We balance the heating system in the house

For the correct and efficient operation of the heating system, it is necessary not only to perform professional installation, filling with a suitable coolant and flushing, but also to fine-tune and balance. A set of these measures is required not only when starting a newly created circuit, but also after connecting new equipment, including radiators, or after replacing pipes. Balancing a water heating system in a private house is a rather complicated process, in the absence of self-confidence it is worth entrusting it to specialists, but, in order to save money, you can try to do it yourself.

urgent need

The main task of the heating system is to deliver the coolant to the radiators with subsequent heating of the surrounding air.

It is important, at the same time, that the volumes of the transported coolant strictly correspond to real requirements: a lack of liquid will provoke low efficiency, and excess pressure is fraught with the danger of a breakthrough.

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If the owners did not take care of the settings, then the batteries located in the immediate vicinity of the boiler will be the hottest, while the distant radiators can remain cold at all. Despite such an imbalance, fuel consumption will remain at a high level, such a scheme can hardly be called economical, rational, or efficient. So, it turns out that the balancing process is necessary to achieve the following results:

• Each of the heaters heats up evenly;
• Coolant savings are achieved without compromising system efficiency;
• Noise during operation, provoked by the movement of large volumes of water, is excluded.

When is it needed?

Balancing the water heating system of a multi-storey building should be performed before the start of each new season, but the following signs indicate an urgent need for it:

• Radiators do not warm up well enough or even remain cold, check shows that this problem is not related to the formation of an airlock. Most likely, the negative effect is caused by a lack of pressure in the system, the newly connected boiler does not create the proper pressure, cannot push water through the pipes. It will be possible to solve the problem by replacing the pipes with less wide options, adding a circulation pump and tuning.
• The radiators of the entire system do not warm up. Most likely, an air lock has formed. The Mayevsky tap opens, the water is bled off until all the air comes out of the pipes.
• Uneven heating of radiators and pipes. It is possible that gross violations and errors were made during the installation process. It is necessary to perform balancing, during which all weak points will be found for subsequent elimination of defects.

Basic Methods

For private houses, the following tuning methods are most often used:

• The most accurate is the method based on the use of an electronic flow meter that controls the flow of the coolant. It requires, firstly, a hydraulic calculation of the system, reflecting the flow of water in all its sections, and secondly, shutoff valves are required on all risers. The third component is directly an electronic device that is connected during operation with fittings. The process is based on the fact that the electronics show exactly how much coolant each riser spends. Based on these data, the position of fittings and valves is adjusted, and optimal values ​​​​are achieved. The advantage of the technology is that there is no need to deal with each radiator separately, all devices connected to an adjusted riser will receive optimal volumes of water.
• Temperature setting is an option that you have to use out of desperation when you have neither a circuit design nor accurate calculations of its performance. The essence of the process is the installation of valves on each of the batteries, the use of a thermometer to fix the surface temperature. First of all, you need to fully open the valve on the most powerful radiator, remote from the boiler, and the remaining batteries open at a certain number of revolutions, calculated according to a certain method. If 6 radiators are connected to the branch, and the valve needs to be unscrewed by 5 turns, then the first one opens by 1 turn, 2 — by two, and so on. After that, the surface temperature is measured, equality is achieved between all devices of the heating system of a private house.

Be sure to check out: do-it-yourself water heating in your home.

Requirements and recommendations

Before proceeding with balancing, it is necessary to check the pipeline:

• It should not have air pockets. This problem is especially relevant for owners who decide to change old cast-iron batteries for analogues made of aluminum and alloys;
• All coarse filters must be in full working order, in the presence of even small impurities, the elements should be washed with water, as this significantly impairs the transmission capacity, leads to incorrect calculations and settings;
• The pressure difference in the branches of the direct and reverse flow of water should be sufficient.

Positive effect

Of course, the implementation of this event requires some effort, sometimes very significant time costs. However, the benefits of this process are undeniable. Firstly, heating in all areas of the house will fully comply with the wishes of the owners, and the level of domestic comfort will increase. Secondly, the efficiency of using the coolant will increase, which will lead to a reduction in the costs needed to maintain the correct operation of the system. Finally, the functioning of the circuit equipment will occur in a gentle mode without failures and errors, which will significantly reduce the likelihood of an accident, as well as increase the duration of operation.