Choosing a water or air fireplace heating scheme for a private house: components and organization features

How can aesthetics and functionality be combined in heating? The installation of traditional boilers is not always possible - there is no separate room, there is no gas line for the installation of compact models. In this case, an acceptable alternative would be heating a private house with a fireplace: gas, water, air. And before proceeding with the analysis of its effectiveness, you need to familiarize yourself with the nuances.

Fireplace heating organization rules

Despite the seemingly low efficiency, air fireplace heating can completely replace traditional systems with a boiler. The main difference lies in the large combustion chamber, which can be open or closed (with a transparent screen).

This entails a large consumption of energy carrier - solid fuel or gas. Also, in addition to the duct system or heat exchanger for water heating, the room is heated due to the radiation of heat from the fireplace body. Therefore, before making a do-it-yourself fireplace with water heating, you need to consider the following:

• Large chimney diameter... This is due to the increased volume of the combustion chamber and, as a consequence, with the need to provide maximum draft for the air flow;
• Location... The fireplace insert for heating should be installed so that the front is located along the diagonal of the room or its length. So the thermal radiation will spread throughout the entire volume of the room;
• If there are air ducts or pipes for water heating, their wiring in the house is taken into account... The circulation of warm air (heat carrier) should be done so that the temperature in each room is approximately the same.

How to properly heat a house with a fireplace? The most important point is to minimize heat losses and increase the efficiency of the entire system. To do this, it is necessary to correctly install the structure and direct the resulting heat to heat the house.

The chimney does not have to be straight. By installing a system of air ducts, you can increase heat transfer to the room by heating the wall from hot gases.

Fireplace types and tips for setting up a fireplace

At the first stage, you need to choose the right model of the fireplace or choose a scheme for its construction. If there is a gas main, gas fireplaces for heating are the best option. They are economical and have little inertia - the air in the room heats up quickly.

Structurally, it consists of a combustion chamber, to which an air duct is connected from the street. It is necessary for the supply of fresh air to maintain the combustion process. The optimal configuration includes a modular heating pad, which has the ability to regulate the power. Additionally, a fireplace with air or water heating includes a heat exchanger located directly in the combustion chamber.

But most often they use traditional models that run on solid fuels. Their distinctive performance is as follows:

• Large volume of fuel to maintain the desired temperature level;
• The presence of an ash pan, which performs two functions - supplying air to the furnace from the room and collecting combustion products;
• Autonomy of work.For normal operation, you do not need an obligatory connection to electricity.

Heating a private house with a fireplace can be done in two ways - getting heat from the walls of the structure and the presence of additional lines (air or water) for circulating the coolant. It all depends on the area of ​​the house and the number of rooms, as well as the required power of the fireplace. In addition, an important factor is the frequency of operation of the heating system.

All these factors affect the cost of a fireplace insert for heating.

The installation of electrical models is advisable only for intermittent work. But at the same time, their installation is much easier than that of gas or solid-fuel counterparts.

It is best not to install the fireplace on an external wall to reduce seasonal heat losses.

Arrangement of a fireplace in a private house

After choosing the right model, you need to ensure that it functions optimally. All fireplaces with air heating with their own hands must transfer heat energy from the combustion of fuel to the room as efficiently as possible.

Having installed a fireplace insert, you should take care of its lining. It performs several functions - protection from hard heat radiation, heat accumulation and its partial reflection into the firebox to increase the heat exchanger heating rate. Traditionally, hot-water fireplaces are faced with the following materials:

• Plastering... Made for homemade brick structures;
• Artificial or natural stone... It has good heat capacity, but installation is performed only on a prepared surface. So, for factory steel or cast iron furnaces, you need to make an intermediate structure of fireclay bricks;
• Tiles - porcelain stoneware, terracotta or majolica... Some models of solid fuel or gas fireplaces for heating have special mounting nodes on the surface for installing tiles.

During the design and installation of the fireplace, safety rules must be followed. The wall on which it will be mounted must be made of non-combustible materials. The same applies to the floor surface. Regardless of the chosen scheme, the heating system from the fireplace must be completely safe.

Plasterboard finishing can be carried out only for decorative fireplaces, whose surface does not heat up during operation. An alternative is the use of similar non-combustible materials.

Types of heating from a fireplace

If the fireplace will perform not only aesthetic functions, but also practical ones (organization of the heating system), you need to choose the optimal scheme for transferring heat energy into the room. Depending on the operational characteristics of the house, you can make air heating with a fireplace or an analogue of water heating.

First you need to purchase a fireplace with an appropriate heat exchanger. If the design is done independently, it is made from scrap materials.

Air fireplace heating

The main difference between heating a private house with a fireplace is the transfer of heat energy through air ducts to other rooms of the building. To do this, you can purchase a ready-made model with a heating air chamber or make it yourself. The latter option is preferable, since it is possible to adjust its volume and the rated output power of the system.

In addition to installing a fireplace with air heating, the following system elements are required:

• Air heating chamber... It should be insulated from the firebox, as if framing it.If a gas heating fireplace is installed, an air supply channel from the outside must pass through the heating chamber for the burner to operate;
• Distribution ducts... They are connected to the heating chamber and are needed to supply warm air to the premises of the house. To improve circulation, it is recommended to make your own fireplaces with air heating with a ventilation system;
• Channels for air intake into the heating chamber... It is best to install a mixing unit for outdoor and indoor air flows. So you can simultaneously solve two problems - ventilation in the house and reducing the cost of heating air masses.

One of the most important points in heating a house with a fireplace is the location of the heating chamber and the distribution duct. The easiest way to mount the latter is on a rough ceiling with further hiding with a decorative surface. However, for such heating of a private house with a fireplace, one drawback is inherent - warm air will rise immediately upward, which will lead to uneven heat distribution. The lower part of the room will not warm up well.

It is best to use an alternative heating system from a fireplace with bottom duct mounting.

The channels are installed at floor level. Moreover, they can be located both at the baseboard part of the walls, and directly on the subfloor. When choosing such air heating with a fireplace, the home owner receives a number of advantages:

• Uniform distribution of warm air flows from the floor throughout the entire volume of the room;
• The ability to change the power using adjustable dampers;
• Reducing costs when carrying out preventive work with a fireplace air heating with your own hands.

Design should include the choice of the optimal heating scheme with a fireplace - its power, pipe cross-sections and their length. Additionally, the power of the forced air circulation system is calculated.

When choosing a scheme of air lines in heating a house with a fireplace, the pipelines should not deform or change their properties under the influence of high temperatures. Most often, galvanized or stainless steel pipes are chosen - corrugated or rigid.

Water fireplace heating

For ready-made structures, you can perform a small modernization and make a do-it-yourself fireplace with water heating. The essence of this procedure is to install a heat exchange unit in the firebox. An alternative option is to purchase a ready-made fireplace with a water heat exchanger.

In this case, the fireplace replaces the traditional boiler - heat energy from the combustible fuel is transferred to the water. It also begins to circulate through the pipeline system and enters the radiators and pipes. However, the installation of fireplaces with water heating is associated with greater labor intensity, since it is necessary to provide for the installation of the following components:

• Circulation pump... It is necessary to normalize the speed of movement of the coolant;
• Expansion tank... Serves as protection against overheating - compensates for a critical increase in hot water temperature and pressure in the pipes;
• Security group - air vent and water discharge valve.

In general, the principle of designing a fireplace water heating with your own hands is no different from the standard one. It is only necessary to take into account the relatively high consumption of energy and the inertia of the system.

Regardless of the choice of a fireplace with air or water heating, you must choose the right place for its installation. At the same time, the aesthetic features of the design are taken into account - the ability to observe the combustion process. Therefore, most often facing fireplace inserts in heating systems of a private house are installed in living rooms.

The video shows an example of organizing safe water heating using a fireplace: