Heating system: How to choose yours?
Work with DOMUS Serveis it is always a pleasure. We begin February by presenting diverse climatisation systems for: home, office or commercial premises. Do you want to access Feliu's real estate products? Click here.
As temperatures drop, two needs have to be reconciled: to reach thermic comfort at home while the heating bill is conained. It seems impossible, doesn't it? Feliu accompanies you on the path that leads to savings.
To begin with, we must know the advantages and disadvantages of the different energy sources that can feed our heating system.
FOSSIL FUELS
How do they work?
Oil and its derivatives gas and diesel, used in combustion boilers, heat the water that passes through their burners, distributing the fluid at the desired temperature through the closed circuits or pipes to the radiators or heat emitters.
From Finques Feliu we want to emphasize that heaters must pass the legal revisions every five years.
Advantages:
1. Instantaneity: they are the most traditional and influence their performance the good sizing of the boiler, and radiators.
2. Completed network: the distribution networks of the supplying companies reach our homes with ease.
3. Prices: prices and maintenance are in an intermediate position between electricity and renewable energy support.
The drawback
Pollution: one of the main causes of climate change are excessive emissions of carbon dioxide and the fuels mentioned generate it.
ELECTRICITY
How does this type of energy get home?
"Electricity is driven by the force called voltage, and enters our homes through wires that are run in the wall, in the ceiling or under the floor. Once the electricity enters the house, it can be met with the fuse plug or thermal key, whose function is to cut off the light when there is a malfunction." Source: Naturgy
As in the case of gas and heating, the entire electrical installation needs to pass a thorough review in time. We remind you to ask the authorized installer or your RealEstate Agent about his/her advise on the most convenient periodicity for your installation. Moreover feliu tells you how to prevent them: Feliu advises you here.
Advantages:
Electricity sources diversification : although it is still insufficient, according to Red Eléctrica de España, currently the energy production depending on its origin is: Nuclear, Wind and Fossil.
2. Ubiquity: having a stable supply of electricity in the developed world quarters -although not in all of them- first opened the door to being able to live at night with greater comfort and 60 years ago to household appliances. Both of these facts have increased society's quality of life.
Drawbacks:
1. Production still supported by polluting sources: the electricity supplied today still has a harmful component.
2. Too expensive: electricity high prices do not make this source of energy very competitive.
3. Efficiency requires insulation: it is not the recommended electricity for powering radiators or convectors of any kind in cold climates and/or buildings with low thermal insulation coefficients.
RENEWABLE SOURCES OF ELECTRICITY
On their own, renewable sources of energy are not yet sufficient to provide us with the necessary power and instantaneousness. However, in 2020 they generated more energy than fossil fuels for the first time. The distribution of electricity generation was as follows: 38% Renewables, 37% Fossil and 25% Nuclear. Source: the European Power Sector in 2020 (which you can read in English in the past link).
Renewables are complementary to traditional ones, but with the gradual refurbishment of homes they will be very interesting to install and maintain. In addition, the initial investment is quickly amortized and has a clear environmental benefit.
As an example, we have the Passivhaus technique, which conceives buildings with zero energy consumption from the design stage.
In addition, new high-efficiency machines are beginning to arrive on the market, which must be well dimensioned and adapted by engineers and installers.
RADIATOR MODELS
The existing combination between the tradition of thermal heat by conventional radiators, together with the new trends: dissipators, designs, aesthetics, power, quality and the diversity of prices, offer us enormous possibilities of choice.
Radiator heating systems that transport water from combustion boilers can be "visible" or "hidden". In both cases, the experience of the certified installer and the guarantees of the installation company must be maximum.
A visible installation is in itself an implicit element of decoration and good taste for a job well done.
A hidden installation must be perfectly executed and forgotten forever.
So there are from the most heat-accumulating materials - greater thermal mass and weight - to the lightest and more instantaneous and less accumulation - less weight and mass -. We have cast iron radiators to aluminum radiators, which together with the new materials make up the past, present and future trends of heating systems by thermal and/or electrical radiation.
In short, a radiator is a heat accumulator it dissipates and transmits to the surrounding air the temperature that has been generated by the energy source, in its corresponding production machine. Let's be clear we are referring to, on the one hand, boilers in water systems and, on the other hand, resistors in electrical systems.
CONVECTOR and HEATER MODELS
These electric devices are normally used to air-condition small rooms. Portable and lightweight, they are economical with respect to installation systems and have high thermal inertia and efficiency.
Advantages
1. They are complementary to other heating systems.
2. They do not require any type of installation.
3. They provide heat where it is needed and we manage to save on energy consumption in the rest of the rooms.
Drawbacks:
1. Excessive noise.
2. High energy consumption.
3. Effect closely linked to being on: as soon as we turn off the device quickly disappears the heat generated.
4. Inefficient in large spaces.
HEAT PUMP MODELS
The heat pump is a thermal machine that achieves the perfect temperature in any type of room or enclosure, both in winter and summer. In addition, it can produce hot water in a simple, economical and environmentally friendly way.
How does it work?
The heat pump takes energy from the natural environment (air, water or earth) and transports it to the interior of the premises, heating them.
It also acts in reverse, bringing heat from inside the enclosures to the outside, cooling them.
Advantages:
1. Efficiency: the heat pump is capable of transporting more heat than the electrical energy it consumes.
2. Functionality: heat pumps are usually reversible, thus providing both hot and cold air.
3. Cleanliness: they obviously require some maintenance and sanitation but they are devices that do not generate fumes, gases or ashes, thus avoiding possible problems with combustion as in the case of other options.
Drawbacks:
1. It is not easy to extract heat from excessively cold air.
2. The initial investment is high.
3. They need both an outdoor and an indoor unit. This can be a space problem.
Source:Gruponovelec
FINAL ADVICES
Heating represents approximately 50% of the energy consumption of a house. Choosing a suitable air conditioning system for the type of place to be heated combined with good thermal insulation leads to savings and comfort:
1. Bet on thermal insulation: any element in contact with the outside can represent a point of heat loss. Attention should be paid to: windows, walls, floors in contact with the ground and ceilings under the roof.
2. Do not be afraid of thermographic cameras: they are a technical element that will indicate energy leaks.
3. Stabilize the temperature: the appropriate comfort temperature for the interior of a house is between 21-23 Celsius degrees, each increase of one Celsius degree raises the consumption by 7%.
4. Ventilate: do it daily between 10 and 15 minutes, to renew and sanitize the environment of the closed spaces.
5. Control and Management: a good, easy and convenient home automation system, such as the control applications that manufacturers already incorporate in mobile technology, will result in savings and good management of the systems.
Join Domus and Feliu in the search for thermal comfort: We must protect our planet! Share: any action of diffusion makes the collective conscience stronger.