Types of heating system wiring in an apartment building. Two-pipe heating system for an apartment building - heating system. About the main disadvantages

The main housing stock of the cities of the former USSR, including the Russian Federation, is multi-story apartment buildings, from two-three-story buildings to sixteen-story buildings, then considered high-rise. Plus, modern construction has long been putting into operation houses of several dozen floors, and in all these apartment buildings there is not only central heating, but also autonomous heating. The standard heating scheme for an apartment building is shown below:

Standard central heating scheme for a high-rise building

About the centralized heating system and schemes for its implementation

The central heating system of a multi-storey building has never been particularly efficient - up to 30% of the heat is still lost on the way to the consumer, which is paid for by the consumer. Therefore, many apartment owners abandon the central heating system in favor of an autonomous system due to its greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness. But how does centralized heating of apartments work, and can it be improved?

The system for distributing pipes around the house is schematically very complex, plus the supply of pipes to a residential building, and the distribution of heat across areas. In just one individual house, the circuit includes hundreds of valves, taps, drains, fittings, distributors and flanges that work on the central equipment - the elevator unit, which regulates the distribution of heat throughout the house.


Elevator unit

Schemes for supplying coolant to a separate apartment from an elevator unit are different. Thus, the bottom-spill scheme uses the principle of supplying coolant in the direction from bottom to top. Those who live in “Brezhnevka”, “Khrushchev” and “Stalinka” buildings know how it works.

In a multi-storey building with such a coolant supply scheme, the supply and return pipes are installed around the perimeter of the house, starting from the basement, and act as jumpers between the heating mains. This scheme is a closed cycle with the beginning and ending in the basement of the house. The highest point of this piping is the highest apartment(s) in the building.


General house heat metering unit
  1. The main drawback that this heating system in an apartment building has not gotten rid of is the mandatory bleeding of air at the highest point of the wiring when starting the system. For this purpose, Mayevsky taps or conventional valves are used. If the air is not vented, then the air lock will definitely shut off the system at some arbitrary point, cutting off heating to the entire house.
  2. Another disadvantage of the bottom-spill scheme is that half of the house is heated by hotter radiators (from the coolant supply pipe), and the other half of the residents receive a slightly cooled coolant (mostly from the return), and nothing can be done about it. The temperature difference is especially noticeable on the lower floors of the house.

Important: For those who are still connected to the central heating system and live on the top floor, do not move Mayevsky’s faucet to the attic, so that your housing and communal services will not have any questions, including financial ones. Moreover, the attic is not heated, and the pipes can simply freeze and break.

Top pouring is used for taller buildings, starting with nine-story buildings. The coolant supply pipe does not go into the apartments, but is led to the technical floor - the top one, immediately after the last residential one. On this floor there is an expansion tank, an air valve and valves, with the help of which the necessary risers are turned off in case of need - repair or accident. When organizing a top-dispensing scheme, the heat is distributed more evenly among the apartments, and the distribution does not depend on which floor or entrance the apartment is located on. Such a heating system in an apartment building, the diagram of which is shown in the figure below, is optimal for high-rise buildings.

There is only one drawback of the scheme: after transportation through all floors of an apartment building, the coolant reaches the last heat distribution branch cooled down, and the heat transfer in the apartment can only be increased by increasing the number of sections in the radiators throughout the apartment.


Heating scheme with bottom spill

The regulations for the provision of central heating services in an apartment building stipulate temperature limits in the apartment: during the heating season, the temperature in residential premises should not be less than +200C, and in the bathroom or combined toilet +250C. For the kitchen, the temperature threshold is lower - up to +180C, since it is almost always heated additionally - a stove (gas or electric) for cooking.

Important: all temperature requirements apply to apartments in the center of the house. For corner and side apartments, the temperature should be 3 -50C higher.


Temperature chart

Experts working in this field argue that central heating in an apartment building is becoming obsolete, and the era of mini-boiler houses and autonomous heating systems is coming. But until this happens, you have to choose.

About autonomous heating

An autonomous heating system for an apartment building is the dream of many apartment owners, but the process of switching to independent heating is difficult and expensive. This includes lengthy legal hassles and a technical solution to the issue - the correct selection of equipment, installation and commissioning. And the problems associated with the technical implementation of the project are much simpler.


Autonomous boiler room of an apartment building

The market for household appliances, including heating, offers a wide range of boilers, radiators, pipes and all kinds of fittings, and in every city there are several dozen specialized companies working in this direction. The organization will not only do all the installation and configuration work, but also issue all the necessary acts and permits. But the cheapest thing, of course, is to install a heating boiler and install the pipes yourself.

Basic documents required to connect the autonomous heating of an apartment building yourself:

  1. A certificate with justification from the operating company stating that you can heat your apartment on your own, and the reason for refusing a centralized heating system;
  2. Project with technical conditions for connecting an autonomous system:
    1. Technical calculations about the feasibility of your autonomous heating and calculations that changing the general scheme of the central heating system will not harm the heating of the house as a whole;
    2. Calculations of heat consumption from the remaining risers in the central heating system using the residual principle;
    3. Conclusion from the operating company that after installation of your autonomous heating system, the thermal-hydraulic mode of the central heating system will not be disrupted;
  3. Fire inspection report;
  4. Permission from the gas service and from the SES to heat the apartment with natural gas;
  5. Copies of licenses from the company installing gas equipment - independent connection of a gas boiler is prohibited. On your own, you can only install pipes and connect radiators. If the boiler is electric, then all the work can be done with your own hands;
  6. After installing the boiler, connecting the heating pipes and radiators, the presence of a representative of the local gas service is necessary to connect the boiler and seal the meter and system. At the same time, a contract for warranty and post-warranty maintenance of the boiler is drawn up.

Diagram of violations in the operation of the DSP

Having completed all the certificates and acts, you can begin to put your dream into practice and cut off the radiators and pipes of the house or apartment DSP wiring. And don’t forget to shut off the heat pipe input and seal it. In houses to which a central heating system is connected, this is easier to do than in high-rise buildings - in apartment buildings, pipe risers were laid throughout the premises, and to dismantle them, you will have to obtain the consent of the neighbors above and below, and the continuation of the cut pipes will have to be looped.

Important: Risers that are not connected to your radiators, but pass through the apartment, are considered a heat source. In order not to pay for their thermal energy to the housing office, the pipes should be properly insulated - this way you can prove that you do not use central heating.


Replacing radiators

Radiators and batteries for heating an apartment or house

If you decide to install individual heating, then there are two ways to work without a gas supply: turn on electric convectors, and install a heating system with an electric boiler and coolant liquid. Local heating of an apartment with convectors is effective only for small rooms. If the apartment has two or more rooms, then the optimal solution would be to install a gas or electric boiler, especially in a high-rise building - solid fuel equipment is preferable for a private house.

Heating by gas is the most profitable in all respects, and to implement it, it is recommended to purchase a double-circuit boiler for the home, the connection diagram of which is the same as that of a boiler with a single circuit, in order to immediately provide the house or apartment with both heat and hot water.


Gas heating scheme

In second place in terms of energy efficiency are electric boilers - their power is approximately equal to the power of gas equipment. Electric units are also produced with one or two circuits, but their cost is lower than the cost of gas boilers. But there is also an element of catch in this - their further exploitation shows that you have to pay more for energy resources.

Electrode type boilers are on a separate list. Their dimensions allow the unit to be placed in an apartment, the cost is comparable to the prices of gas equipment, but the efficiency is higher than that of electric boilers. The only but significant drawback is that they do not have a second circuit, which means it is impossible to organize hot water supply.

jsnip.ru

Heating system in an apartment building: project diagram and connection

Heating apartments in multi-storey buildings is a sophisticated design that includes various components and elements.

Only their coordinated work, which can be achieved through accurate calculations and correct installation, ensures warmth and comfort in all rooms.

In order for the heating system in an apartment building to work this way, its diagram must be drawn up simultaneously with its design.

What does the project consist of?

As a rule, any construction and installation work is preceded by calculations and design, and heating is no exception. This applies to both private houses and high-rise buildings.

The apartment heating project includes all the work that must be carried out, what materials have been purchased, calculations for the length of the pipeline and the number of radiators in each room, what coolant is used, its supply power, what the pipe layout will be and much more.

In addition to the project, you will need a detailed sketch, which will indicate all the heating batteries, the boiler room and its equipment, components with the exact dimensions of each part of the system and the method of their installation.

Documents must comply with SNiP standards.

Heating an apartment building: diagram

Requirements and standards for heating an apartment

The heating scheme of an apartment building with centralized heating must guarantee residents that in all rooms the temperature will be maintained at the same level of indicators as specified in the SNiP instructions.

So even in the most severe cold it cannot be below +20 degrees (corner rooms +22), and the humidity should be less than 30-45%. Such indicators are achieved exclusively by the same pressures in the pipes on all floors of the building. For this purpose, preliminary calculations are made and high-quality equipment is installed.

Heating in the apartment (centralized heat supply scheme) operates on water heated to 130-150 degrees when it is supplied to pipes under a pressure of 6-9 atmospheres. With this pressure, steam does not form, since the water reaches the top floor in a matter of minutes, while the return is heated to +60-70 degrees.

As a rule, there are no such hot radiators in rooms. This is due to the fact that any connection diagram for heating batteries (radiators) in an apartment consists of a supply and a return. Along the way, the too hot coolant is diluted with cold coolant to the required temperature and thus enters the radiators.

If the temperature in the premises is lower than those stated in SNiP, then you can proceed as follows:

  1. Check places where there are heat losses and eliminate them if possible.
  2. Submit an application to the heating network organization indicating the temperature in the apartment and how much it does not coincide with SNiP standards.
  3. After the commission records a discrepancy in temperature conditions, submit an application for recalculation.

Thus, the central heating scheme of an apartment building must be designed in such a way as to provide heat to each apartment. This largely depends on what kind of wiring was used.

Upper and lower wiring and their features

The difference between these types of connections is where the coolant is supplied from. So, an overhead heating spill (a diagram in an apartment building) assumes that the supply pipe is located either in the attic, or if there is none, then on the top floor.

It is used if the lower wiring cannot be carried out, and it has a number of advantages:

  1. Heat loss is kept to a minimum.
  2. Ease of installation.
  3. As a rule, such a heating system in an apartment (diagram) provides for a minimum of turns and branches.
Every plus has its minus. For the upper wiring it is that a larger amount of materials will be required and the mandatory presence of Mayevsky taps on the radiators.

In a system with bottom wiring, the supply pipes are located in the basement, and its main advantage is the ability to regulate the heating process of the coolant using a thermostat.

An equally important factor for the presence of heat in the premises is the installation diagram of the heating radiator (radiators) in the apartment and the type of system.

One-pipe or two-pipe system

Currently, multi-storey buildings have one of these systems, each of them has both advantages and disadvantages.

A single-pipe heating system connection diagram is usually used in small buildings and among its positive qualities:

  1. It can be used from anywhere in the building, making the system universal. For example, you can start running pipes from the coldest part of it (northern).
  2. Installation requires less pipes and time, which saves money.
  3. For single-pipe systems, parallel or series connection of batteries is most often used. In this case, pipes can run not only along the floor, but also be hidden in it.

The disadvantages of a one-pipe system are:

  1. Lack of ability to regulate the heating process.
  2. Increased pressure, which requires pipes and radiators of special strength.
  3. The system is more efficient when the coolant is supplied from above.

For a two-pipe scheme, many “problems” are unimportant, since the supply and return pipes work separately in it, and radiators are installed between them.

For example, heating schemes for a 1-room apartment will look like horizontal two-pipe systems.

Among the advantages of the scheme:

  1. It can be combined with any type of coolant supply.
  2. As a rule, when using a two-pipe system, the coolant enters the radiators at the same temperature, which allows the rooms to be heated evenly.
  3. The pressure in the pipes is lower, so they last longer.
  4. They can be installed in buildings of any number of floors.
  5. The system is easy to repair in case of an accident, as it has locking devices.
This scheme is the most popular, despite the fact that it requires more installation time and consumables.

Methods for connecting radiators

Today, there are several schemes for connecting heating radiators in an apartment building.

Some of them are suitable for a centralized building heating system, others for autonomous heating:

  • parallel connection (on one side);
  • diagonally;
  • single-pipe connection;
  • single-pipe with bypass;
  • single-pipe bottom connection (for autonomous heating);
  • two-pipe diagonally.
If the apartment is to change radiators with centralized heating, then you should choose the same connection method as before. When changing the heating to an autonomous type, you can change the battery connection diagram.

Currently, there is a choice on how to properly heat an apartment, since there are many alternatives to central heating.

Modern methods of heating an apartment

Now not only owners of private houses can afford to decide independently how to heat their homes, but also residents of multi-storey buildings.

New heating projects for apartment buildings offer: air heating using a boiler or heating element. It is suitable as a heating scheme in a 3-room apartment, for example, but with an area of ​​no more than 100 m2.

Its uniqueness is that the air in the apartment is not only heated, but also constantly ventilated. Its flows, entering the heat exchanger through a special grille, are filtered, heated and supplied to the premises.

Such a system is expensive and requires additional installation of a humidifier if there is no built-in one, but in the future the costs are justified.

It is almost impossible to install water heating in an apartment, since with a centralized heating system for the building, permission for this simply will not be given. For this type of heating it is important to choose the right pump. Most often they use gas or electric appliances. For example, if you are choosing a heating scheme for a one-room apartment with a gas boiler, then before purchasing it you should make power calculations taking into account the area of ​​the room, the number of windows and possible sources of heat loss.

Electrical heating is still popular. For this purpose, convectors and warm electric floors are used, which have proven themselves well over many years of operation. They were once considered a luxury, but today they are easily accessible systems that you can even install yourself.

The most innovative apartment heating systems are infrared floors, which are also called “smart”. They not only efficiently heat rooms using infrared waves, but also regulate the entire process.

Drawing a conclusion, we can say that the heating system in a multi-storey building is distributed:

  • by type of coolant;
  • according to where the heat comes from: apartment, individual and centralized heating;
  • according to the battery connection diagram;
  • by wiring - top or bottom.

When choosing a scheme, engineers are guided by the number of floors in the building and the location of the highway. Increasingly, modern high-rise buildings no longer use central heating, allowing residents to make their own decisions about how to heat themselves in winter.

Useful video:

netholodu.com

Heating an apartment building: coolant distribution and the possibility of switching to autonomous heating

How does the heating of a residential building work? Rising tariffs encourage the transition to autonomous heating of apartments; but the refusal of central heating in an apartment building, in addition to a mass of bureaucratic obstacles, also means a number of technical problems. To understand how to solve them, you need to imagine a coolant distribution diagram.


We will try to figure out what path the water takes on its way to our batteries.

Heating system design

Elevator unit

The heating system of residential buildings begins with inlet valves that cut off the house from the route. It is along their flange closest to the external wall that the division of the areas of responsibility of housing and heating workers passes.

  • Hot water taps on the supply and return pipelines. The implementation may be different: each pipeline may have one or two tie-ins; in the second case, a flange with a retaining washer is mounted between the taps, creating a pressure difference to ensure continuous circulation. This is necessary so that the water in the DHW risers is hot around the clock, and the heated towel rails powered by hot heating remain hot.

Useful: in winter, when the supply temperature is below 90C, the DHW in this case is connected between the connections on the supply, and above - on the return. In summer, the circulation mode of the hot water supply system is from supply to return.

  • The heating elevator itself is a key component that provides heating for a multi-story building. In it, hotter water from the supply, due to greater pressure, is supplied through a nozzle into the socket and, through a suction, draws part of the water from the return pipeline into a repeated circulation cycle through the heating circuit. It is the diameter of the nozzle that regulates the heating in an apartment building - it determines the real difference inside the heating system and the temperature of the mixture, and therefore the heating devices.
  • House valves allow you to cut off the heating circuit. They are open in winter and closed in summer.
  • After them, discharges are installed - valves to drain or bypass the system. In some cases, the heating system of a residential building is connected through a valve to the cold water supply system - solely to ensure that the radiators can be filled with cold water for the summer.

One of the simplest schemes of an elevator unit.

Spills and risers

The word “bottling” among professionals refers to both the direction of water circulation and the thick pipe through which water flows to the risers.

Typical heating of a 5-story building is made with bottom bottling. The supply and return pipes are routed along the outer contour of the house in the basement. Each pair of risers is a jumper between them. The risers are connected to each other upstairs - in an apartment on the top floor or in the attic.

A couple of nuances:

  • Jumpers placed in the attic are pure evil. It is almost impossible to ensure ideal thermal insulation of the attic and maintain a constant positive temperature in it. Any stop of heating means that after half an hour there is ice in the jumpers instead of water.
  • An air vent is mounted at the top point of the jumper. In typical Soviet-built houses, it is a simple and extremely fail-safe design - the Mayevsky tap.

Bottom filling is associated with a problematic start of circulation after each discharge: the jumpers become air-filled, and for normal operation of all risers it is necessary to bleed air from each jumper. It can be problematic for locksmiths to get into all apartments, to put it mildly.

Two options for implementing bottom filling. In the first case, one of the paired risers is single; in the second, heating devices are mounted on both.

The heating system in a nine-story Soviet-built building is often somewhat different: the supply bottling is located in the attic. An expansion tank with an air vent is also mounted there; there is also one of a pair of valves that shut off each riser.

After stopping and resetting the heating, problems with defrosting are extremely rare:

  1. When the bottling is laid at the correct slope and the vent is open, ALL water from the bottling and the top of the risers is discharged in a matter of seconds.
  2. Despite thermal insulation, bottling losses are large enough to warm up the attic even with minimal thermal insulation of the room.
  3. Finally, bottling is a pipe with a diameter of at least 40-50 millimeters with great thermal inertia, which, even with water without circulation, will not freeze in five minutes.

Top filling has a number of other features:

  • The temperature of radiators decreases linearly from floor to floor, which is usually compensated by their large size. It is clear that below, already cooled coolant enters the heating devices; Therefore, heating of the first floor is usually carried out with the maximum number of radiator sections or the total area of ​​​​convectors.

In addition: the temperature in the basement is usually lower than in apartments. Losses through the ceiling on the outer floors are usually much greater.

  • Starting the heating is very simple: the system is filled; both house valves open; then the vent on the expansion tank opens for a short time - and ALL risers are involved in circulation.
  • Removing a separate riser, on the other hand, is more difficult and involves a lot of movement. You first need to find and turn off the required riser in the attic, then find and shut off the second valve in the basement, and only then unscrew the plug or open the vent.

The top pouring scheme is also popular in private houses with more than one floor.

Heating devices

In Soviet-built houses, two types of heating devices are typical:

  1. Cast iron sectional heating radiators. The huge mass and heat transfer of 140-160 watts per section, not very aesthetic appearance and constant leaks of paronite gaskets between sections have recently made them unpopular in city apartments.
  2. In the 80-90s, central heating in an apartment building was often installed with steel convectors. The heating device is a turn or several turns of a solid DN20 pipe (3/4 inch) with pressed cross plates to increase heat transfer.

In the same 90s, they were massively replaced with radiators due to the very optimistic heat transfer calculated by the builders: due to lack of funding, the temperature schedule was rarely maintained, and it was very cold in the apartments.

Nowadays, heating of residential buildings with central heating is usually carried out with bimetallic radiators, which consist of a core with channels for the movement of water made of corrosion-resistant steel and an aluminum shell with developed fins. The price of the section is quite high - 500-700 rubles; however, this type of heating device combines extreme mechanical strength with excellent heat dissipation (up to 200 watts per section).


The bimetallic radiator combines the strength of steel with the thermal conductivity of aluminum.

When installing heating devices with your own hands, it is worth considering one important point: if any throttling fittings (throttle, valve, thermostatic head) are placed in front of the radiator, then in front of them, closer to the riser, there must be a jumper.

What is this instruction related to? With the fact that in the absence of a jumper, your throttle will regulate the flow rate not of your radiator, but of the entire riser. Your neighbors will be happy...

Temperature

There are a number of restrictions and regulations related to temperatures inside a living space.

  • SNiP sets the following temperature standards: living rooms - 20C, corner rooms - 22C, kitchen - 18C, bathroom and combined toilet - 25C. It is better to focus on them if you are planning to switch to autonomous heating.
  • In no utility service inside a residential building should the temperature exceed 95 degrees. For preschool educational institutions, the norm is even lower - 37 degrees. This is why in kindergarten groups you can see batteries of such a terrible size.

The size and number of heating devices in kindergartens are related to the limitation of coolant temperature.

However: in the heating main at the same time there may be 140C at the supply.

How to cut heating

How to refuse heating in an apartment building?

Documentation

We will only partially touch on the documentary part. The problem is quite painful; permission to disconnect from the central heating center is given by organizations extremely reluctantly, and often it has to be obtained through the courts. It is quite possible that in your case it would be much more useful not to read a technical article, but to consult a lawyer knowledgeable in the Housing Code.

The main steps are:

  1. Let's find out if it is technically possible to turn it off. It is at this stage that most of the friction will occur: neither housing and communal services nor heat suppliers like to lose payers.
  2. Technical specifications for an autonomous heating system are being prepared. You need to calculate the approximate gas consumption (if you use it for heating) and show that you are able to provide a temperature regime in the apartment that is safe for the building’s structures.
  3. The fire inspection act is signed.
  4. If you plan to install a boiler with a closed burner and exhaust of combustion products to the facade of the building, you will need a permit signed by the Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision Authority.
  5. A licensed installation organization is hired to draw up the project. You will need a full package of documents - from instructions for the boiler to a copy of the installers' license.
  6. After installation is completed, a gas service representative is invited to connect the boiler and start it up for the first time.
  7. The last stage: you put the boiler on permanent maintenance and notify the gas supplier about the transition to individual heating.

The procedure is very complicated. Often the compromise will be to install an individual meter.

Technical side

Refusal of heating in an apartment building is due to the fact that you need to dismantle all heating devices without disrupting the operation of the heating system. How it's done?

In houses with bottom filling, it is worth considering two cases separately:

  • If you live on the top floor, you obtain the consent of the lower neighbors and move the jumper between the paired risers to their apartment. In this way, you completely isolate yourself from the CO. Of course, you will have to pay for welding work, installation of an air vent, and cosmetic repairs to the neighbors’ ceiling.
  • On the middle floor, only heating appliances are dismantled, with welding and cutting off the hoses. A jumper of the same diameter as the rest of the pipe cuts into the riser. Then the riser along its entire length is carefully insulated.

Please note: refusal of central heating does not deprive you of the obligation to provide housing and communal services with access to the riser passing through your apartment upon first request.

In the case of top filling, events develop according to the second scenario. Even on the top floor, heating risers will pass through your apartment and connect to the bottling supply above (read also the article “Heating project and features of its design”).


If you live on the top floor of a house with a bottom bottling and there is a non-residential premises below you, everything is simple. In the photo the risers have already been cut off. All that remains is to install the jumper with the air vent.

Conclusion

You will find additional information about how the heating systems of residential buildings are arranged in the video attached to the article. Warm winters!

otoplenie-gid.ru

Heating system of an apartment building: technical design and operating features

The simplest climate network of a private house consists of a heating boiler, heating radiators and pipes connecting these elements into a closed ring through which the coolant circulates. However, the heating systems of multi-storey buildings are designed completely differently, which must be taken into account when repairing or modernizing its component located in the apartment. Otherwise, problems with neighbors and the housing office cannot be avoided.


The heating system of high-rise buildings differs from the climate network of your own cottage

Heating arrangement diagram with central coolant supply

House distribution center

The heating system in an apartment building begins with shut-off valves, which are installed on the pipe connecting the pipelines in the basement with the supply and discharge heat mains (instructions established by SNiP 41-01-2003).

Note! This point is very important for housing and communal services workers and the organization supplying heat.

It is through this valve that the delimitation of their powers is carried out: the organization providing heating services is responsible for the safety and operability of external communications; the housing office or condominiums should worry about the serviceability of the internal ones.


In the photo - elevator heating unit

After the shut-off valve there is various equipment necessary to ensure the circulation of coolant and hot water throughout the apartments located on all floors of the house. Its list and description are given in the table.

Distribution unit detail Description
Hot water supply pipes Immediately after the tap that shuts off the coolant supply, pipes are installed to connect to the hot water supply pipes. There may be one or two inserts (for a one-pipe or two-pipe circuit, respectively). In the latter case, the pipes are connected to each other by a jumper, which ensures constant pressure and circulation of water in hot water pipes and heated towel rails installed in bathrooms.
Heating elevator This is the main element of the climate network, without which the heating system of a multi-storey building with a centralized coolant supply cannot exist. It consists of a nozzle and a bell, which create increased pressure. Thanks to it, the liquid reaches the upper distribution of heating pipes (in the attic). In addition, there may be a suction here, which draws the coolant coming from the return into the repeated cycle.
Valves They are used to isolate the heating circuit of apartments from the general piping system. In winter, for obvious reasons, they are open; in summer they are closed.
Drain fittings It is installed in the lower parts of the pipeline and serves to discharge coolant in the summer or if it is necessary to repair elements of the heating network located in the house.
Connecting pipeline with shut-off valves A pipe is installed at the bottom of the heating system connecting the heating system to the cold water supply pipes. It is necessary for filling heating radiators in the summer in order to prevent the formation of corrosion in the batteries.

Such valves regulate the amount of coolant entering the apartments

The heating system of an apartment building is adjusted by changing the diameter of the heating elevator nozzle. By closing and opening the corresponding valve, the housing and communal services worker accelerates or slows down the circulation of the coolant in the heating system, due to which the temperature in the radiators changes.

Supply and discharge pipelines

The next important element of the heating system of apartment buildings is the risers, which supply water to each floor of the house and remove the cooled coolant that has flowed through the radiators installed in the dwellings.

There are two main schemes:

  1. The coolant is supplied through one pipe and removed through another. These main risers, located at different ends of the house, are connected on each floor by jumpers through which liquid flows, getting into all the radiators along the way. This is how the heating system of an old 5-story apartment building is organized.

Heating scheme with horizontal coolant distribution

This scheme was subsequently abandoned, as it makes it difficult to completely discharge the coolant. When pipes or radiators in an apartment become airy, it is very difficult to remove all the water from horizontal sections of pipelines.

  1. Water is supplied to the attic through a vertical pipe, after which it goes down, flowing from battery to battery, starting from the top floor and ending with the bottom.

Note! Both of these water distribution schemes have one significant drawback - the connecting jumper located in the attic or technical floor.

It is necessary to vent air through the air valve, but it leads to quite significant heat loss, which reduces the efficiency of the climate system as a whole.


Schemes of modern wiring of heating systems in a high-rise building

Considering that the technical levels of apartment buildings (attics and basements) are not heated, there is a danger of the coolant freezing in the event of a heating system failure.

To avoid this, the following design features of heating risers are provided:

  1. Slope of horizontal lintels. If the difference in pipeline heights stipulated by SNiP is correctly observed, during the descent of the coolant, all the liquid in the pipes leaves and the formation of ice, which can rupture the pipes and radiators, is completely eliminated.
  2. Heating of technical floors. Although heating radiators are not provided in the attic and basement, the pipes themselves, despite the glass wool or mineral fiber covering them, still heat the air, so the coolant will not cool down immediately after an emergency stop of heating.
  3. Great inertia. The upper and lower jumpers of the risers are pipes that are quite large in diameter (more than 50 mm). Their cooling after stopping the heat supply does not occur immediately. Thanks to this, the water in them does not have time to freeze.

Heating pipes located in the attic may freeze in the event of a heating network failure

In general, the currently used scheme with overhead coolant distribution is quite effective, although it has some operating features:

  1. Putting the heating system into operation is as simple as possible. It is enough to open the shut-off valves that block the access of water and the air valve in the attic. After the pipes are filled with water, the latter is shut off to avoid loss of coolant. This concludes the activities to launch the climate network.
  2. On the contrary, turning off heating and emergency coolant discharge is difficult. You must first find the required pipe on the top floor, turn off the valves there, and then open the tap on the lower section of the riser.
  3. With vertical distribution, heat distribution occurs unevenly (although the price of heating services is the same). The fact is that the upper apartments receive hotter coolant, which warms up the apartment better. To compensate for this, heating radiators with a large number of sections must be installed in the apartments located below.

To start the heating, just turn the required valve, let in the coolant and bleed the air from the pipes

Heat exchange devices in apartments

If you did not replace heating appliances in a city apartment with your own hands, then its heating is carried out by one of two devices:

  1. Cast iron battery. It has low heat transfer, significant inertia, enormous weight and is not at all aesthetically pleasing. On the other hand, this device can be used with coolant of any quality. Cast iron is practically not subject to corrosion and can last more than 50 years with periodic cleaning of internal deposits.

Cast iron battery is the most common heating device

  1. Steel pipe with heat exchanger plates. This heating device was installed in connection with savings during the construction of houses and does not stand up to any criticism.

Nowadays, bimetallic heating radiators are rightly considered the best option for a heating system with a central coolant supply.

These devices consist of:

  • steel frame through which the coolant flows;
  • aluminum heat exchanger placed on the frame - it increases heat transfer and gives the battery an attractive appearance.

Durable steel tubes inside prevent corrosion (unlike all-aluminum radiators) and give the radiator strength, protecting against hydraulic and pneumatic shocks, which are not uncommon for centralized heating systems.

Another positive aspect of using a bimetallic device is high power. This makes it possible to use fewer sections.


Bimetallic radiator - the future of heating systems with centralized coolant supply

The only drawback is the high cost. The described heating units are among the most expensive among all currently existing heating equipment.

Note! If there are control valves at the inlet pipes of your batteries - taps, thermostats, chokes, etc. - you must install a bypass (a jumper between the inlet and outlet pipes of the battery).

Otherwise, the thermostat will control the volume of coolant not only in your battery, but also in all apartments located below, which is unlikely to please your neighbors.

Features of hot water supply systems

The organization that provides heating for apartment buildings also manages the supply of hot water to consumers.

Like the climate system, this utility network has some distinctive features:

  1. Heating of hot water and coolant during the heating period is carried out centrally. Most often, the same pipelines are used to supply both fluids. To separate the flow, shut-off valves located in the basement are used.

The availability of hot water in the tap depends on the health of the central heating system

  1. The hot water supply system may have one or two pipes. The latter scheme is more preferable, as it avoids the overconsumption of water that occurs in a single-pipe system when the tap is opened (each consumer waits until the cooled water drains and hot water begins to flow).
  2. Radiators installed in the bathroom and used for drying towels are often connected to the hot water supply pipeline. This is not a very successful scheme, since the heated towel rail remains hot in the summer, making being in the bathroom uncomfortable.

Advice! The solution to this problem is simple. During repairs or when replacing heating equipment in an apartment, shut-off valves must be installed on the inlet and outlet pipes.

Don't forget to install a bypass.

  1. Due to the fact that hot water is supplied through heating pipes, it is often turned off in the summer. This is necessary for carrying out preventive work on the main equipment of heating networks.

Conclusion

The heating system of apartment buildings with a centralized coolant supply is fundamentally different from individual climate networks. Unqualified intervention and modernization can not only worsen the quality of heating for neighbors, but also lead to complete obstruction of pipelines.

Therefore, when performing any work, you must strictly follow the prescribed rules or use the services of qualified specialists. You can learn more about the utility networks of high-rise buildings from the video posted in this article.

Page 2

The lion's share of the modern housing stock in large cities is made up of multi-storey buildings built during the Soviet Union. In those days, the issue of saving heat was not so pressing, and heating of residential buildings was carried out through a centralized system. It was relevant then, but at the moment more and more of our compatriots are thinking about how to refuse heating in an apartment building.


Photo of Khrushchev.

Central heating system

No one will argue that the centralized system of supplying heat to apartment buildings, in the form in which it now exists, is, to put it mildly, morally outdated.

It's no secret that losses during transportation can reach up to 30% and we have to pay for all this. Refusal of central heating in an apartment building is a complex and troublesome procedure, but first, let's figure out how it works.

Heating a multi-storey building is a complex engineering structure. There is a whole set of drains, distributors, flanges that are connected to a central unit, the so-called elevator unit, through which the heating in an apartment building is controlled.


Two-pipe heating circuit.

There is no point in talking in detail about the intricacies of the operation of this system now, since this is done by professionals and the common man simply does not need it, because nothing depends on him. For clarity, it’s better to consider the heat supply diagram to the apartment.

Bottom filling

As the name implies, the distribution scheme with bottom filling provides for the supply of coolant from bottom to top. Classic heating of a 5-storey building is installed exactly according to this principle.

As a rule, the supply and return lines are installed around the perimeter of the building and run in the basement. The supply and return risers, in this case, are a jumper between the mains. This is a closed system that rises to the top floor and descends again to the basement.

Two types of bottling in comparison.

Despite the fact that this scheme is considered the simplest, putting it into operation is a troublesome task for mechanics. The fact is that at the top point of each riser, a device for bleeding air, the so-called Mayevsky valve, is installed. Before each start, you need to bleed the air, otherwise the air lock will block the system and the riser will not be heated.

Important: some residents of the upper floors try to move the air release valve to the attic so as not to have to deal with housing and communal services workers every season. Such alterations can be expensive.

The attic is a cold room, and if in winter the heating is stopped for an hour, the pipes in the attic will freeze and burst.

A serious disadvantage here is that on one side of the five-story building, where the input passes, the batteries are hot, and on the opposite side they are cool. This is especially felt on the lower floors.


Option for connecting radiators.

Top filling

The heating device in the nine-story building is made according to a completely different principle. The supply line, bypassing the apartments, is immediately carried out to the upper technical floor. An expansion tank, an air release valve and a valve system are also located here, allowing the entire riser to be cut off if necessary.

In this case, the heat is distributed more evenly across all radiators in the apartment, regardless of their location. But here another problem emerges: the heating of the first floor in a nine-story building leaves much to be desired. After all, having passed through all the floors, the coolant reaches downstairs already barely warm; this can only be combated by increasing the number of sections in the radiator.

Important: the problem with freezing water on the technical floor, in this case, is not so acute. After all, the cross-section of the supply line is about 50 mm, plus in the event of an accident, you can completely drain the water from the entire riser in a few seconds, you just need to open the vent in the attic and the valve in the basement.


Heating of Khrushchev.

Temperature balance

Of course, everyone knows that central heating in an apartment building has its own clearly regulated standards. So during the heating season, the temperature in the rooms should not fall below +20 ºС, in the bathroom or in the combined toilet +25 ºС.


Modern heating of new buildings.

Due to the fact that the kitchen in old houses is not very large, plus it is naturally heated by periodic operation of the stove, the permissible minimum temperature in it is +18 ºС.

Important: all the above data is valid for apartments located in the central part of the building. For side apartments, where most of the walls are external, the instructions prescribe an increase in temperature above the standard by 2 - 5 ºС.


Heating standards by region.

Individual heating problems

Refusal of central heating in an apartment building is the cherished dream of many of our compatriots. If in large industrial centers the heating system of residential buildings is still maintained in decent condition, then on the outskirts of our mighty homeland things are not so rosy.

Two sides of the problem

Individual refusal of heating in an apartment building, as already mentioned, is a complex and troublesome process. Conventionally, the whole problem can be divided into 2 important stages, this is legal, that is, the preparation of various types of documents and approval by authorities. And technical, which includes the actual purchase and installation of equipment.

Output of a coaxial pipe on the wall of a house.

Strange as it may sound, the technical stage is much simpler. Now the market offers many options for heating any home; there are a lot of specialized organizations that can quickly and efficiently install any equipment. In some cases, you can even install all this yourself.

Considering the level of bureaucracy and the number of officials in our country, legal registration sometimes turns into a very nervous and costly undertaking. The reason is elementary simple. By switching to an individual system, you stop paying the service company for heating, and the official who voluntarily takes away a piece of bread from his loved one has not yet been born. Therefore, the problem is often resolved only through the courts.

Calculation of heating charges.

Basic documentation

Below we provide a list of approvals and documents common to everyone, but sometimes some additional amendments and requirements are adopted at the local level.

Therefore, before starting your “attack on the bureaucracy,” it would be a good idea to consult with a specialized lawyer.

  • Initially, you should obtain a certificate of the availability of technical capabilities to conduct such events. It is issued by the operating company and at this stage the greatest difficulties may arise, because it is not easy to refuse an extra payer.
  • Next, technical conditions for installation of an autonomous system are drawn up. That is, the level of gas or electricity consumption, the possibility and nature of the connection and everything connected with it are calculated. It is better to hire a specialist here.
  • Naturally, there is no way without firefighters. Based on technical conditions and justifications, the fire inspector draws up and issues an appropriate act.

Heating distribution for a multi-storey building.

  • If you plan to heat a residential building with natural gas, then the boiler or heating convector will require the installation of a coaxial pipe to remove combustion products and supply fresh air to the burner. In addition to the gas service itself, permission for such installation is also signed at the sanitary and epidemiological station.
  • Even if you are a craftsman and can easily arrange everything yourself, in any case you will need to hire a company that has an official license to carry out such work. Moreover, you must have certified copies of the licenses themselves.
  • After everything is installed and ready for use, you should call a representative of the local gas service to connect and seal the system. Here you can draw up a service agreement for the unit; without it you will not be given permission to operate.

Personal boiler room for a multi-storey building.

The practical side of the issue

After receiving all permits, the first thing you must do is get rid of all heating devices connected to the central system. In modern new buildings this is done simply, where apartments are rented with the expectation that the owners themselves must install the wiring. It is enough to block and seal the input.


Heat supply of the apartment.

With Khrushchev and nine-story buildings the situation is much more complicated. There the risers run right into the apartment. It is easiest for residents of the top floor to disconnect; the system is cut off from the neighbors below and looped.

Owners of middle floors will have to install powerful thermal insulation on the riser to prove to the authorities that they are not using public heat. The standards here are floating, so everything depends on the will of the official.

A few words about heaters

In this case, heating can be organized in two ways: using convectors and by installing a liquid system with a boiler. Gas or electric convectors are local devices. They are attached to the wall and fully heat only one room.


Gas convector.

Installing a gas or electric convector for heating a city apartment is advisable only as an addition to the central system. In this case, officials will not interfere much, since they do not lose anything.

If you plan to completely abandon central heating in an apartment building, then it is more profitable to install a central boiler.

  • Heating a residential building with a gas boiler is the most profitable option. In this case, the best option would be to install a wall-mounted double-circuit unit. The power of such boilers reaches 25 kW and they are quite capable of heating an apartment of 100 m². In the southern regions or in apartments located in the center of the building, such a boiler can cope with larger square footage. Plus the second circuit will provide you with hot water for domestic needs.

Mounted boiler.

  • The same can be said about electric boilers. In terms of power, they are quite comparable to gas equipment. They are also available as single or double circuit. The price of such equipment is much lower, but subsequently heating with electricity is a little more expensive.
  • It is worth mentioning separately about electrode boilers. The dimensions of these units are perfect for the conditions of a city apartment, the price of the equipment is quite affordable, plus in comparison with other electrical appliances, these boilers are much more economical. The only problem is that they are intended only for heating; heating water for domestic use will not work.

Choosing radiators

As you know, the room temperature largely depends on the quality of the selected batteries.

The number, material and configuration of sections directly depend on the amount of heat generated and, of course, fuel economy.


Radiator made of aluminum.

  • Steel radiators are now extremely rare. These designs have more disadvantages than advantages. With fairly mediocre heat transfer, they are highly susceptible to corrosion processes and will not last long. The only thing that speaks in their favor is the low price.
  • Relatively recently appeared aluminum batteries are enjoying deserved popularity. They are lightweight, durable and have unique heat transfer characteristics. They are ideal for an autonomous system, but in a centralized urban system, aluminum may not withstand water hammer.
  • Bimetallic batteries were specifically developed for urban systems with high pressure. The steel frame is coated with aluminum, making them in no way inferior to the best examples in this field.
  • Naturally, cast iron batteries for heating systems are deservedly considered a classic. As for technical characteristics, cast iron, apart from its solid mass, is perfectly suitable for heating systems. Some do not like such batteries for their rough appearance, but modern cast-iron radiators look no worse, and sometimes even better, than their fashionable aluminum counterparts.

  • Calculation of heating of a one-pipe system

Having central heating in an apartment is, of course, convenient, since the owners “don’t have a headache” in this regard. But, unfortunately, this is not always practical, since the temperature in the rooms begins to directly depend on the thermal regime established in the common boiler room. In addition, such a system is not insured against emergency situations that may occur at any site her length, as a result of which the entire house is often turned off from heating. Many difficulties also arise during the “off-season” periods, when cold snaps that arrive early are ahead of the planned the beginning of the heating season, or, conversely, the batteries are heated when the weather outside is too warm.

Despite violations of temperature conditions and temporary shutdowns of the house from heating, payment for it remains unchanged, which absolutely not profitable ordinary users. Therefore, in recent years, a trend has been gaining momentum when more and more owners of apartments in high-rise buildings are resorting to installing autonomous heating systems.

Those who decide to “separate”, as a rule, have numerous questions related to various nuances of this procedure. Therefore, we will consider further individual heating in an apartment building - necessary documents and installation rules for him.

Advantages and disadvantages of autonomous heating in an apartment

Before deciding on such a radical replacement, it is necessary to evaluate all the pros and cons of an individual heating system.

So, advantages availability of an autonomous heating system are as follows:

  • The possibility of heating the apartment in the off-season, when the central system is not yet turned on or is already turned off, in accordance with established regional standards, which are based on the ambient temperature, is very unstable and with large daily fluctuations at these times of the year.
  • The ability to maintain the required temperature in the rooms, which is much more difficult to organize with central heating, since it does not take into account the location of the apartment and the degree of its insulation. There is probably no need to explain that apartments located inside the house, and corner ones, and even exposed to the prevailing winter winds, still require a differentiated approach to heating. However, to balance consumption costs, payment for warmth is calculated equally, usually based on the area of ​​the apartment.

Therefore, having installed autonomous heating in apartments, you can and should immediately take into account the specifics of the location of the rooms, obtaining both a comfortable microclimate in any of them and considerable savings in money.

  • Autonomous heating can be easily adjusted to individual operating modes. For example, there is no point in heating “to the fullest” if all the residents are absent at the moment. It would be more logical to only maintain the required level of heating. But by the time the owners arrive, the automation will “catch up” the heat so that the rooms have the optimal temperature.

Many modern control systems are also capable of independently responding to changing weather conditions. They can also be controlled remotely using GSM or IP communication channels.

  • A reduction in operating costs will also occur due to significantly lower energy consumption, since modern gas or electric equipment is designed for optimal energy consumption - they have high efficiency rates approaching 100 percent.
  • When installing, it is quite possible to abandon the central hot water supply system, providing your family with hot water autonomously. This means that an apartment equipped with such a unit will not depend on summer hot water maintenance work, and there will always be hot water.

  • Another advantage can be attributed to the fact that you have to pay for central heating even in the summer, since it requires constant maintenance. Having installed an autonomous heating option, payments will be made only according to the gas (or electric) meter, that is, it will be possible to directly control energy consumption and costs for heating and hot water supply, conduct analysis and find ways to further save.

However, there are also considerable difficulties when transferring an apartment to individual heating, and they can be attributed to shortcomings its arrangement:

  • All work must be carried out legally and in compliance with all requirements necessary for this process. Unauthorized reconstruction, firstly, will not eliminate utility bills for heating and hot water supply. And secondly, it also threatens with serious administrative punishment in the form of a rather large fine.
  • There will be difficulties associated with preparing documentation for disconnecting from central communications, developing a project, and obtaining permission to install equipment.
  • It will be necessary to allocate or equip a room with a proper ventilation system for installing the heating unit.
  • Installation of the system is a task of a fairly high complexity category.
  • Considerable expenses will be required, both in paperwork and in purchasing everything necessary for the installation of autonomous heating and hot water supply. And this does not even take into account installation work.
  • All responsibility for carrying out operational and preventive measures, as well as for the safety of the system, falls entirely on the owner of the apartment. It should be taken into account that all of the above-mentioned processes associated with autonomous heating will be controlled by the relevant specialized organizations, whose representatives the owner of the apartment will have to provide access to the installed equipment.

However, even taking into account all the upcoming difficulties and significant initial costs, an autonomous heating system is in all respects much more profitable than central heating and hot water supply. In practice, it will pay for itself quickly enough and will serve reliably for many years.

A package of necessary documents for “autonomization”

In order to organize autonomous heating in an apartment, you will have to do some redevelopment, and this, as you know, is quite a process labour intensive. It should be taken into account that the preparation of permitting documents can take from three to five months, and installation work can take about a week. In this regard, the preparation process must begin in advance.


Preliminary approvals and obtaining permits

So, the first step is to decide on the documents that will be required in order to begin developing the project, purchasing equipment, and then installing an autonomous system. The list of documents is approved by Art. 26 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation “Grounds for the reconstruction and (or) redevelopment of residential premises.”

Any reconstruction of residential premises is carried out taking into account the established requirements and in agreement with local authorities. For approval, it is necessary to collect a package of documents, which includes standard legal documents for ownership of this housing, which include the following:

  • Application-petition for housing reconstruction. The application form is standard and approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.
  • Certificate of State registration of ownership of an apartment - this may be the right of inheritance or an agreement on the transfer of ownership of housing. A copy of the document certified by a notary will be required.
  • Technical passport for the apartment - a photocopy certified by a notary.
  • An apartment redevelopment project, completed in accordance with the established form.
  • A certified copy of the document indicating all the persons registered in the apartment.
  • Consent to the reconstruction of the heating system from all residents of the apartment. This document is drawn up on one sheet of paper, where all persons living in the apartment are listed, and then they put their signatures, confirming their consent.
  • A document from the organization for the protection of architectural monuments, if the house where reconstruction is planned belongs to the category of architectural monuments.

The applicant should remember that self-government bodies do not have the right to demand other documents not provided for in this article. After accepting the package of documentation for consideration, the applicant must be issued a receipt with a list of accepted documents.

Review and decision on consent or refusal must be carried out no later than in 45 days from the date of submission of documentation. The document developed by the commission must be issued to the applicant no later than 3 working days after the decision is made.

According to the norms and rules of technical operation of housing, which are approved by the State Construction Committee of Russia No. 170 dated 27. 09.03. , a refusal to redevelop or reconstruct a residential premises may follow if these actions worsen the living conditions of all or individual residents of the building where the applicant’s apartment is located.

However, that's not all. The list of documents indicates a redevelopment project, which must be approved by the gas and heat supply regulatory organizations, since permission must be obtained to disconnect from the central heating system and install gas equipment. And after receiving such permits, a project for redevelopment and installation of an autonomous system is drawn up, which must be agreed upon with the relevant authorities.

Therefore, it is necessary to prepare all the above documents, since they will have to be presented to all organizations that directly influence the preparation of the project. Documentation is completed in the following order:

  • The first organization you need to contact is the city or district heating networks. It is there that permission is given to disconnect the apartment’s heating circuit from the central heating system. Consent can be issued if the shutdown does not lead to disruption of the engineering equipment of nearby apartments or the entire building. In principle, there cannot be any other reasons for refusal.

If an unfounded refusal is received from this organization, then this is a reason to go to the courts. It should be noted that sometimes an application for disconnection is submitted through the organization of self-government of the housing stock.

  • Then, with the received letter of agreement, you must contact the gas service of the district or city to obtain technical conditions for the installation of autonomous heating. This document must be issued within 10 days from the date of the applicant’s application.
  • After receiving the specifications, taking all the documentation for the apartment, you can go to a design or energy organization that is engaged in drawing up such projects. If the boiler was purchased before the project was drawn up, and it meets all the requirements for installation in an apartment in a multi-storey building, then documentation for it should also be provided to the design organization. The project will be prepared taking into account the provided technical conditions.

Most of the requirements imposed by regulatory organizations, including the gas service, are specified in the document “Heating, ventilation and air conditioning”, paragraph 6.2 “Apartment heat supply systems” SNiP41 - 01-2003.

To free yourself from going through all the authorities, you can entrust the preparation and approval of all necessary documents to the design organization. In some regions of Russia, this function is taken over by the gas service. Naturally, all this additional work comes at an additional cost.

Autonomous heating project

Separately, it is necessary to say about the heating reconstruction project. First of all, before contacting specialists who will carry out the design work, you need to carefully study the technical conditions used in drawing up the project, and it is advisable to draw up a preliminary sketch of the approximate location of the heating elements.


Its exact location can be determined after specialists study the apartment plan, which is in the technical passport.

So, the project is a necessary document when carrying out any reconstruction of a residential premises. Based on it, a new heating circuit and heating boiler will be installed. How correctly and accurately this document is drawn up, and then the equipment is installed according to it, the more efficiently it will work.

The project includes data on external and internal factors that determine the type of heating:

  • Climatic conditions of the region in which the house is located.
  • Engineering and technical characteristics of the structure.
  • Available energy sources on which the heating system can operate.
  • Technical characteristics of heated housing - the number of rooms, the presence of loggias, as well as the area and volume of the premises.
  • The financial side of the issue.

Based on these data, not only the installation location of the heating unit is selected, but also its type, as well as power.

To make heating efficient and economical, it is recommended to entrust the development of its design to specialists. This stage is best handled by energy companies that themselves control or interact with organizations that approve the heating sector, with whom the project will subsequently be coordinated, which will definitely ensure the correctness of its preparation, and therefore approval.

To obtain a positive result and an optimal technical solution, the customer must work closely with the organization developing the project. During the process of creating a project, several options are usually considered. The customer selects the one that suits him most, after which the technical parameters of the unit and all the necessary equipment are determined. The project is being developed in several stages:

  • If the customer has not provided his own version of the sketch, then work begins with it.
  • A heating circuit diagram is being developed, on the basis of which the system will be installed.
  • Documentation for the designed heating system is being prepared.
  • An estimate is drawn up.

If this work is entrusted to professionals, then at each specific stage of project development, specialists in the field of heat supply, ventilation, architecture, and energy supply will participate in it.

The project consists of several parts, which present certain data from different aspects of the project:

  • Descriptive part provides information about the content and significance of the project. This section of the document, in turn, is divided into several paragraphs, which contain the following technical data:

— location of the apartment or house, if it is planned to be installed in the private sector;

— location of residential premises and layout features.

The descriptive section of the document clarifies the technical characteristics of the premises, taking into account their location and climatic characteristics of the region where the building is located. This description is necessary in order to determine the types and types of heating equipment. This information will subsequently be used to carry out calculations and determine the power that the heating system should have, as well as the temperature parameters in the apartment.

  • Technological calculations - this is the main part of the project, which summarizes the parameters of the volume of the required energy carrier when the unit operates in different modes, as well as the optimal temperature of the coolant, ensuring the necessary heating of the apartment’s rooms. It is especially important to determine the power of the heating and hot water supply boiler, since on the basis of these calculations the selection of equipment and components for it is made.

In the same part, heat losses when heating rooms are calculated, on the basis of which it will be possible to draw conclusions about the efficiency of the system.

The calculated parameters will also show how appropriate this or that wiring is and the type of connection of radiators to the system circuit. The calculations also include the use of automatic control devices in the heating system.

Further, all the data obtained is necessarily reflected on the diagram of the heating system, which will become a guide for installers during the work. Deviations from the scheme developed by specialists and approved may lead to refusal to put the system into operation, which is permitted by the selection committee.


  • Specification . This section contains data on the main materials and elements of the heating system, and their main technical characteristics. This part of the project also includes a diagram of the heating system with marked components and devices listed in the list.

This information is key to calculating the hydrostatics of the system, as well as the required heating temperature. If these calculations are carried out incorrectly, the system will be ineffective and gas consumption will be exceeded.

  • Graphic image - this is an important section of the project, which visually represents what the overall design of the heating system will look like. This part of the project is carried out using special computer programs, most often in three-dimensional projection.

When submitting an application for project development, it is necessary to clarify for specialists the reasons for the transition to an autonomous type of heating. The more justifications there are, the more accurate the calculations will be, since specialists will know what to pay special attention to when carrying them out.

A copy of the design documents must be submitted to the gas company, which will subsequently maintain the installed equipment.

Gas boiler for autonomous heating of an apartment

When drawing up a project, specialists will offer boiler options that can be used for installation in an individual apartment heating system. However, you need to independently study some information related to the choice of unit.


First of all, you should refer to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 307, paragraph 44 of 16. 04.12. , which discusses the connection of heat supply systems. This resolution provides a list of heat and power devices that do not meet the established requirements and are therefore prohibited for installation in apartments of multi-storey buildings. After studying this document, you will be able to immediately decide which devices cannot be installed in the apartment’s autonomous heating system.

So, the list of boilers that can be used in apartments of multi-storey buildings includes units that operate on natural gas and meet the following requirements:

  • Having a closed (sealed) combustion chamber.
  • Mandatory automatic shutdown of the fuel supply in the event of a power outage, burner flame extinguishment, if there is a malfunction in the protection circuit, in case of insufficient pressure inside the system, which may fall below the limit value, when the coolant is heated above the limit temperature, as well as in case of problems in the smoke exhaust system .
  • With the permissible coolant temperature in the system not exceeding 95˚.
  • The coolant pressure is not more than 1 MPa.

In addition, boilers are single-circuit, used only for heating the apartment, and double-circuit, designed for both heating and water heating. When submitting an application and collecting documents, this factor must also be indicated. This is due to the fact that heating networks must give consent to disconnect the apartment not only from heating, but also from the hot water system.


Next, you need to decide on the design of the heating unit, since it can be wall-mounted or floor-mounted. For installation in a modern apartment, the wall-mounted version of gas equipment is most often chosen, since such boilers are compact in size and quite aesthetic design, resembling in appearance. Since the chimney pipe from the heating boiler must go outside, it will be convenient to place it on an external wall; with this installation there will be no problems with the location of the pipe in the room. As a rule, there is a window on the external wall that will solve problems with ventilation of the room. Typically, the power of a wall-mounted boiler is sufficient to heat a standard apartment with proper insulation of the walls and the presence of Euro-windows with double-glazed windows.

Premises in the apartment where a gas boiler can be installed

Separately, a few words need to be said about the room for installing a gas boiler, since it will not be possible to place it in any room, according to the owners’ preference.


The room for placing gas heating equipment must meet certain safety requirements, which include the following:

  • Gas equipment must not be installed in a residential area.
  • The area of ​​the room must be no less than 4 square meters.
  • The entrance door to the room with the installed boiler must have a width of at least 800 mm.
  • The room must be equipped with a window facing the street.
  • The boiler is wall mounted or installed on the floor, at a distance, which must be at least 300 mm from other gas equipment, for example, a gas stove.
  • Indoors, it is necessary to find the possibility of outputting it to the street, that is, through the wall. Exiting the pipe into a common house ventilation duct is not allowed.
  • Some heating units require forced ventilation in the room, that is, you will have to install an exhaust fan on the window. This will be indicated in the technical specifications.
  • A wall-mounted boiler must be mounted on a wall built of non-combustible material, and for a floor-standing boiler it is necessary to make a fire-resistant flooring, for example, lay ceramic floor tiles.

Without meeting these requirements, the commission signing the acceptance certificate will not give its consent to the commissioning of an autonomous heating system.

Based on the characteristics of the room, we can conclude that the unit can be installed in the kitchen or in a pre-insulated loggia combined with it. Since the gas boiler is connected to the main energy supply pipeline, which is connected to the kitchen area of ​​the apartment, it is this that is optimal for the location of the heating unit.


In addition, the kitchen must be equipped with a window facing the street and a door of the required width. And, in addition, a general house ventilation channel is connected to it, which is also necessary for placing an apartment “boiler room”.

How to choose a gas heating boiler?

In order for the purchased boiler to fully meet the to its parameters of the created system heating system, was reliable and easy to use, when purchasing, it is necessary to be guided by a number of criteria for evaluating such equipment. – read in a separate publication on our portal.

Autonomous electric heating

Installing electric heating is much simpler than gas heating. If only because there is a wider choice of where to install the boiler or other equipment, since the power supply is distributed throughout the apartment, and ventilation and a combustion product removal system are not required.

When planning the installation of electric heating, first of all, you need to consult the Energonadzor institution (or a similar organization). It is necessary to check the availability of resources in the house for the release of additional energy. If written consent has been received from this organization, then you must contact the heating network service with it and with a request to disconnect the apartment from the centralized heating supply.

The list of remaining documentation should be clarified with the energy company and local government authorities. The fact is that when installing electric heating in different regions of the country, the requirements for its installation may vary significantly. The only thing that needs to be noted is that the number of documents and approvals will be much less compared to the gas option for heating the apartment.

Thanks to modern technologies, today you can choose one of two options for electric heating. One involves the use of a heating unit with conventional piping for coolant circulation. The second involves direct heating by separately installed devices or systems - electric convectors, infrared heaters, "" systems.

Heating using an electric boiler

The system uses coolant, that is, the pipework and radiators remain in place. But they are connected to an electric heating boiler, and the coolant will be heated from it, and not from the central heating line.


Most modern models of electric heating units are equipped with automatic control. Therefore, the system can be programmed so that the heating of the premises to the required temperature does not occur constantly, but only at the time set by the owners. You can save a lot on this function, for example, by using a reduced night tariff for “charging” heat accumulator.

On sale are wall-mounted electric boilers, which can have a power of 5÷60 kW, as well as floor-standing options, their power exceeds 60 kW.

Experts will tell you which one to choose when submitting documents for drawing up a project for an electric heating system, which will contain a diagram of its arrangement. The choice of boiler will depend on the area and location of the apartment in the house, the degree of its insulation, the number of windows and balconies, as well as the material used to make the frames. Usually, when choosing a boiler power, they rely on established technological standards, that is, 1 kW of electricity per 10 “squares” of area.

We must not lose sight of the fact that if a unit with a power exceeding 9 kW is purchased, then there will be a need to re-equip the apartment electrical network and install a three-phase meter. If you plan to install a heating boiler with a larger capacity, then before purchasing it, you must consult and obtain written permission from the local energy company.

It should be taken into account that household electric boilers are not designed for a large number of radiators; therefore, their installation is optimal for heating small areas, up to 80 - 90 m². In addition to the boiler, “warm floor” systems can be used, which consume electricity quite economically.

Electric units operate according to a standard automatic heating system. The coolant (water or antifreeze) is heated as it passes through the boiler and then enters the heating circuit with radiators installed in it. Along this path, the coolant cools down and returns to the boiler for heating, etc. To make the circulation more intense and the radiators to warm up faster, a circulation pump is installed in the heating circuit.

An electric boiler, unlike gas equipment, can be installed in any utility room where it is convenient to install the power line, and from where it will be easier to carry out the general wiring of the heating circuit pipes. Most often, a kitchen or bathroom is also chosen for this. But sometimes it is also installed in the corridor, recessing the circuit pipe distribution into the wall surfaces.

What is an electric heating boiler?

The variety of such devices is quite large, and, not only in size, power and other operational parameters, but even in terms of heating principle. Read more about this in the special article on our portal dedicated to.

Direct space heating with electrical appliances

Heating using separate electrical appliances or a “warm floor” system, which can be combined or work separately, is called a direct heating system.


This option is preferable to choose if there is a desire to get rid of numerous pipes and volumetric radiators, since, for example, electric convectors have a more aesthetic appearance and compact size. The “warm floor” system can be cable rod or film - but in any case, it is completely invisible to the eye.

When combining individual devices into a single system, it is possible to connect it to a common control unit, with the help of which temperature conditions are set by time of day and day of the week, taking into account the family’s daily routine.


When choosing any type of electric heating, for safety reasons it is necessary to provide grounding, without which permission to put the system into operation will not be issued.

The advantage of electric heating is that, unlike gas heating, it is safer. And compared to the central system, it can be easily and very accurately adjusted, setting the required temperature.

The main disadvantage of the electrical system is that if there is a power outage, the apartment will be left not only without lighting, but also without heating. Therefore, if in a particular locality this phenomenon repeats itself with frightening consistency, then it is better to opt for autonomous gas heating of the apartment. In addition, the obvious “disadvantages” include very high electricity tariffs.

Features of the arrangement of electric heating lie in the observance of certain conditions that are not provided for the gas heating option. So, experts recommend:

  • Carry out for the electric heating system from the distribution shield separate power cable, which stabilizes the load on the general house electrical network.
  • RCD systems are installed today in all apartments of new buildings equipped with autonomous electric heating. If it is not there, then you will have to worry about purchasing such a block. This - reliable protection against electric shock when it leaks onto the device body.
  • It is highly desirable to install a two-tariff meter, which will help save money if the heat supply to the premises occurs during preferential hours.

Devices and systems for direct space heating – what to choose?

The variety of such devices is extremely wide. You can get to know each other better in a special article on the portal. Another publication will tell you in detail about the varieties and specific features various systems.

Installation of an autonomous heating system

Disconnecting an apartment from the central heating and hot water supply lines, as well as installing a gas and electric boiler, is carried out only by specialists from energy companies who have a special documented permit to carry out such work.


Such rules have been introduced to comply with all safety conditions both during installation and during operation of the equipment. We must not forget that in an apartment building there are many neighboring apartments with people in them. And you shouldn’t put your life and theirs in danger.

You can take on the laying of pipes and the placement of heating radiators, as well as the installation of other necessary elements of the system. But even then only if you have good skills in carrying out such operations.

In this publication, there is little point in dwelling on the installation order. The fact is that all the details are set out in a special article on the portal.

Nuances of installing a water heating system

Whether a gas boiler is installed or an electric one, otherwise the wiring of the pipe circuit, installation of radiators, additional devices and parts are almost the same. How to do it in a house or apartment - the recommended link will lead you to the corresponding detailed instructions.

Before deciding to abandon centralized heating and hot water supply, you need to weigh all the positive and negative aspects of autonomous heating of the apartment. And only after carrying out such a comparison and carrying out a thoughtful analysis - start collecting documents.

One more small clarification. It may also happen that, having disconnected the apartment from the heat supply and hot water supply, you will still have to pay for general heating. But these amounts will be quite miniscule compared to those that were previously indicated in the monthly payment order.

And finally, a short video that will also help you weigh all the “pros” and “contras” of an autonomous heating system in an apartment

Video: Advantages and disadvantages of an autonomous apartment heating system

Today, the lion's share of our compatriots live in. Of course, they don’t have to think about how to maintain a high temperature in each room: central heating easily and without hassle solves this problem for them. Yes, you have to pay a decent amount of money every month for such comfort, however, it is worth it.

Heating scheme for an apartment building

Still, residents do not have to think about spending a lot of money on installing the necessary equipment and a lot of effort to maintain the temperature in each room at the desired level.

After all, the 2019 heating standards for apartment buildings allow each of the residents to feel comfortable. For example, an acceptable minimum for living rooms is a temperature of +20 degrees Celsius. For a bathroom or combined bathroom, this figure rises to +25 degrees. In kitchens the temperature does not drop below +18 degrees.

In problem side apartments, from which a strong wind can blow the heat out quite quickly, the normal temperature is considered to be +22 degrees. Often, indoor temperature levels are 3-7 degrees higher than those listed above, so occupants can feel quite comfortable without wearing warm sweaters and trousers.

But all this is achieved through considerable effort! Tens and hundreds of people go to work every day to ensure high-quality heating of residential buildings.

It was already mentioned above that most modern houses in cities are heated using a centralized heating system. That is, there is a thermal station in which (in most cases using coal) heating boilers heat the water to a very high temperature. Most often it is more than 100 degrees Celsius!

Therefore, in order to avoid boiling and evaporation of water, the pressure in the pipes is very high - about 10 kgf.

Water is supplied to all buildings connected to the heating main. When connecting a house to a heating plant, inlet valves are installed to control the process of supplying hot water to it. A heating unit is also connected to them, as well as a number of specialized equipment.


heating unit operation diagram

Water can be supplied both from top to bottom and from bottom to top (when using a single-pipe system, which will be discussed below), depending on how the heating risers are located, or simultaneously to all apartments (with a two-pipe system).

Hot water, entering the heating radiators, heats them to the required temperature, ensuring its required level in each room. The dimensions of radiators depend both on the size of the room and on its purpose. Of course, the larger the radiators, the warmer it will be where they are installed.

What is heating like?

When it comes to heating an apartment building, one cannot boast of a large selection. All houses are heated according to approximately the same scheme. In each room there is a cast-iron heating radiator (its dimensions depend on the size of the room and its purpose), into which hot water of a certain temperature (coolant) coming from the thermal station is supplied.


example of a cast iron radiator

However, the entire water supply circuit may vary depending on what kind of heating distribution is provided in a particular building - single-pipe or two-pipe. Each of these options has certain advantages and disadvantages. To better understand this issue, you need to know exactly everything about the first and second. So let's briefly describe them.

Read also

Construction of a drainage ditch

Single pipe heating system

Its design is simple, and therefore reliable and cheap. But still she is not in great demand. The fact is that, when entering the heating system of a house, the coolant (hot water) must pass through all the heating radiators before it enters the return channel (also called “return”). Of course, by heating all the radiators one by one, the coolant loses temperature. As a result, when reaching the last user, the water has a relatively low temperature, which is why in the last room it can differ significantly from the temperature in the one it arrives at first.
This often causes discontent among residents. Therefore, the described heating system for a multi-storey building is used relatively rarely.

Two-pipe heating system

It is free from the disadvantages that are inherent in the heating system described above. The design of this system is significantly different. Hot water, having passed through the heating radiator, does not enter the pipe leading to the next radiator, but directly into the return channel. From there it is immediately sent back to the thermal station, where it will be heated to the required temperature.

You can learn more about the two-pipe heating system from the article on our website.

Of course, this option requires significantly higher costs both during installation of the system and during maintenance. But this heating system design makes it possible to ensure the same temperature in all heated buildings.


Example of a two-pipe heating system

It also makes it possible to install a heating meter. By installing it on a heating radiator, the owner can independently regulate its heating level and, accordingly, reduce the cost of paying heating bills.

This option is not possible in a single-pipe heating system. By reducing the amount of hot water passing through the radiators, you can thus cause a lot of trouble for your neighbors, to whom the coolant reaches after passing through your apartment. That is, the heating rules in this case will be openly violated.

It is impossible to change the type of heating system in an apartment; it requires Herculean efforts and a huge amount of work that will affect the entire house. But still, knowing about the pros and cons of different types of heating systems will be useful for every apartment owner.

This video provides a broad overview of various heating systems.

Development of a heating system project

The heating device, starting from the inlet system and ending with heating radiators, is created immediately after the frame is built. Of course, by this time the heating project for an apartment building must be developed, tested and approved.

And it is at the first stage that a number of difficulties often arise, as with any other very complex and important work.
In general, the heating system of an apartment building is complex.

The power of your heating system can depend on the strength of the wind in your area, the material from which the building is constructed, the thickness of the walls, the size of the rooms and many other factors. Even two identical apartments, one of which is located on the corner of the building, and the other in its center, require a different approach.

After all, a strong wind in the winter season cools the outer walls quite quickly, which means that the heat loss of a corner apartment will be much higher.

Due to the high cost of centralized heating, many people increasingly prefer autonomous heating, completely switching to individual heating devices. But many do not realize that an autonomous heating unit in an apartment building is calculated and installed according to the same principle as the installation of a centralized heating main.

I would immediately like to answer the question that interests everyone, from what date the heating is turned on. This issue is resolved by the authorities of the settlement or city.

According to the current schedule, the heating system of an apartment building is turned on under two conditions:

  1. When a certain period of the year arrives. As a rule, heating in high-rise buildings starts working in the first half of October. And when it will be turned on, on the 1st or 15th, depends on weather conditions.
  2. The average daily temperature outside is up to 8°C and does not exceed this figure for five days.

It does not matter whether the temperature drops in October or September. In Salekhard, for example, the heating season begins already in the first ten days of September, while in Crimea, even at the end of October, the heating is not always turned on.

If you think that an individual heating system in an apartment in a multi-storey building has a lot of differences from a centralized one, then you are deeply mistaken. Of course, there are some differences between them, but they are not as fundamental as between a multi-storey building and a private household.

So, how does the heating system work in an apartment building? During the construction of the structure, a heating main is laid, on which a certain number of thermal valves are mounted. These are nothing more than thermal circuits, so their number is closely related to the number of risers in the structure.

Next, the system is equipped with a mud collector. Sometimes two such structural parts are installed at once. If you are designing a heating system in an apartment building of the Khrushchev type, then the scheme in this case involves equipping the hot water supply with sliding elements. They are necessary in case of unexpected drainage of liquid from the line. Valves of this type are mounted by insertion. There are two methods for installing this structural element:

  • to the coolant supply pipeline;
  • to the return circuit.

Some difficulties in installation and the use of a huge number of components and parts when installing a heating system in an apartment building are caused by the fact that hot water circulates through it as a coolant, the temperature of which can reach 80 ° C, and sometimes higher.

Due to a certain hydraulic pressure in the thermal circuit, the liquid is not converted into steam, but gradually releases its energy to the heating devices.

What is return used for?

When the coolant has a critically high temperature, there is a need to use return fluid. This is due to the fact that on the circuits through which the cooled coolant is returned, the pressure is an order of magnitude lower than on the supply pipeline. As soon as the water temperature drops to an acceptable level, the liquid again enters the system from the supply section.

In fairness, I would like to pay attention to one important detail: often heating units are located in small rooms, to which only utility employees have access. Thanks to this approach, emergency situations and accidents can be avoided. After all, if unauthorized actions are applied to the heating of an apartment building, for example, on the part of children or people who have little knowledge of this issue, then this could end very badly. It’s good if the heating in an apartment building stops working. It is much worse if a stream of hot water splashes onto a person standing next to you.

Why are batteries often barely warm?

Of course, many are interested in the question of why, at a sufficiently high temperature of the coolant in the main, radiators in most cases remain slightly warm? The answer is simple: heating risers in an apartment building are equipped with elements that protect the circuit from overheating and, as a consequence, from its deformation.

The second question immediately arises: why heat the water to a critical level if its heat still does not go to heating the room? Here everything is even simpler: the coolant is heated at thermal power plants, which are located far from your homes. So, if the water warms up to 40°C, which is necessary to warm up residential buildings, then by the time it reaches your home through the centralized pipeline, its temperature will drop by 20 degrees. Ultimately, your batteries will generally be cold.

Purpose of the elevator unit

This is probably the first time many of you have heard this term. Although this is nothing more than an injector that is included in any piping of a multi-story building. It is into this structural element that heated water is pumped from a centralized main. In addition, the return coolant is pumped through the elevator unit, after which it begins to actively circulate along the thermal circuit, giving its energy to the heating device and pipeline. In this block, hot water and cold water from the return are mixed to the temperature that we feel when we touch the radiators.

Shut-off valves are usually located on the return lines, in front of the elevator units. With the help of such structural elements, in the event of an emergency, one or another can be switched off without damaging the heating system of the entire structure.

Recently, in order to save money, people have begun to equip heating circuits with meters. Thanks to such devices, it is possible to monitor not only the temperature of the coolant, but also the amount of heat consumed by a certain area of ​​the house. In most cases, meters are installed in the amount of one device per house. Less often, people equip individual entrances with such devices. This allows you to more accurately calculate thermal energy consumption.

The principle of piping the heating main

Most multi-storey buildings have single-circuit piping. What does it mean? The heating circuit of an apartment building in this case is a single (for a separate entrance) heat main. The coolant supply of a single-circuit circuit is carried out both from bottom to top and from top to bottom.

The device for supplying coolant from top to bottom ensures a reduction in heat loss by 20%, compared to another option for supplying heated liquid to the radiators. This is why in multi-storey buildings the upper floors are always warmer than the lower floors.

As for determining the area of ​​heating devices, it’s much easier to remove everything. So, according to SNiP, to heat 1 sq.m it is necessary to spend approximately 100 W. Knowing the square footage of the room and the heat output of the radiators (a bimetallic battery of 8 sections produces no more than 120 W), you can independently calculate how many sections are needed to heat the structure.

Many of us are greatly mistaken when they say that the taller the building, the more complex and confusing is the scheme for piping it with a thermal circuit. Regardless of how many floors there are in a building - 5 or 55, the principle of organizing heat supply is the same. It is not as complicated as it seems at first glance, but it is quite effective. We hope the information presented above helped you understand how heating works in an apartment building.

Video: How to supply heating in an apartment building

It is unrealistic to imagine human life in Russia without heating an apartment. It's no secret that heating fuel is constantly increasing in price. Any dacha user is faced with the question: how to modernize the home system. In any region of Russia there is a need to heat a dacha in winter. There are many different apartment heating systems published on the Internet portal, using completely different methods of generating heat. It is recommended to use the specified heating schemes independently or hybridly.

Advantages and types of heating network for a house with two mains

The main distinctive feature of this system is the presence of two pipes:

  • One of them transports the coolant from the heating boiler to heating devices and registers;
  • The second line is needed to remove the cooled liquid and return it to the boiler.

Schematic diagram of the operation of a two-pipe heating system

The advantage that such a two-pipe system has is a uniform supply of coolant with the same temperature to all heating devices.

If a single-pipe line is used, then the coolant has to pass through all pipelines and heating devices sequentially - as a result, the batteries and radiators located at the end of the circuit do not warm up well .

There is an opinion that a two-pipe system requires double the amount of fitting costs (compared to a single-pipe system). But this is not entirely true: a one-pipe system requires the installation of large-diameter pipes, while in a two-pipe main, you can get by with products of a smaller diameter, and accordingly they will cost less. The same applies to fitting sizes - the difference in cost is small.

The small size of the heating elements does not spoil the interior of the room, but if necessary, the pipeline can be mounted (and thus disguised) in building structures. The result is a closed pipeline system.

The location of pipes combined into a single heating network can be done in one of the following ways:

  • Horizontal. Such a heating system is usually installed in low-rise, long buildings, for example, a warehouse or a production workshop. The horizontal network is also most often installed in panel-frame buildings, i.e. where there are few or no partitions at all and it is possible to install risers on the staircase or in the corridor. A horizontal network implies constant circulation of coolant.
  • Vertical. This method involves connecting heating devices to the main riser installed vertically. The vertical system is used in multi-storey buildings, where each floor is connected separately. A horizontal two-pipe system will cost the homeowner less, but a vertical network creates almost no air pockets, which simplifies its operation.

Two-pipe heating network and types of wiring

Both the vertical and horizontal pipe layout allows the use of two types of wiring - upper or lower. However, a two-pipe heating system of a multi-story building (where a vertical piping arrangement is used) most often has a bottom layout. This is due to the formation of greater pressure caused by the temperature difference between the coolant and the “return”, which helps the coolant to overcome the pipeline.

What are the features of both types of heating wiring?

Bottom wiring

In this case, the main line with the heated coolant is laid in the basement, subfloor or basement. The “return”, which returns the cooled water to the heating boiler, is located even lower.

When arranging the lower wiring, a 2-pipe heating network for the house will require the installation of an upper air line to remove excess air. In order for heat to be evenly distributed throughout the system, the boiler must be positioned as low as possible in relation to the radiators.

The main advantage that a two-pipe network with natural circulation and bottom wiring will have is low heat loss.

Source: http://all-for-teplo.ru/otoplenie/dvuhtrubnaya-sistema.html

Good day to all.

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If the system really two-pipe, then selective installing regulators will only worsen performance. In a two-pipe system, all radiators are connected parallel to the input (like light bulbs in an electrical network). Any system works correctly if the required amount of water flows through each radiator (and even the surface of the radiators is correctly selected). In order for the required amount of water to flow, the system must be:

a) correctly designed (pipe diameters selected)

b) hydraulically stable - i.e. costs must remain calculated or change proportionally as the input differential changes (and it is constantly changing).

The pipes have a stepped assortment, so condition a) is obviously not met accurately. Since in a two-pipe system the resistance of radiators connected in parallel is insignificant, the system is hydraulically unstable. This is expressed in the fact that more water flows through the first radiators along the water flow than is required. But they don’t notice this, because... as the flow rate increases, the temperature in the room increases slightly - by about 3 degrees with a twofold increase in flow rate. No one will feel the difference between 18 and 21 degrees.

But the lower floors receive less water than needed, and they freeze there. Because when water consumption decreases, the temperature in the room drops more - with a twofold decrease it is already 5-6 degrees, which is very noticeable.

To achieve proper operation you must:

Collector heating

Water system "Warm floor"

Water heating systems are most often used to heat the premises of residential buildings. They come in several types: radiator, collector and “Warm Floor” systems. All heating systems have their differences, advantages and disadvantages. The choice of heating type depends on factors - the temperature of the outside air, the material from which the enclosing structures are made, the thickness of the walls and thermal insulation, the purpose of the premises, etc.

Radiator water heating is often used to create an optimal microclimate in living rooms (living room, bedroom, children's room), as well as kitchens and bathrooms. The main advantage is the relatively low cost of the system. Minus - not all radiators have an attractive appearance.

Collector heating is used to heat large rooms or houses. The advantage is that n – the number of heating devices – can be connected to one boiler. Collectors allow for good radiator wiring. The disadvantage of a collector water heating system is long, labor-intensive installation, which requires the involvement of experienced, qualified specialists.

“Warm floor” is used to heat all rooms of an apartment or house. The advantage of the system is that it allows you to save money (at different times of the day it consumes different amounts of energy). Disadvantage: difficult repairs.

Radiator water heating

This heating system is the most popular and relatively inexpensive. It is installed not only in residential buildings, but also in offices, industrial premises, etc. Installation of the system is quite simple.

The principle of operation is as follows: the coolant is heated to the required temperature in a boiler room or other heating point. The water then flows through pipelines to the heating radiators. The coolant heats the devices. After which the radiators give off their heat to heat the air in the room. According to the type of connection of heating devices, systems are divided into single-pipe and two-pipe. Each of them also has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Single pipe system

Operating principle of single-pipe heating systems with bottom supply - the riser (pipeline) is connected to the main line from below. It supplies hot water upward to each floor of the house. After which the coolant flows into the return riser. The cooled water flows through the pipeline into the return line. The air that enters the heating system is removed from it by opening special taps. They are installed on radiators, which are located on the top floors of the house.

Pros:

  • Economical. The installation of this system requires the least amount of consumables.
  • Safety. The single-pipe system has good hydrodynamic stability.
  • Fast and easy installation. Designing and installing a single-pipe heating system does not take much time. But it all depends on the volume of the construction project.

Minuses:

  • Difficulty in regulating heat in a separate heating device. You cannot disconnect a separate radiator from the system. In some cases this is a problem. For example, when you need to reduce the air temperature in the room or the normal operation of the circuit is disrupted.

Two-pipe system

In two-pipe heating systems This means connecting the supply and return pipelines to each radiator. The coolant that has lost heat in one heating device does not go to the next one, but returns directly to the boiler for heating. As a result, the temperature of hot water at the inlet to each individual radiator is approximately the same. This allows the use of heating devices of the same size in the system (unlike single-pipe systems).

Pros:

  • The diameters of the supply and return pipelines, as well as when connecting individual elements, are much smaller than in single-pipe systems. This allows you to save space in the room where the heating is installed.
  • Good aesthetics. Two-pipe systems look more attractive than single-pipe systems. They can be mounted in both open and closed ways. Two-pipe heating systems are more convenient for installation under a concrete screed. When installing single-pipe systems, this is a problem.
  • Reliability in operation. A properly designed two-pipe system is not afraid of high loads and therefore has a long service life.
  • Practicality. Simple maintenance and not picky operation allow this radiator heating to be used in various rooms (not only residential ones).

Minuses:

  • Material costs. Compared to single-pipe systems, here, of course, you need to spend money. But the result is worth it. The two-pipe heating system is reliable in operation and serves for a long time without failures.
  • Long and labor-intensive installation. The installation period is determined according to the amount of work that needs to be performed. Also, the duration of installation depends on the qualifications of the specialists who carry out it.

Horizontal two-pipe systems come with bottom and top wiring. In the first case, there is an advantage - sections of the heating system can be put into operation in stages, that is, as the floors of the house are being built. Vertical two-pipe systems can be used in houses with variable number of floors.

Collector heating

In collector heating, each device has its own independent supply. This makes it possible to regulate the temperature of an individual radiator or completely exclude it from the coolant circulation (turn it off). The node of the system is precisely the collector, which has the form of a comb. It includes the main supply and return lines, and secondary pipeline distributions exit. The collector water heating system can be either single- or double-circuit.

Pros:

  • Ability to configure optimal indoor air parameters. That is, each heating device in the circuit is controlled independently and centrally. If the room becomes hot for some reason (many guests came, an additional heat source appeared, etc.), the temperature in the radiator can be reduced without disturbing the microclimate in other rooms of the house. In general, different temperatures can be created in different rooms. This allows you to save on energy resources.
  • Application in the installation of small diameter pipeline systems. Each branch that comes out of the collector feeds one heating device or a small group. It follows from this that the pressure in the pipelines is not very high (but acceptable). The small diameter of the pipelines determines the good aesthetics of the heating system. Its elements do not stick out and do not clutter up the room.

Minuses:

  • High consumption of consumables during installation (in contrast to the sequential circuit for connecting heating devices in the heating system). The more complex the connection configuration of individual elements, the smaller the savings.
  • The collector assembly itself does not look aesthetically pleasing and is bulky. So that it does not catch the eye, it needs to be hidden.
  • In a collector heating system, it is impossible to do without installing circulation pumps (supply and return). The force of gravity is not sufficient for normal circulation of the coolant in the circuit. The purchase and installation of circulation pumps is also not a small additional expense.
  • Energy dependence. Not only will circulation pumps hit the budget, but that’s not all. An unscheduled shutdown of lights in a village can lead to a malfunction of the heating system, and in winter, to freezing of the coolant inside the pipelines. This is all due to the fact that the pumps are powered by electricity.
  • Experts do not recommend installing collector heating systems in city apartments.

Manufacturers offer many different models of collectors on the construction market. Among them there are devices with a maximum set of elements. Part of the coolant supply is equipped with flow meters. Using these devices you can regulate the water flow in the circuit. This is done in order to balance the pressure in the system. Part of the coolant return is equipped with temperature sensors. Using these devices, the temperature in heating radiators is regulated. The system allows you to automatically control the heating of each heating device. Thermal sensors for the collector system can also be different. Brass elements with an inch passage are often used. Thermal sensors have plugs on the return line. This allows, if the need arises, to connect additional elements to the system.

There are people who make combs with their own hands. This is strongly not recommended. The combs must be installed by qualified specialists who have sufficient knowledge and skills and will carry out the work in accordance with the building codes and regulations in force at the time. After installation of the system, hydraulic tests are carried out. Ignoring building codes and regulations during installation leads to negative consequences, including system failures and accidents.

The location for installing the collector is determined at the design stage of the heating system. If the house has several floors, each has space for a collector block. Most often, a special niche is made in the wall for this purpose at a small height from the floor level, but so that small children or animals cannot get into it. The comb must be installed in a room with acceptable air humidity (pantry, corridor, etc.).

The device can be attached directly to the wall if it is mounted in a utility room or placed in a specially designated cabinet (meaning a metal box with a door).

Water system "Warm floor"

Warm floor is a heating system, which is a complex of pipelines laid under concrete. Coolant circulates through them. The “Warm Floor” system can be either the main source of heat supply in the room or an additional one (in addition to radiator heating).

Pros:

  • Achieving an optimal indoor microclimate. If a warm floor is installed in a residential building, it will please all its residents. Their feet will always be warm. The floor warms up to 22 C. The air temperature in the room at 1.7-1.9 m is approximately 18 C.
  • Protection against mold and mildew in the corners of the room. Since the enclosing structure (floor) remains warm due to the operation of the system, dampness completely disappears.
  • Maintaining normal air humidity in the room.
  • Easy care. Radiators or other heating appliances must be regularly cleaned of dust. The “Warm Floor” system is closed and does not require cleaning.
  • Safety. In severe frosts, the heating system works to its maximum, so heating radiators can be at a high temperature. There is a possibility of getting burned from bodily contact with a heating device. In “Warm Floor” systems this is excluded, which adds comfort to users during operation.
  • It is possible to self-regulate heat exchange in the room due to the operation of this system.
  • Aesthetics. As already mentioned, the warm floor is hidden, so it is not noticeable and does not affect the design or interior of the premises.
  • Big money savings. The "Warm Floor" system can operate in different modes. This allows you to save up to 30% on heating compared to radiator heating.
  • Versatility. This heating system can be installed in living rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, balconies and loggias, etc.

Minuses:

  • It is not possible to install heated floors in entrances and stairwells. The system does not have enough power for proper heating.
  • It is prohibited to connect heated floors to central heating in apartment buildings. The reason is a significant increase in the hydraulic resistance of the heating system.
  • Comfort, absence of dust and drafts, favorable indoor microclimate make heated floors a fairly popular heating system for installation in residential buildings and civil buildings. It is used in apartments, offices, schools and universities, hospitals and sanatoriums, industrial warehouses, shopping centers, banks, etc.
  • Rules to follow when installing the system:
  • It is better to entrust the design of a “warm floor” to professionals. They will calculate the heat loss of each room of the house separately and determine the necessary air parameters for comfortable living.
  • Before installing the system, the floor surface must be leveled. This is done to ensure that the coolant is distributed evenly through the pipes and creates stagnation.
  • If the room area is large, it is better to divide the “Warm Floor” system into several sections. Thus, the thermal load on the concrete screed will be less and there is no need to worry about the appearance of cracks.
  • A damper tape must be laid between sections of the system and around the perimeter of the room. It compensates for temperature fluctuations in the concrete screed.
  • The choice of pipes for the heating system also plays an important role. To install heated floors, metal-plastic or polypropylene pipes are most often used. They have good performance characteristics. They are durable and flexible.
  • The “Warm Floor” system should be poured after its installation and hydraulic testing (pressure testing).

If you choose propylene pipes when designing a heating system, you should pay attention that they must be fiberglass reinforced. Propylene itself has a fairly high coefficient of thermal expansion. This can have a negative impact on the concrete screed. Reinforcing pipes with fiberglass eliminates this problem and extends the life of the heating system. A warm floor can have several contours. In this case, they use the installation of a collector unit with additional components.

Installation of the system takes place in several stages:

  1. Dividing the premises into optimal areas. The minimum area of ​​each zone is 40 m2.
  2. Thermal insulation of the enclosing structure. Covering the floor with a special protective material.
  3. Installation of reinforcing mesh and pipeline contours.
  4. Carrying out pressure testing works.
  5. Pouring concrete screed.
  6. Finishing work. Warm floors can be installed under laminate, ceramic tiles, linoleum and other coverings.
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