How to calculate gas consumption?

Any private house needs high-quality heating in connection with some peculiarities of the climate of our country. Usually in many villages for this purpose there is an old kind stove, which also acts as a stove and oven. And in the role of the latter even better than the electrical analog. But some prefer to use the natural resource for the blessings. And then the question of how much it will be needed and how to calculate the gas consumption can be acute. Our article will be devoted to this.

The calculation of gas consumption is influenced by many factors, which we consider below. In addition, we will try without identifying specialists to determine at least the average rate of fuel consumption. At the same time we will consider some advantages of gas heating.

Advantages of gas heating

Natural gas today is an excellent fuel in terms of economy and convenience. And since this is an inexpensive source of energy, the gas heating in terms of rationality can compete with the electric one. In addition, the efficiency of some modern equipment already exceeds 100%. And this shows that gas boilers are more in demand on the market.

Some time ago, gas boilers and convectors were not cheap, but the situation changed, and now such equipment has become available. Gas is easily transported, and if certain rules are followed, it can be considered a safe fuel. In the room where the modern gas boiler is located, there are no unpleasant smells, and the gas consumption is made in an effective way. Also, one can observe the absence of dust and debris, which eliminates the need to sample ash.

But the most important thing lies in the work of the equipment - some models are almost completely automated, which allows you to minimize maintenance. Control elements regulate the temperature regime, ensuring uniform heating throughout the heating period. And since safety is above all, even this moment in the production of gas heating equipment is given enough attention. All that is required from the consumer is to make the necessary adjustment.

Why gas?

Why not?! This natural fuel is highly efficient in terms of combustion due to the low sulfur content of the composition. Due to this and the boiler is less polluted. In addition, the walls of the unit are not subject to corrosion, which contributes to an increase in the life of the equipment. A gas consumption during combustion is accompanied by the release into the atmosphere of a negligible amount of harmful substances.

Liquefied gas has become very popular , which has improved properties. It can be delivered by cylinders to any place where there is no central gas main, which greatly facilitates the living conditions for a large number of consumers.

Thermal losses

Before you start calculating the consumption of natural gas, you need to know about the so-called heat losses - those areas of the house, where the heat goes out. Usually this issue is handled by future owners even at the design stage. But, unfortunately, as practice shows, not always this moment is given due attention. After all, if the house will lose most of the heat, the increased costs will cast doubt on the economics of gas heating. Money will just go to the wind.

We list the most vulnerable areas through which heat loss occurs in the house:

• walls;
• Joints;
• window;
• Doors;
• roof;
• floor;
• Dimensions of construction.

Poorly insulated walls are also the reason why the gas consumption increases, as warm air will escape through them. And not just in large, but rather in huge quantities. And the fact is that the walls have the largest area. Therefore, isolation plays a big role. Depending on what the house is built from, the necessary insulation materials with the required thickness are selected. With wooden buildings (logs, glued beam), the situation is much easier, because in this case you can do without additional insulation.

If the joints of the walls are poorly met, a lot of heat can escape through them too. And if the form of the house is difficult, do not let this moment out of sight.

The degree of heat loss through the windows depends on their size and quantity. The more their number and size, so, accordingly, more heat will go to the street. Also, the quality of the windows also matters. Plastic products with multi-compartment double-glazed windows (2, 3, 5 and more) have gained great popularity. When choosing windows for your house, you should be cautious, as in the market you can find many fakes, the quality of which is times worse. In addition, the installation of metal-plastic windows is important - in case of a poor-quality installation, the increased gas consumption by the boiler is inevitable.

As everyone knows from the school's bench, the warm air is light and rises. Therefore, good thermal insulation is needed not only for walls, but also for the roof. This process is not easy, especially if the house design is rather complicated, but necessary.

With regard to sex, it does not mean loss of heat, but rather discomfort from the cold surface, not isolated from the low temperature of the earth.

The size of the house is also a factor in the loss of heat. High construction requires more powerful equipment, since it is not easy to provide such a house with the necessary amount of heat.

What should I take into account?

Calculate how much gas is consumed - the process is not so complicated. It is not necessary to involve specialists in this field, but it is necessary to take into account some parameters that will act as initial data:

• Intensity of equipment operation. If the house is poorly insulated, and a large amount of heat goes to the street, then the equipment will work most of the time in full force.
• Heating period. This refers to the time factor. Those owners who come only for the summer or on the weekends, do not worry about how the gas boiler works. The gas consumption in this case will be minimal. But those masters who live in houses on a permanent basis, will have large expenses.
• Building area. Here everything is clear.
• Type of heating equipment. Some modern models of boilers are able to work in automatic mode, they are able to control the temperature and the degree of heating. If necessary, they can stop working for a while, and in this case, the savings are obvious.

Also it is necessary to consider the following. Based on generally accepted standards, 1 kWh of heat is required to warm up a room of 10 m ² to a comfortable temperature.

Calculation

As an example for calculation, let's take a house whose area is 100 m ² , and for convenience we will denote the letter Q of the amount of heat in kW. Using the above mentioned remark, we calculate that for our house we need 10 kW / h of heat. That is, the area of the house is divided by 10 and we get the result (in this example, too, the figure is 10). It is easy to calculate (average) how much this energy will require for one month: Q _m = 10 x 24 x 30 = 7200 kW.

Usually the heating period lasts 7 months, but the boiler does not always work day and night at full capacity. Most of the peak power is only for the winter. In addition, it all depends on the area of residence. Therefore, you can boldly get the result divided in half: Q _cp = 7200/2 = 3600 kW.

It remains to make a further calculation of gas consumption for the entire heating season: Q a = 3600 x 7 = 25,200 kW. As a rule, in boiler boilers 1 m ^{3 of} fuel is equated to 10 kW / h. Using this, calculate the volume of gas that will be needed throughout the heating period V = Q / 10 = 2520 m ³ .

Similarly, you can make calculations for the home of any other area. And after learning these average indicators, you can estimate the financial costs.

One nuance

The above calculation is averaged. In practice, the calculated result may seem higher or lower. This is due to the presence of a number of different factors, and the deviation of the real flow from the calculated is not uncommon. Moreover, it is not so simple to observe the figures obtained on paper. And it is much more difficult to save money. However, some tips may come in handy.

Economical ways to optimize consumption

These tips will help to some extent optimize the cost of gas for heating. First of all, it is necessary to purchase only reliable and high-quality equipment. Accordingly, this should not be saved. With regard to power, you should choose the boiler in accordance with your personal needs. Do not think that a large supply will be in favor, rather the opposite. Equipment with a large capacity, working in the middle mode, will nevertheless consume a lot of fuel.

The same applies to a low-power boiler, which will constantly work hard. Both options are not suitable, and the best will be the choice of equipment with a small margin of performance (about 25-30%). Then you can not worry about what the gas consumption will be at the boiler.

If during the design of the house was not provided for a good thermal insulation, it is not too late to hold it later. As already discussed above, a lot of heat can escape through the walls and the roof.

The acquisition of automatic equipment, although it will cost more, but as a result will result in savings. It will not hurt to think about installing gas sensors, through which a timely leakage of fuel will be detected.

Autonomy as a rational solution

With the help of autonomous equipment, it is possible to achieve gas savings, and the more technologically and sensibly it is, the more significant the result will be. This is achieved through numerous sensors and controllers. Receiving from them all the necessary information, the equipment produces the optimal setting of the heating level. Modern models have a remote control or a smartphone or a personal computer / laptop can act as an analogue. It is convenient for them to determine how much the gas consumption is or whether it is within the permissible norm.

If the heating equipment is equipped with a timer, then it is possible to consume gas even more economically. With its help, you can reduce the operating mode of the boiler to a minimum at night or at a time when everything is normal at work and at home. Comfort in this case will not suffer. It is estimated that a 1 degree drop in temperature saves up to 3-5% of natural fuel.

The result

It takes time to create a good heating system. However, not everyone has it, and therefore a good way out of the situation will be to appeal to specialists in the relevant field. The above independent calculation will be average, but if accuracy is important, then the professionals will determine a more accurate rate of gas consumption. And on their basis it becomes clear how useful it is to use gas heating.