How to choose a heating method?
Gas heating costs
It is worth starting each comparison with establishing the framework in which we operate. In this heating price comparison, we will be based on a room of 40 m2 and a height of 2.7 m. The height of the room is of great importance. After all, each heating device heats the volume, not the surface. For this, it should be determined whether the room is well insulated. In addition to insulation, we look at the level of tightness of windows and doors. If it is poorly insulated (summer houses, trailers, uninsulated houses, etc.), it is worth buying a more powerful gas heater.
This is an approximate formula for calculating the power for a gas heater from our offer. (40m2x2.7mx40) / 1000 = 4.32kW
In our case, 7.5 kW is more than enough for a poorly insulated building. For good insulation (e.g. insulated houses), we can choose a gas heater with 5kW cylinders .
5kW, because it is good to have a little power reserve. It also depends on whether the room will be heated continuously during the heating season, or e.g. from 8 am to 4 pm and only on working days. In this case, the power of the gas convector should be selected twice as high, because it is necessary to quickly heat the room every morning in the shortest possible time.
Now it is worth knowing the possibilities of heating such a room. We have a choice of classic gas stoves, electric heaters, and oil heaters. In addition, there are farelki, portable oil and electric heaters. Of course, there are system solutions – heating from a boiler or heating with coal. The choice of course depends on the type of building. However, we assume that it is about heating one room, even in a large building (hotel, rooms for rent, garage, workshop room). For this reason, it is wise to invest in a device that heats up the room very quickly. For example, immediately before it is needed. Therefore, the choice is narrowed down to gas stoves, electric or oil heaters. The electric heaters are rather designed to support existing heating installations.Especially since the vast majority of electric heaters have a power of up to 2500W-3000W (2.5kW-3kW).
Oil heaters
With oil heaters, the problem is the same, they do not have enough power to heat the entire room and maintain the temperature. The upper limit of the oil heater power is 3.5kW. Moreover, oil heaters use very large amounts of electricity to heat the oil.
If we want to put the entire system on an oil boiler, its installation is much more expensive than the gas version. Installing the oil tanks at home has to meet safety standards, which complicates the matter. Boiler flue gas is more polluted than gas combustion. So-called dual-function gas heaters are used to heat water, so here this solution is not an option.
It is worth noting that the combustion reaction of total natural gas is only carbon dioxide and water vapor. The reaction of burning gas from a cylinder – LPG, also ends with carbon dioxide and water vapor.
Gas heating costs
What influences gas consumption?
Gas consumption is influenced by:
- Temperature set on the thermostat
- Heat transfer coefficient in a heated room (room insulation)
- Gas heater operation time
Prices from 1kWh have been calculated for the average price for 1kg of fuel from the last six months. Coal seems to be the cheapest, but the cost of transport and working time are not taken into account. In the case of oil heaters, the price of the gas boiler itself is not included (the cheapest option is around PLN 7,000 + installation).
Here, any savings can be made 3-4 years after the investment. If we want to save immediately, the best solution is natural gas or gas from a cylinder, i.e. propane-butane.
However, the calculation is exact the cost of heating a room is not possible by assumption We can provide the most approximate heating price for this. There are too many variables that need to be taken into account – room insulation, window tightness, operation time of e.g. a gas heater, power of a gas heater, room temperature before heating, etc.
Sample gas consumption for a 5kW gas convector from our example in an isolated room. The temperature is set at 20 ° C for 8 hours a day with 30% of the time at full power. The remaining 16 hours the stove maintains the temperature not lower than 8 ° C, i.e. it works at full power for about 10% of the time.
Consumption = (0.39 kg / h * 8h * 0.3) + (0.39 kg / h * 16h * 0.1) = 0.93kg + 0.62kg = 1.55kg The
daily gas consumption is 1.55kg.
Gas stove purchase costs
In our store www.piecykigazowe.com.pl we have a wide selection of gas stoves for cylinders and gas convectors.
and ceramic radiators . Prices start from PLN 1050. At this price, we get a ready-to-work gas stove. We adjust the gas stove from a cylinder (LPG) or natural gas. Additional costs are only the cylinder and possible assembly, which is very simple.
Ease of heating
Gas heaters from our offer are very easy to use. Knowing how a gas stove works will make it easier to use. Basically a gas stove consists of a housing, a combustion chamber that can be closed and open, a burner, an igniter and a thermostat. Closed combustion gas stoves are the most popular.
To start heating with a gas heater, it must of course be installed. Installation of a gas heater – YouTube . Then connect to a power supply, for example from a gas cylinder. The most popular choice is the 11 kg gas cylinder . It is the most easily accessible. Of course, you can choose a different size of the gas cylinder . The gas stove does not need electricity, so we don’t have to worry about it. Now you need to fire it with the piezoelectric igniter located on the thermostat. We set the temperature we need on the thermostat.
The factory fitted mechanical thermostat is simple and reliable. It is used to regulate the temperature and power of a gas cylinder heater. The thermostat is adjustable in 1 – 7, which corresponds to approximately 13 ° C – 30 ° C (depending on the stove manufacturer). The adjustment is made by a knob. The thermostat controls the gas valve on the gas heater. The gas stove has a temperature sensor, so it will “know” how much gas it needs and at what point. This gives us confidence that the gas heater will maintain a good temperature. Additionally, it has a thermocouple that prevents gas from escaping when the stove goes out. The thermocouple is heated by the burner “candle” in the gas heater. When it goes out, the thermocouple loses temperature and cuts off the gas supply.
What’s more, our store offers a wide selection of programmable thermostats . Modifying a gas heater on cylinders with a programmable thermostat is really profitable. We can set the hours and days of cylinder gas heater operation in advance – many of our clients who run hotels or rooms for rent use this functionality to reduce heating costs. We also heat the office this way.
In conclusion, a gas heater is a device that only requires the replacement of the gas cylinder. How many times the cylinder will need to be replaced depends on individual needs.
The situation with a gas heater changes when we have a natural gas installation. Then the matter is even simpler, because you do not have to think about the remaining amount of gas in the gas cylinder at all. Besides, natural gas is the cheapest fuel for heating. Terrestrial gas is also not widely available. Please note that natural gas cannot be stored in cylinders.
Gas heating costs – how can you save?
There are several universal rules for space heating. First of all, you need to take care of insulation. This is the most important point. Without good insulation, we will heat the walls that will easily dissipate all the heat to the outside. There are many types of insulation and we have a lot to choose from. If we take care of great insulation at the stage of construction, it will be easier to save later. Especially since in Poland the heating period may last from the turn of September / October until early April. About 7 months! There is nowhere to save.
Then we check the tightness of windows and doors. Gas or any other heating will not be effective if all the heated air escapes through the gaps. The case concerns both central heating and gas boilers.
Insulation + tightness of the building = spending money on heating the rooms, not the rest of the environment.
In the next step, we have to take care of good-quality gas from the cylinder. It is worth spending more on good quality gas and burning it as efficiently as possible. We can verify this very easily. If the flame in the gas heater is almost completely blue, it is very good. Conversely, if the flame is rather orange, the combustion reaction is ineffective and we literally burn money.
Now we have to check how the gas heater with cylinders or other source is connected. Make sure that connections of gas hoses are tight. As a rule, all connections are tight if the human factor does not fail.
So we have proven insulation and tightness of the building, we took care of the gas quality, as well as its supply to the combustion chamber. What else we can do? Well, it is worth planning the work of a gas heater. The thermostat will help with this . The factory-fitted thermostat maintains the selected temperature. However, if we want to use natural gas or gas from a cylinder as efficiently as possible, we can use a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats are used to set the weekly work schedule of gas heaters. They control the valve feeding gas into the combustion chamber. This is especially useful when we are only indoors during working hours. Then we set the heating start time one hour before coming to work. Then, for the rest of the day, the gas heater will maintain the temperature, and after leaving work it will not turn on. It is the automation of activities. It saves time, gas and improves comfort. We always come to a warm office.
Our experts will help you reduce the costs of gas heating.
