Heating system design involves an integrated approach to the implementation of each stage of work. First of all, it is necessary to calculate the correct heat supply parameters. To do this, it is recommended to use programs for calculating and designing home heating systems.
Heating calculation software requirements
Why do experts recommend using the program for heating design? This type of software is designed to determine the characteristics of the system, and in some cases it can simulate various situations in the operation of heat supply.
There is a certain number of requirements that a program must meet to calculate heating in a private house. The main one is the correct calculation methodology for a specific system. So, it is impossible to adapt the basic characteristics of a water-heated floor for heating air with IR heaters. The software functions must contain calculation schemes for each type of heat supply.
In addition, the program for creating heating systems must have the following properties:
- Intuitive interface... First of all, this applies to semi-professional and free complexes. Each user should be fluent in all the features of the software after a short preliminary study;
- Availability of reference data... These include the technical characteristics of materials for the manufacture of pipes, radiators, main types of boilers, etc. Without them, it is impossible to make a correct calculation of heating;
- Convenient display of results... It should be in two forms - tabular and graphical. Each program for drawing up heating schemes must be able to visualize the result in the form of a finished project with a print-out function.
The result of calculations using specialized software is complete information about the future heat supply system. It includes hydraulic, temperature calculation, as well as a ready-made piping layout and installation locations for heating devices.
Each heating simulation software can be paid, freeware, or shareware. In the latter case, the user is provided with limited functionality.
Overview of heating programs
The choice of software for heat supply should begin with determining the conditions for its operation. In some cases, it is enough to make only a hydraulic calculation for certain parts of the system. But organizing complex systems will require a professional heating drawing program.
Having decided on the functionality, it is necessary to choose the right software, comparing its technical characteristics with the capabilities of a computer. The vast majority of software has minimum requirements for this indicator. However, there are complexes that require a powerful video card and large disk space.
Some shareware programs for the design of heating systems are temporarily limited in use. At the end of this period, access to the functionality will be fully or partially limited.
Instal-Therm HCR
This program for the design of heating a private house has advanced functionality, its interface is clear to the user.An important factor is the ability to connect additional modules for the integrated design of not only heating, but also water supply and ventilation at home.
To work with the software, you must first enter the initial data. To do this, you can use an axonometric sweep or do it in projection. Upon completion of the entry, the calculated parameter is selected. This program for calculating the heating system of a private house can calculate a specific characteristic of the system, or do an integrated design:
- Determination of the optimal pipe diameter for specific sections of the system. It is necessary to stabilize the pressure in the lines, taking into account the installed radiators and the boiler;
- Selection of valves - couplings, tees, fittings and connectors. All programs for the design of heating systems must have this function, which depends on the material of manufacture of the pipeline;
- Hydraulic calculation;
- Calculation of the characteristics of reducers, pressure regulators;
- Modeling the parameters of circulating flows in the sections of the pipeline, the choice of control elements.
The advantage of using this program to simulate heating is that you can get the full version for free. To do this, you need to contact the company representatives Wavin Ekoplastik... Registration keys are issued for a year - then you need to get new ones.
The program for the design of heating should include modern requirements for the heat supply system. In particular, the standards of GOST and SNiP.
Flow
Of particular interest is the software package developed by a domestic manufacturer - Potok. It has great capabilities for calculating the basic parameters of the heat supply system. But the uniqueness of this program for calculating heating in a private house lies in its versatility.
This software is intended for modeling and drawing up working diagrams of one-pipe, two-pipe, beam systems. The function of designing a water heated floor will be useful. Unlike specialized programs for heating design, Stream is truly versatile. It contains the parameters of pipes and heat supply components of more than one manufacturer, which is typical of other software. Therefore, with its help, you can make the optimal scheme for a particular house or apartment.
The advantages of using the heating flow drawing program are as follows:
- Availability of tools for all types of heating calculations;
- Adaptation of the results for further processing in AutoCad, or saving them in Word format;
- Calculation of heating costs - apartment-by-apartment, with separate accounting and a complete financial scheme for autonomous heat supply;
- Lots of additional features. You can use this program to create antifreeze heating systems. The software takes into account its composition and performance.
The disadvantage is the cost of the software package. Currently, it is 37 thousand rubles. The demo version offered by the developers has very limited functionality. Once the license expires, you can renew it for a much lower cost.
Herz C.O.
It is currently the most convenient program for drawing up heating circuits. It differs from other software in a user-friendly graphical interface. In addition to heating systems, it can perform all the necessary calculations to create cooling at home.
Using this program for the design of heating a private house, you can calculate the hydraulic parameters with great accuracy. To do this, it is necessary to initially adapt the software shell for specific calculations. The best way is to download the database from the developer's site. After installing and entering the primary parameters, the program will calculate the heating system of a private house according to the following criteria:
- Selection of the optimal pipeline diameters;
- Determination of water consumption depending on the installed equipment;
- Maximum and minimum pressure losses in sections of the system;
- Calculation of the settings of pressure regulators installed at critical points of the line.
Using such programs for the design of heating systems will avoid the most common mistakes. For this purpose, a system for diagnosing errors was introduced in this complex, as well as automatic correction with a notification to the user.
Experts recommend using the Herz C.O. for modeling heat supply systems in the design of apartment buildings. Currently, the maximum number of rooms for calculation is 16,300.
Rehau software packages
Rehau offers the design of all types of engineering systems for residential and industrial buildings. These include several programs for calculating heat supply in a private house. It should be noted that only this manufacturer's components are used as components for heating.
To perform the calculations correctly, it is recommended to use several programs for creating heating systems. These include the following complexes:
- This is an adapted Autocad system, with the help of which you can make a complex calculation of engineering communications of a residential building. In addition to heating, it includes the calculation of the parameters of water supply, sewerage, as well as a room cooling system;
- This program is not intended for drawing heating. Its main function is to provide the user with information about the characteristics and properties of all types of building materials. It can be used in conjunction with other software, as well as when performing manual calculations;
- An indispensable program for the design of heating systems. With its help, you can calculate the heat loss of a building, and based on this, determine the optimal heat supply capacity.
The main disadvantage of all the above-described programs for the design of heating a private cottage is the limited set of components. Basically, only the characteristics of the products manufactured by the Rehau company are given.
In the video, you can see an example of calculating heating using the RauCad software package:
