How to choose the right scheme for heating? One of the defining parameters is the minimum length of the pipelines. In many cases, horizontal routing is done for this. However, there are non-standard layouts of a house or apartment for which a vertical heating system is best suited: wiring, radiators, batteries must be designed and selected according to special conditions.
Features of the vertical wiring diagram
What is the difference between a vertical one-pipe heating system and a similar horizontal one? First of all, with minimal heat losses. This is ensured by the location of the supply lines. Unlike a horizontal pipe, in a vertical system, they function as thermal risers.
In fact, vertical heating distribution in the original version is very rare. This is due to the peculiarity of the installation and distribution of the coolant throughout the system. A similar scheme was popular in the design of Khrushchev houses. Due to the small areas of the apartments, it was impractical to install horizontal piping. Therefore, we developed a vertical hot water supply scheme. It has the following features:
- Several heat pipes to which the batteries are connected. In most cases, this was a one-pipe heating system;
- The ability to regulate the temperature of the radiator. This is due to the nature of the system;
- The coolant inflow into the rooms was carried out along separate circuits.
As can be seen from the above, the vertical layout of the heating system has a number of significant disadvantages. That is why it is practically not used for private houses, as well as in modern multi-storey residential construction.
In some cases, a combined scheme is applicable, when the distribution riser is made horizontal, separate lines from it already diverge to connect radiators to the system. Therefore, you need to find out whether it is advisable to use vertical heating wiring for a private house.
It is recommended to choose vertical wall heating radiators for this scheme. Despite their high cost, they are best suited for such a system.
Relevance for autonomous heating
The first problems can arise even at the stage of connecting the batteries. This is due to the location of the nozzles and the very design of the heating device. Almost all models are designed for horizontal installation. Therefore, experts recommend installing special vertical wall-mounted heating radiators.
However, this should take into account the peculiarities of their functioning. The lower the battery is located, the more efficiently it will perform. Cold air has a greater mass than warm air, so it concentrates at the floor. The battery's job is to heat it up. Therefore, it should be located as low as possible. Narrow vertical heating radiators structurally cannot fully fulfill this task.
But this is not the only drawback typical for vertical distribution of the heating system. It can be solved by slightly increasing the length of the radiator inlet pipes.If you adhere to the canons of the scheme, another problem will arise. It consists in tying vertical tubular heating radiators to the location of the heating pipes. This is unimportant for rooms with a small square footage. However, if the room has an area of 40 m2 or more and at the same time has 2 external walls, it will be necessary to install several heating pipes.
Summing up, the following conditions can be distinguished when the installation of a vertical one-pipe heating system makes sense:
- Relatively large number of floors. Usually 5 or more;
- Relatively small area of rooms;
- Good thermal insulation and even heat distribution throughout the room.
Alas, these characteristics are unusual for most private cottage houses. That is why they prefer to install a horizontal heating system as one of the best ways to maintain a comfortable temperature.
In old apartment buildings with a two-pipe vertical heating system with a bottom wiring, to account for heat, you need to install a meter on each riser. There can be from 2 to 5 of them.
One-pipe or two-pipe system
It is important to decide for which scheme the vertical water radiators will work best. At first glance, it seems that the traditional two-pipe heating system, with its advantages, is optimal for vertical distribution. This can be found out only after analyzing the operational and technical characteristics of each circuit.
One-pipe heating system
In it, the coolant circulates in a closed loop, and the radiators are connected in series, i.e. the degree of water heating in the last battery will be much lower than in the first one. For a horizontal system, this would be very important. But since the length of the heating circuit is small, the temperature level of the coolant in vertical water heating batteries will be relatively the same. As an additional regulation measure, bypasses can be installed between the inlet and outlet pipes of each radiator.
Other features of a single-pipe vertical heating system are as follows:
- The minimum amount of consumables for the installation of the pipeline;
- The ability to make a gravitational system without installing a circulation pump;
- Optimal coolant volume. This parameter can be adjusted by choosing pipes of larger or smaller diameters.
Considering these factors, a vertical one-pipe heating system was chosen as the optimal one for multi-storey buildings built in 60-80. last century.
Two-pipe heating system
This system requires the installation of two contours of the line. Hot coolant enters one of them, and the second serves as a return pipeline.
In this case, they should be located next to each other, since the connection of vertical steel heating radiators occurs in parallel. As a result, the volume of water required increases significantly, which affects the hydrodynamic resistance of the system. Often, two-pipe wiring for vertical heating is done with a forced supply of coolant. For this, powerful circulation pumps are installed, as well as control devices - expansion membrane tanks, air vents.
In practice, a two-pipe vertical heating system with a bottom wiring is extremely rare. This is due to the laboriousness of installation, specific performance characteristics. Experts highlight one significant advantage of such a scheme - the low likelihood of air jams.
Combined heating wiring with horizontal supply of coolant through vertical risers will be optimal for a 2 or 3-storey building with a large area. In this way, the appearance of air pockets in the system can be minimized.
Choosing a radiator for vertical wiring
For the above systems, it is difficult to find vertical water heating batteries. This is due to the limited ways of connecting them to the circuit. The greatest heat transfer from the radiator will be with one-sided upper and lower branch pipes.
In most cases, vertical tubular heating radiators are characterized by the location of mounting assemblies on one side. From the point of view of the distribution of hot water throughout the structure, a detailed diagram is considered the most effective.
Accuro-Korle
Currently, it is one of the most famous manufacturers of vertical wall-mounted radiators. A feature of his models is the predominance of the Hi-Tech style. A prime example of this design solution is the Caftan range of radiators. They can perform not only the functions of a heating device, but also a heated towel rail. Currently, the average cost of Caftan is from 30 to 43 thousand rubles.
The Escape model is a typical tubular water vertical heating battery. The strict classical shape will make it possible to fit the radiator into almost any interior of the bathroom or hallway. Its cost is slightly lower than that of Caftan - from 23 to 34 thousand rubles. with the same technical characteristics.
In addition to this well-known manufacturer, there are several reliable suppliers of such radiators - Caftan (Turkey), Kermi (Germany), Jaga (Belgium). Alas, the economy segment of the vertical battery market does not exist as such. The only way out is to make a similar design yourself. But its technical characteristics will be significantly lower than that of the factory models. This is another factor in the unpopularity of the vertical layout of the heating system.
Should I give preference to a vertical heating system? Wiring, radiators, batteries will cost a lot for it, and installation has a number of significant drawbacks. The main thing is to find out for yourself the expediency of its installation. It can be used for a small apartment building with autonomous heating. But first you need to do all the required calculations.
The video shows an example of a vertical two-pipe heating system in an office building:
