Economical heating with electricity: is it possible

For various reasons, home owners sometimes have to make a choice in favor of heating with electricity. Given the fact that this is the most expensive way to heat a home, the question of saving money spent on heating inevitably arises.

We will talk about how to organize electric economical heating in this article.

Types of electric boilers

To begin with, we will consider the types of electric heating devices.

Among them are the following main groups:

heating elements;
electrode boilers;
induction devices;
infrared heaters.

Heating elements

This is the most common type of aggregate. The principle of their operation is based on the transfer of heat from a heating element (tubular electric heater) to a heat carrier, which is most often water. But it could also be antifreeze.

Advantages:

heating elements do not have electrical contact with water. This allows you to install emergency automation on such devices (various devices for protective shutdown);
their power does not depend on the type of coolant and changes only with an increase / decrease in the voltage in the network. This feature allows you to implement step or smooth heating. When organizing economical electric heating at home, this opportunity must be used.

Disadvantages:

limited resource of heating elements;

Advice!
When buying such a boiler, pay attention to the possibility of replacing heating elements. This will save you money in the future.
Indeed, instead of buying a new heater, you can simply replace the failed heating elements.

scale deposition on heating elements, which can lead to their premature failure;
measures are needed to reduce water hardness (to increase the service life of thermal elements).

They are much rarer than the previous species. The design is a container with built-in electrodes. Heating occurs through the release of heat when current passes directly through the coolant. Electrolysis does not occur in this case, since the anode and cathode continuously alternate with each other at a frequency of 50 Hz.

Advantages:

they are more reliable in comparison with heating elements. The appearance of scale on the electrodes does not lead to boiler failure. And even turning it on in the absence of water in the system will not lead to a breakdown;
are smaller (see photo)

Disadvantages:

in the case of using water as a coolant, it is required to carry out its special preparation;
when using antifreeze, not any of them is suitable, but only the one developed by the manufacturer.

Induction devices

Their design is similar to a transformer. There are two circuits: primary (magnetic system) and secondary (heat exchanger). In the second circuit, under the influence of a magnetic field, heating occurs, which is transferred to the coolant.

Advantages:

lack of heating elements. This minimizes the possibility of breakage of such a boiler;
minimal scale formation;
high level of electrical safety;
wide range of pressure and temperature;
the possibility of using any type of coolant.

Disadvantages:

rather high price;
large dimensions and weight;
problems with smooth power control.

Infrared heaters

Among electric heaters, it is infrared devices that are considered the most economical. Depending on the manufacturer, they can have a wide variety of dimensions, colors and weights. Most have a rectangular oblong body.

Because of this, such devices are often called panels. They are most often mounted on the ceiling or on the wall so that they do not interfere with the movement of people in the room.

The scope of such devices is extremely wide. These are apartments and private houses, as well as offices and industrial premises. In general, they are used where it is necessary to provide fast heating. Such a device copes with this task perfectly.

The principle of their work is very simple. The infrared rays coming from the device heat up all surfaces (floor, walls, objects). They, in turn, give off heat to the air.

Advantages:

rapid heating of the room (due to the fact that heat is given off by a large number of surfaces);
lack of combustion of air (due to this, the room is comfortable);
a pleasant feeling of warmth, similar to the effect of sunlight in summer;
the ability to heat the room only from below (this allows you to use electricity more economically than in the case of heating elements);
the presence of automation that allows you to adjust the desired ambient temperature and turn off the device when it is reached (moreover, one regulator can be used for several such heaters);
do not form combustion products (do not give foreign odors);
there is no air circulation, and, consequently, there is no movement of dust;
easy to install and maintain (they can be installed and maintained by hand);
long service life (25-35 years);
fireproof.

The disadvantage, in fact, is one, although it is rather a feature:

They do not heat the air, but objects, that is, by turning on this device in a cold bedroom, you will have to lie on a warm bed for some time and breathe cold air.
But since the room warms up quite quickly, this drawback is not critical.

Organization of economical heating using an electric boiler

Electric heating can be economical.

But for this you need to fulfill the following mandatory points:

Reduce the level of heat output required for the premises. This means that all heat losses must be eliminated and the thermal insulation properties of the rooms must be improved. In other words, you need to insulate the house.

This will reduce the required heat output. That is, to maintain the required temperature in the room, you will need to spend less heat. And this means that there will be less energy consumption.

Such measures will require certain financial costs. But keep in mind that laying and connecting the gas pipeline will require no less expense;

The next step that needs to be done in order to organize economical electric heating is the right choice of heating method.

The one that saves the most will be the right one. For example, in a well-insulated one-room apartment with euro windows, it can play the role of an addition to the steam heating system used.

If, on the contrary, in a three-room apartment you use such a heater as the main one, then no savings will come of it. In this case, it is worth using other heating devices.

In particular, it is better to take those that have a built-in power adjustment function. They will allow you to create different temperatures in different rooms, depending on the degree of use of each of them;

The use of different types of heaters in each of the premises, or the use of their combinations. Each electric heater has its own characteristics. The correct combination of such devices will save a lot on energy consumption.

For example, an infrared heater is perfect for a bathroom. You only need to turn it on before washing. It will quickly create the desired temperature.

In the kitchen, you can use a combination of an infrared heater and. Instructions for their combined use is extremely simple.

The convector will operate constantly at a low power level. This is necessary to maintain the minimum allowable temperature at a time when no one is at home.

Upon returning home, we turn on the infrared heater and in a short time raise the temperature in the room to a comfortable level. As you can see, electric heating systems are quite flexible and you can easily create the combination you need from them;

Automatic temperature control. Electric heaters can be controlled by thermostatic automation.

It should be set so that the temperature drops significantly when there is no one in the house, and rises when residents arrive. This will help to reduce the consumption of electricity by an order of magnitude.

Use of the night rate. If there is such an opportunity, be sure not to miss it.

As a rule, the price of electricity at such a tariff is several times lower than at a daily one. To use it, contact your power supply company for permission to install a multi-tariff electricity meter.

As you can see, it is quite possible to organize economical heating with electricity. But this requires the implementation of very specific measures. And besides, you have to think carefully about everything.

If everything is done correctly, then the heating costs will not be so big. For greater clarity on this issue, you should watch the corresponding video on our website. In it you will find additional explanations and comments on this topic.

Advice!
If the power consumption exceeds that specified in the contract for the supply of electricity, then this issue should be agreed with the supplier organization.
This will avoid unnecessary problems in the future. And you can enjoy your safe, comfortable and economical heating.