The cost of resources used to heat the coolant in the winter is constantly rising. This forces the consumer to use equipment that can reduce energy consumption to create comfortable conditions when operating autonomous heating systems.
Functions and design of the heat accumulator
Owners of private houses that switched to the use of solid fuel boilers running on wood, faced with the need to spend a lot of time and effort on ignition, laying firewood, monitoring the combustion process. To get away from these difficulties, the heating system is equipped with a thermal energy storage.
Outwardly, it resembles a boiler, but of a large size, primarily due to a thicker layer of insulation to preserve heat. Its placement in a residential building is not possible. Such a unit does not always find a place in the boiler room. To install it, you have to rebuild the furnace rooms or make an extension to them.
The following types of heat accumulators are structurally distinguished:
- with an internal boiler - to maintain the required temperature of hot water;
- with a heat exchanger (one or more in the form of a spiral);
- with an empty tank.
A cylindrical tank, sheathed with a material with high thermal insulation properties, is designed to store hot coolant or water and transfer it to the consumer at the required time. It is this ability of the heat accumulator that allows you to kindle the boiler instead of several times a day, limit it to the only heating, and in the future - use the heat from the installed drive.
The use of heat accumulators for solid fuel boilers
Connecting the storage tank to save heat promotes the use of thermal energy from a solid fuel boiler with greater efficiency. In addition, the drive increases the operating time of the heating system at one load, which allows you to operate the wood-burning machine in a more convenient mode.
The peculiarity of using a heat accumulator is that when burning wood, the boiler gives off heat first to the storage tank, and then to the heating appliances. When solid fuel is exhausted, the automation transfers the function of the heat source to the storage tank, which gradually, from top to bottom, transfers the stored thermal energy to the heating system to maintain the set parameters.
Depending on the capacity of the boiler and the area of the living room, a drive model is selected. To determine the size of the battery, there are several simple formulas:
- Approximately 40 liters per 1 kW of boiler thermal power are taken as a unit of account. For example, for an aggregate with a capacity of 10 kW, a tank of 350-450 liters is used.
- Another technique for calculating the volume of the drive recommends multiplying the heated area by 4. The resulting value should be taken as a basis when choosing equipment. For example, for a house with an area of 70 square meters. m, the use of a capacity of 280-300 liters will be acceptable.
IMPORTANT! When choosing a heat accumulator, do not chase large sizes. If the storage capacity is very large, the boiler may not be able to cope with the heating of the coolant for the heating system and tank at the same time!
Harnessing a solid fuel boiler with a heat accumulator
The connection of the heat storage device to the heating system will look like the installation of two heat sources. It is only necessary to take into account the possibility of transferring the coolant from the boiler to the tank. To do this, the battery capacity is placed between the solid fuel unit and radiators. To achieve greater heat transfer efficiency, after each of these sources create a small circulation circuit, equipped with three-way valves.
The movement of the coolant from the heat source to the radiators occurs due to the natural or forced circulation of water in the heating system. When using a heat accumulator, the maximum effect is achieved using two circulation pumps. One is mounted in front of the boiler, and the other after the storage tank, in front of plumbing devices for heat analysis. The use of natural circulation flows will require great accuracy in the installation of pipes along the design slopes and must have design sections of the “feed” and “return” lines.
When the first pump is installed in front of the boiler, the coolant is sent to the "supply" line, which passes in the direction of the storage tank and radiators. Turning on the second pump with the appropriate position of the three-way valve will direct heat to the heating devices installed in the room.
Operation of pumps and three-way valves can be controlled manually or by means of automation, based on data from temperature sensors that will give commands, depending on the temperature of the coolant. Sensors are recommended to be installed on the "return" of the boiler, storage tank and heating line. Lowering the temperature of small circuits or the entire system gives a command to open the corresponding valve, and as the degrees increase, it closes the taps.
With manual control, pipelines are equipped with thermometers to monitor the temperatures of the "feed" and "return". The principle of operation of the pumps is that when the small circuits are turned on and shut off with the help of taps, the coolant will go directly to the heating devices. This mode is appropriate for cooling the room and igniting a solid fuel boiler. As the room and coolant in the system warm up, the second pump will turn off and the heated water will flow into the heat accumulator.
The operation of the first pump and the small circuit of the boiler will allow the heat source to first heat up itself, and then direct the coolant to the main. Manual control of the directions of flows of heated water is carried out only after studying the principle of operation of the storage tank with a solid fuel unit.
ATTENTION! The automation connection is mounted on the basis of carefully performed calculations! The possibility of overheating of the coolant above 95 degrees must not be allowed!
When carrying out installation work on the boiler and heat accumulator piping, it is necessary to install a safety group and an expansion tank in places determined by the requirements for heating systems.
Wiring diagram
Installation of a solid fuel boiler with a thermal battery is carried out in accordance with the scheme, which provides for the transfer of the coolant from the heat source to the radiators, through the drive. A graphic image of the location of all nodes and devices takes into account the specifics of the connection sequence, depending on the characteristics of each element of the heating system. The installation schemes are diverse, they show the presence of small circulation circuits, sensors, three-way valves and pumps, providing the required mode for creating comfortable conditions in the room.
REFERENCE! Manufacturers of thermal tanks recommend various connection schemes, which are attached in the technical documentation. The practice of installing such equipment shows that it is more important to use the design documentation of the heating system for the installation of drives, which takes into account the required mode of supply of the coolant when heating the room! This allows you to use the heat reservoir with greater efficiency!
Proper selection and proper connection of the storage tank to maintain the desired temperature in the house will allow melt the solid fuel boiler much less often. The drive’s ability to store the received heat energy for a long time will make the use of firewood or coal more efficient and save money by reducing the resources consumed.
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