Overview of vacuum heating radiators: super-batteries or a swindle of traders?

The best manufacturers of vacuum radiators

Vacuum heaters do not yet differ in a wide range on the market of heating devices. Among consumers, EnergyEco products enjoy special prestige. This Russian manufacturer uses 1.5 mm steel for the manufacture of batteries. Users note high-quality performance, good heat dissipation - about 170 kW per element.

The working pressure for the radiator is from 0.6 to 1.3 MPa. Even at 2 MPa, the device can work, but 5 MPa is too much for it - it starts to break down. The cost of a radiator from EnergyEco is considerable, but the demand for it does not fall.

The manufacturer Forvacuum produces wall-mounted and plinth-type vacuum devices. The heat output of a register 1 m long at a coolant temperature of 50 °C is 239 W.

The thermosyphon register is notable for its low metal consumption, since its thin-walled body is not designed for high internal pressure. At 50 °C and using ethanol, it is only 0.027 MPa

You can also find Chinese-made radiators on the market. They will have a lower price, but sometimes questionable quality. When buying, they should be carefully inspected, check the documentation.

Prices

On average, a section of a vacuum radiator costs 500 - 700 rubles. That is, an 8-section device will cost 4000 - 5600 rubles.

But if you remember that aluminum radiators are abandoned precisely because of their unreliability, and bimetallic devices are increasingly being acquired, then their cost just corresponds to each other.

Also, the price per section is comparable to a cast-iron radiator, but in many respects, vacuum models are superior to them.

Do-it-yourself technology and rules for installing vacuum radiators

The first step is to choose a convenient connection method in accordance with your own capabilities and environmental conditions. After preparing the tools and materials, you can proceed to the sequential installation of equipment.

Implementation options in the heating system

Installation of equipment corresponds to the type of communications used in the house:

• to connect the radiator with an autonomous system, the standard method is suitable - the battery is installed using couplings to the inlets and outlets of the hot coolant,
• if electricity is used as fuel, a stationary or portable heater can be equipped to heat the lithium-bromide environment (the first option is more reliable),
• if you plan to connect the radiator to a solar source or central heating, you can use the first method.

Both the bottom and vertical wiring are equally functional.

Radiator installation rules

First of all, you need to choose the optimal area for fixing the battery. When fixing the device, it is desirable to maintain a distance of at least 5 cm from the nearest wall, the fixation height relative to the floor should be at least 2-5 cm from the bottom edge

Also important, so that the top edge of the radiator got up to the window sill about 10 cm

Immediately before installation, you need to chill the battery, that is, create such conditions that the easily evaporating working composition stack down

The section of the wall that will be located directly behind the vacuum radiator should preferably be insulated with a reflective material. Construction foil, isolon can come in handy here. Immediately before installation, you need to chill the battery, that is, create such conditions that the easily evaporating working composition stack down. During installation, you can use the plugs commonly used for aluminum heaters. If the walls were previously thermally insulated, elongated brackets must be selected for mounting the equipment.

Instrument installation sequence

To facilitate the work, in addition to the radiator and brackets, it is advisable to prepare materials and tools:

• Ball Valves,
• impact drill,
• wrenches,
• roulette,
• pencil and hydraulic level,
• sealant, tow,
• victorious drills,
• screwdriver

Steps for installing a vacuum radiator:

1. If necessary, in the reconstruction of the old heating system, the batteries are dismantled, the walls are leveled.
2. Create markup in accordance with the above recommendations regarding the placement of equipment.
3. Fix the brackets at the given points.
4. They are mounted on the brackets of the vacuum radiator section.
5. Ball valves are introduced, strengthening the joints with sealant and tow.
6. The main pipelines are attached to the cranes, the connections are sealed.

Installed vacuum heating radiator

Next, you can fill the system with coolant to check the integrity of the structure, the absence of leaks.

Product selection rules

With the growing popularity of this high-tech equipment, there are more and more low-quality counterfeit products on the market.

When buying, you should check whether the appropriate certificates and other technical documentation have been attached to the device. It should be remembered that the basic rule for the efficient operation of the unit is complete tightness.

Important for the radiator is such a parameter as the amount of coolant in the vertical sections - a lithium-bromide mixture. A large volume can threaten the flow of liquid.

To assess the compliance of the volume, you need to focus on the sound that occurs when the unit is rocking. It should resemble a soft rustle. If we clearly distinguish the sound of flowing liquid, the radiator, with a high degree of probability, may turn out to be a handicraft fake.

For most of their models, European manufacturers give a guarantee of up to 5 years. Their prices are directly proportional to the number of sections and they are higher than for water analogues.

On products manufactured according to factory technology, welding seams do not have any flaws, unlike units of unknown origin.

Manufacturers with a good reputation cover the body of products with high-quality powder paint. Therefore, the integrity of the paint layer is difficult to break even when in contact with the solvent. One should not miss such a moment as the tightness of the filling valve.

A little about the device

We can say that a vacuum heating radiator is not a revolutionary discovery. It has been known for a long time, another thing is that it has gained popularity only in recent years. The device is quite simple. In appearance, we have an ordinary sectional radiator, but not water is used as a coolant, but a lithium-bromide solution, which begins to boil already at +35 degrees Celsius. To reduce the pressure in the system as much as possible, it is necessary to completely remove air from there, hence the name - vacuum. Water flows in the lower part of the radiator, which does not come into contact with the coolant. These liquids come into contact through the wall of a metal pipe. It turns out that the water warms up the coolant, and it quickly enough gives off heat to the walls of the radiator.

Vacuum heating radiator working principle

Let's look at the radiator in more detail! What it consists of, how it works. Everything is simple, this is an ordinary heating radiator, usually it is made of steel or aluminum alloys. It is divided into two main parts.

First lower part

The lower small part, flowing, can be installed to a classic heating pipe, you can also install an electric heating element or something else there.This part is, as it were, the heating part of the entire radiator. Consumption in water or antifreeze of this lower part is about 0.35 - 0.5 liters per radiator in 8 sections.

Upper Bulk

Most of the closed vacuum. It is in this part that the low pressure vacuum and lithium bromide liquid are located. When the lower part is heated to + 35 degrees, this liquid begins to boil and evaporate inside the radiator, thereby heating the surface of the entire radiator, after which the vapor again settles into the liquid and again boils and evaporates, and so everything in a circle. Boiled liquid and steam cannot break the radiator, because there is a vacuum under low pressure

Thus, when we supply a coolant (about 0.5 liters) to the lower part, the upper part heats up very quickly (due to boiling and evaporation of the lithium bromide liquid). Watch a visual video in a glass bottle, it is this video that will let you understand the principle of operation.

The principle of operation of a vacuum heater

Hot water flowing from the heating system to the bottom of the radiator (connected to the heating system with standard couplings) transfers heat to the lithium bromide fluid. It quickly begins to evaporate, heating all sections of the radiator. The condensate flows down, then again turning into steam rises up. Thus, the outer wall of the pipe, adjacent to the coolant, is constantly cooled. And the temperature difference between its inner and outer surface contributes to an increase in heat flow.

Radiator sections, warmed up by hot steam in a couple of minutes, give off heat to the surrounding air. And, according to manufacturers, it happens instantly.The heat transfer declared by them for one section of this device is 300 watts and a very small amount of water is used. These are serious figures - then we will try to find out if this is so. And at the same time we will check how beautiful the new heating devices are.

Whether to believe, touting vacuum heating appliances

We will try to approach this issue as scrupulously and objectively as possible, taking as a basis only proven facts. At the same time, we will consider each of the advantages of these radiators indicated by the manufacturer. So, we started.

1. The lightning-fast warm-up time characteristic of vacuum radiators is constantly advertised. Okay, let's say. However, the whole house does not warm up so quickly. After all, it contains not only air, but also walls, internal partitions with furniture, a ceiling with a floor. They take a certain amount of time to heat up.

And therefore it is not at all so important whether the radiator itself will warm up for a minute or five.

2. Now about a small amount of coolant, which is supposedly very economical. The only question is where exactly this savings manifests itself.

If in the central heating system, then this is a real bluff - it is not so important here, more hot water will flow through the pipes or less. If you take a country cottage, then the savings in it are also in question, given that the same modern panel radiators also require not so much coolant. 3

Air locks cannot appear in vacuum-type radiators. He talks about it with enthusiasm. But after all, radiators are not the entire heating system, but only part of it. By the way, traffic jams appear only when this system is assembled illiterately. Otherwise, they will not be with any radiators

3. Air pockets cannot appear in vacuum-type radiators.He talks about it with enthusiasm. But after all, radiators are not the entire heating system, but only part of it. By the way, traffic jams appear only when this system is assembled illiterately. Otherwise, they will not be with any radiators.

4. Two more fat pluses that manufacturers trump. This is the impossibility of clogging radiators and the absence of corrosion. Perhaps, for autonomous heating systems, these advantages are unlikely to be so fat. If the hot water in the heating is clean, its acidity level meets the standards, and it does not drain from the system, then there will be no corrosion. And there is no place for blockages to come from.

5. As for the low hydraulic resistance, which supposedly sharply reduces the cost of heating, let's say so. For centralized heating, it is not at all clear whose costs are meant. Unless the owners of boiler houses, hundreds of kilometers distilling tons of hot water. It turns out that there can be a benefit only when used in an autonomous heating system, and it is still a question whether it can be. And for an autonomous system in its at home, many people use natural circulation coolant, so this question is irrelevant.

6. The next point will be to save energy by half, or even four times. With this, the error came out, since the law of conservation of energy is still valid. Radiators, even the most innovative ones, cannot generate energy. They only pass it on, and there is no need to talk about savings. How much heat is spent, so much must be replenished - the only way.

7. Now let's touch on the heat transfer of vacuum tubes, which, according to manufacturer's certificates, is not stable.This indicator can have deviations of up to 5 percent up and down. It turns out that this depends on the speed of the water in the heating system, and on its temperature. So it is hardly possible to adapt automation to such a radiator. And two radiators with an equal number of sections can have different parameters.

8. Separately, let's talk about heating systems in private homes, where water circulates naturally. Here the hydraulic pressure is important, which is created due to the difference in the height of hot water in the boiler and radiator. So, for vacuum-type devices, this height is much less, so they work with problems in such a system.

9. Now imagine that a crack has appeared in the radiator case. Even if it is tiny, you can forget about the vacuum. He will leave forever, and normal atmospheric pressure will be restored. And it, in turn, will lead to an increase in the boiling point of the coolant. The result will be disastrous - either the liquid will hardly evaporate, or steam will not appear at all. In short, the radiator will stop heating.

10. By the way, this wonderful (according to sellers and advertisers) lithium-bromide liquid is also poisonous, it turns out. Therefore, the fact that the radiators become cold when the coolant leaks is only half the trouble. It is worse if the battery leaks, for example, at night, poisoning the sleeping residents of the apartment.

So, perhaps, it is not always worth believing, so convincing at first glance.

The design and principle of operation of vacuum heating radiators

Traditionally, two methods are used to increase air temperature:

• increase in the power of the heating system, which leads to more intensive consumption of the coolant;
• minimizing heat losses that inevitably accompany the passage of the working medium through the pipeline.

Since the cost of energy carriers is steadily growing, it becomes a rational step to find alternative ways to optimize heating communications. Vacuum radiators have become a successful example of combining the physical characteristics of materials and technologically advanced design. Such devices began to be supplied to the domestic market only recently, but they almost immediately gained popularity: the possibility of cost savings by 30-40% (we are talking about resource consumption) affected. The chemically selected coolant has a low boiling point, thanks to which the batteries quickly and evenly warm up.

What do vacuum radiators look like?

Externally, vacuum heating radiators resemble familiar aluminum and cast iron appliances, but the secret of their success lies in a special internal structure. At the bottom of the battery there is a horizontal pipe, the coolant moves in it in the form of water or antifreeze. This element sequentially combines vertical sections in which lithium bromide liquid is located. Each section is insulated so that warm water and working composition do not mix.

Towards a centralized the heating system is connected to the bottom collector segment, the appliance will start functioning after warm water enters it.

How vacuum radiators work:

• water is directed to the lower area of ​​​​the collector;
• the walls of a horizontal pipe (usually made of steel) are heated to about 35 ° C;
• heat moves upward, distributing over vertical sections;
• vertical metal pipes are heated, which leads to boiling and evaporation of the lithium bromide composition;
• as a result of evaporation, the radiators heat up more, which contributes to the release of heat into the room;
• The condensate moves down the pipes, where it heats up again and turns into steam.

When the heating system stops working, such radiators cool down for a very long time, because under vacuum conditions, the intensity of the process of slowing down the movement of particles decreases.

Vacuum heating radiators help to optimize the flow of coolant and maintain an optimal microclimate without excessive costs

Vacuum heating radiators have the following technical characteristics:

• depending on what material was used in the manufacture of the case, the heat transfer of each section varies between 150-300 W;
• the width of each device is 8 cm, the height can reach 54 cm;
• average section weight - 1.6 kg;
• each segment is adapted to serve 2 sq. meters.

Under production conditions, the equipment is tested under pressure of 15 atm. The usual factory warranty for such equipment is 5 years.

Vacuum radiators - an innovation in the heating systems market

The main task of any heating system is the efficient transfer of heat from radiators to the room. There are two ways to increase the temperature of the air in a room:

• an increase in the power of the heating element, which will lead to an increase in the cost of energy carriers;
• reduction of heat losses during the passage of the coolant through the pipeline.

Given the constant increase in energy prices, it is necessary to look for alternative options for optimizing the heating system.Vacuum heating radiators are considered one of the rather effective examples of a combination of the physical properties of materials and an improved design.

Vacuum radiators appeared on the Russian market relatively recently, but have already gained popularity among buyers. Most users note a reduction in costs, about 30-40% for the purchase of energy resources. Such savings are due to uniform and rapid heating of the radiator due to the use of a liquid with a low boiling point as a coolant.

Autonomous heating system

Autonomous heating scheme

What parameters should be followed when choosing a boiler, and how is the heating radiator arranged? These are just a few of the issues that the owner of a private house has to solve when planning a heating system. First, a heating scheme is developed, its main parameters are determined - the temperature regime of operation, the number and location of radiators, and control devices.

The next step is to find out how the heating boiler works and choose the best model.

This is very important, as it will directly affect the efficiency and characteristics of the entire heating circuit of the house.

Heating boiler device

Gas boiler device

The principle of operation of any boiler is to receive thermal energy from an energy carrier (coal, firewood, gas, diesel fuel) and transfer it to a heat carrier. The device of the heating boiler directly depends on the type of fuel used. Consider this on the example of the most common models - gas.

The main component in this case is the burner.In it, energy from hot gas is transferred to water using a heat exchanger. In solid fuel models, this function is performed by the combustion chamber. In addition, the boilers often contain the following components:

• Water supply system to the heat exchanger;
• Chimney pipe for removal of carbon monoxide;
• Control elements - control of flame intensity, CO2 content, thrust, water temperature, etc.;
• Circulation pump - designed to increase the speed of the coolant. The package of most solid fuel and some gas boilers is not included;
• Expansion tank and security system.

When choosing gas models, special attention should be paid to the presence of a second circuit designed for hot water supply. It is not recommended to purchase a boiler whose power is higher than required. This will lead to an increase in energy consumption and, as a result, an increase in financial costs for maintenance.

This will lead to an increase in energy consumption and, as a result, an increase in financial costs for maintenance.

It is not recommended to purchase a boiler whose power is higher than required. This will lead to an increase in energy consumption and, as a result, an increase in financial costs for maintenance.

The device of heating radiators

Sectional heating battery

The device of the heating radiator has not changed for many years. Despite the use of new manufacturing materials, improvements in the appearance of the battery - when creating it, they are always guided by a proven scheme.

On what principles is the device of a standard heating battery based? It should consist of two components - pipelines through which the coolant flows and the heat exchange surface.When designing, they try to increase the heat output and at the same time reduce the useful volume of the transport highway. To do this, materials with an increased heat transfer rate are used in the heating radiator device - aluminum, copper, etc.

It is important for the user to pay attention to the following parameters of a standard battery device for heating:

Rated power, W. Manufacturers indicate the value of this characteristic at a certain temperature regime of the system. For example - 70/55 or 90/70;

Sectional or panel model. For the former, it is possible to increase the usable area by adding sections;

Connection method

This is important to know when analyzing the design of the heating system in an apartment building. If there is an upper piping, you should purchase models with a side connection. In addition to installing radiators, their correct piping must be provided

Its components are shut-off valves, Mayevsky's crane. For greater economy, the installation of a thermostatic valve is recommended.

In addition to installing radiators, their correct piping is required. Its components are shut-off valves, Mayevsky's crane. For greater economy, the installation of a thermostatic valve is recommended.

One of the main factors for the normal operation of the radiator is its proper installation and connection. If the standards are not observed, its efficiency may decrease by 10-15%.

Benefits of radiators

• such heating radiators may well work in combination with a wide variety of heat sources, these can be gas or solid fuel boilers, liquid fuel heating units, wood stoves or solar collectors;
• with the use of such radiators, energy savings of up to 30% are achieved;
• savings in coolant consumption is 80%;
• simple installation;
• resistance to corrosion of the body material;
• such units are not polluted like cast iron or aluminum due to the presence of various kinds of contaminant particles in the coolant;
• low hydraulic resistance during the passage of the coolant;
• the heat transfer coefficient is very high;
• radiators do not require flushing;
• the level of safety of operation of radiators of this type allows them to be classified as safe.

After carefully studying the articles on the presented heating devices and reading the reviews on the Internet, we can safely conclude that the considered radiators of the vacuum principle of operation are worth at least being interested in them.

The price of such appliances will be slightly higher than traditional radiators, but the cost savings that will occur in the months of using these appliances will force you to consider the price reasonable. The cost of such heating radiators depends on the number of sections, and this directly affects the volume of heated premises. For example, 12 sections of a vacuum radiator will be enough to heat your stay in a room up to 70 m 3 to a comfortable temperature.

The efficiency of radiators has been proven by users

Agree, when using cast-iron batteries or aluminum radiators, this effect is unlikely to be achieved. And if it succeeds, then only at the cost of additional insulation of the entire house, including walls, roof and floor.

If you are not yet convinced of the effectiveness of using vacuum heating radiators - we advise you to read reviews on specialized forums, where truthful information is presented. Users of such forums leave their comments, which can help you decide. In any case, it is better to read carefully first, and only then buy.

Vacuum heating devices seem to be an excellent alternative to traditional heating devices, a huge step towards the organization of heat supply to various types of residential and public buildings, such that they can significantly save energy resources used in heating houses.