiation can be neglected, the main thing is heat transfer to the washing air. It needs to be strengthened. The new battery has a small-bumpy surface, repeating the irregularities of the molding earth, and is sprinkled with something red purely symbolically. My advice: leave it like that! Heat transfer will be maximum. After all, microroughnesses also increase the surface area, and not just the fins. If already painted, stop and don't add more! In houses with especially fanatical mothers and grandmothers, the paint layer on batteries can reach millimeters. Needless to say, paint conducts heat much worse than cast iron. For beauty, it is better to wear the same casing. Now you can decorate it however you like! Once again good luck! spock2004
