Electric convector heaters, their pros and cons of
Electric convectors are becoming increasingly popular, because they are an excellent alternative to traditional electric boats with pipes and batteries connected to them. By installing a convector heater in the room, the pros and cons of which we will consider in this article, we will achieve a warm and comfortable atmosphere. What is this equipment, what are its advantages and disadvantages. Our detailed review will tell.
Before we talk about all the pluses and minuses of convector heaters, it is necessary to study their device properly. They consist of the following parts:
- Heating element. It is equipped with a large area with a chopper, ensuring the heating of the air masses;
- Control system. It can be electronic or mechanical, providing work in certain modes and controlling the temperature;
- Corps. Protects all the insides.
The design of the equipment is extremely simple, and this is rather a plus than a minus.
Warm air strives up, and its place fills the cold. This is the principle of convection.
Let’s see how the convector heater works. When it is included in the network, the heating element begins to work. It heats the air, as a result of which its density decreases. Becoming easier, it rises to the ceiling and takes out cold air masses from there. Cold air goes down and sucked into the convector. Some time after the equipment is turned on, a stable air cycle is created in the room, ensuring the creation of a comfortable atmosphere.
Automation monitors the temperature regime. It turns off the convector heater when the set temperature reaches, and turns on it as soon as the rooms become cooler. Automation can be electronic or mechanical. Electronics is more accurate, it ensures the savings of electricity and gives the equipment many additional functions. As for the “mechanics”, it is more simple, but less economical.

Electronic control convector heater will cost more than its analogue with a mechanical thermostat. But the presence of electronics is considered a plus.
What is it, pros and cons of
How it becomes clear from the name, the basis for the functioning of the presented household appliance is the process of heat exchange or convection. In the process of functioning, the creation of convective air flows occurs, which are heated to the required temperature and spread along the perimeter of the room.
Visually, the devices look like a mobile device on wheels or a battery suspended on the wall. The convector is an electric floor or wall, is a flat and long device. The product is performed in a metal case and is often distinguished by rectangular forms of execution with a small width and increased length. Such a structure gives the opportunity to obtain the principle of an aerodynamic pipe, which produces a powerful and stable flow of heated air.
Important! Convector. Heater, the most practical product that is suitable for heating the apartment, own home or cottage, which has good efficiency and reliability.
Air masses penetrate the device through the lower part of the case, which has a thermal component located there for heating. Having heated, the air goes through the upper part, which has holes or special blinds. With the help of this structure, it is possible to adjust the directions of the exit. The earliest devices had a needle heating method, which is now replaced by more modern tubular.
Convectors, like heating devices, have an electric tube heater located in an aluminum case, which increases the area of thermal metabolism.
- Rapid heating of the room due to accelerated air movement;
- The case is not heated, which increases safety in operation;
- The temperature regime operates with greater accuracy, unlike oil radiators and other similar devices;
- Can be used in places with increased humidity;
- The most attractive visual performance.
- At the initial stage of heating, cold drafts move around the room;
- Excessive dust when moving air masses;
- Use is ineffective and does not make sense in large rooms with high ceilings.
Note! Convector.Type electric heaters have much greater safety in use, which allows you to use them in children’s rooms.
Design and principle of operation
Possessing data on the device of convection heaters, you can choose the optimal offer in the domestic market. The main constructive elements of the device is the heating component or heat exchanger, as well as the thermostat, which has a special regulator located on the outer panel. Most devices have various additional opportunities to improve comfort and security.
The main process that allows the device to work is called convection. This is a natural circulation of air masses. Cool air enters the device, so encounters with an element of heating, which increases its temperature. After heating, the air goes up and circulates around the room.

This principle becomes possible with the help of standard physical processes. Cold air is much heavier than warm. The latter, cooling down, again descends closer to the floor and re.Enters the case, due to which the cycle is repeated.
Using the convection process in the rooms, a constant circulation of warm air is performed and a fairly comfortable and stable temperature is preserved. The indicated effect makes electric convectors with the thermostat indispensable for cottage, houses and apartments.
Control unit or thermostat
A thermostat or electronic control module can be used as a thermostat in convective heaters. In any case, this block is designed to control the heating temperature and the operating time of the device, allowing to control the temperature regime.
The most common regulator is thermostat. Mechanical models are very simple. As soon as a certain temperature of the heater is achieved, the electrical contact opens. It will not become closed until the device cools down again. The advantage of the thermostat is the cheapness of the block. But with its help it is difficult to control the heating of the room. The device works depending on the temperature of the heating element, and not the surrounding air.
Convector heater
The electronic control module is equipped with several sensors reading the temperature of both the heater itself and the surrounding air. The microprocessor processes this data and controls the heating and cooling modes based on the settings set by it. Thanks to this, the room warms up to a given temperature. This is a more advanced type of thermoregulator.
How does he work?
Consider the principle of operation of the convection heater. The principle of operation of the electric convector is based on natural circulation (convection) of air. The convector, as a rule, has a rectangular shape, an electric heating element is located inside it.
On the surface of the convector there are holes designed for air circulation. The convector is arranged in such a way that the air coming from the lower and side holes is heated after passing through the heating element and then exits through the holes located on the front panel of the convector.
For example, an oil.Type heater heats the room due to thermal radiation, which comes from heated radiators. In the convector, a different principle. The heating of the room is carried out due to the directed flow of heated air. Thanks to this, the convector heats the room much faster and, no less important, evenly throughout the area.
The heating element of the modern convector is low.Temperature, it is made of a special alloy, due to which it is heated much faster than the usual tubular heating elements. As a rule, after 30-60 s after included in the network, the convector is already starting to send heat to the room.
The efficiency of a heater of this type reaches 90% due to the fact that almost all energy is heated by the rooms, unlike other types of heaters, for example, oil, which begins to give heat to the room immediately, but only after its thermal conductive environment warms up. Oil, and then its metal case (radiator).
There is an opinion that heaters, including electric convectors, burn oxygen. But is it really so? As mentioned above, low.Temperature heating elements are installed in the electric convector, the maximum temperature of their heating, as a rule, does not exceed 60C.
At this temperature, oxygen is not burned, which is a significant advantage of the convector, compared with other types of electric heaters, the heating elements of which are heated to several hundred degrees. In addition, the low operating temperature of the convector allows it to be installed almost everywhere, including near fire hazardous surfaces, for example, on a wooden wall.
And how can a convector effectively heat the room if the operating temperature of its heating elements is much lower than in other type heaters?
The heating element of the convector has a much larger size compared to heating elements that have a higher operating temperature. Thanks to this, the convector secrete a sufficient amount of heat and, despite the low operating temperature of its heating elements, is able to heat a significant area. Depending on the power, one convector can heat a room up to 30 square meters. M.
Convector heating batteries
Many real estate owners prefer classic options for arranging heating in their own homeowners or apartment. They lay pipelines, install a heating unit and a convector heating battery in the required amount. A big advantage is the presence of a gas pipeline in the house, since this type of heating using a gas boiler is inexpensive and effective.
Also economically heating based on equipment operating on liquefied gas. The following economicals are boilers working on solid fuel types. Heating with their use will turn out to be free if there is a forest near the country house, in which firewood can be prepared on the eve of winter. Когда нет возможности нарубать поленья, тогда лучше закупить топливо оптово, что обойдется гораздо дешевле.
In this case, water heat supply involves the installation of convectors. Heating radiators, which must be connected to the pipeline laid on the premises of the house. The heated coolant after admission to the battery warms up metal surfaces, and then heat the heat surrounded by the surrounded air space.
Warm air rushes in the direction of the ceiling ceiling, and its place is occupied by cold air flows. The temperature regime adjustment in water systems is performed using a boiler or taps and valves located on batteries.
Given the complexity of the installation, the arrangement of this option of heat supply is considered optimal for buildings with a large number of rooms, since from a financial point of view the installation of a large number of autonomously functioning electric convectors cannot be called justified.
Experts also recommend making water convector heating in houses connected to gas supplying highways and those owners of real estate who have access to inexpensive types of solid fuel.
Heating of a private house with convectors
A distinctive feature of convectors is the fact that the surface area contacting with the air of the room is a relatively large. For this reason, many owners of country houses seem to be irrational to allocate part of the room for the installation of heating elements of this type. Convector heating has its pros and cons, which is recommended to familiarize yourself in advance.
Advantages and disadvantages
There are several advantages inherent in this type of heating of the premises, thanks to which many people prefer such devices. The advantages of convectors include:
- High fire safety level. As a rule, the main boiler is located in a separate room, and heat is brought into the living rooms through the pipes.
- Lesser time starting the system. After turning on heating, regardless of the type of energy used, the convectors immediately begin to give heat.
- Have minimal thermal inertia. Thanks to this quality, you can quickly change the temperature regime in the room.
- High efficiency. For this reason, using convectors is very profitable.
Unfortunately, such systems are not devoid of shortcomings. The main disadvantages of convection heating include:
- With intensive heating, vertical flows can be quite significant to raise dust and various allergens, which can significantly complicate the lives of people suffering from pulmonary diseases.
- The air temperature in the room is unevenly distributed. At the ceiling, the air can be very warm, while at the floor level the temperature will be uncomfortable.
Convection heating, despite the presence of shortcomings, still remains very popular among the population. This method of heating has gained widespread, including due to a significant number of varieties of fuel used.
Thermostats and controls
To regulate the work, convectors are equipped with thermostats. Budget models, as a rule, have mechanical thermostats that do not always make it possible to accurately regulate temperature indicators. However, it can be noted: in the process of daily operation of devices, special accuracy is not always required.
Heating explained – a simple guide
Expensive and technological convectors have electronic thermostats and other automation elements for convenience and safety. Electronics makes it possible to accurately adjust the temperature, control devices using remote controls, as well as mobile devices. In addition, in the presence of special components, convectors can be combined into a full.Fledged heating system.
Electronic electric convectors are more expensive than models with mechanical thermostats, but they have more functions and capabilities. If convectors are used constantly for heating, the presence of electronics allows you to save on payment for consumed electric energy.
Manufacturers declare potential savings up to 8-11%. It is achieved due to a more accurate exposure of temperature parameters, as well as at the expense of special programs that allow reducing the temperature at night or during the absence of people in the room.
The “anti.Fried” mode can be in demand by summer residents and all those who rarely visit the house or other room. It is enough to program devices to work in this mode and the consumption of electric energy will be significantly less, since the convector will turn on from time to time, only slightly heating the air.
Varieties of convectors
Let’s see what is needed in order to create convector heating in your house. The finished system can be:
- Water. Using convector heating radiators, with pipes and boiler (electric, gas, solid fuel or liquid);
- Electric. Here we mean the installation of electric convectors;
- Gas. Special gas convectors are placed in the rooms, most often eat from the cylinder gas.
Let’s talk about these convectors in more detail and find out the distinctive features of certain convector heating systems.
Convector heating batteries
Many people remain adherents of classic heating systems, laying pipes in houses and installing boilers. If there is gas in the house, then this is even a plus. Somehow water heating built on the basis of a gas boiler is the most inexpensive and economical. Approximately the same can be said in relation to heating on the basis of boilers working on liquefied gas. The next economy leader is solid fuel equipment.
Solid fuel boilers can work at all for free if you prepare firewood in the nearest forest in advance. If there is no cut.Off nearby, you can limit yourself to wholesale purchase of fuel. It will be cheaper.
Convector water heating involves the use of radiators connected to the pipes laid around the house. Hot coolant, entering the battery, heats the metal, after which heat is transmitted to the surrounding air. He rises up, and cold air masses come to his place. Temperature adjustment in such heating systems is carried out in a general manner (regulated by a boiler) or in private (using cranes and valves on batteries).
Given the complexity of the installation work, we recommend the use of water convector heating in buildings with a large number of rooms. Here the installation of dozens of autonomous electric convectors is not justified. It is also recommended by owners of housing connected to gas highways, and those who have access to inexpensive solid fuel.
Electric convectors
Building convector heating based on simple electric convectors is very easy. The entire installation process comes down to the following steps:
If we have a miniature summer house with one room, then it will take a maximum of half an hour to carry out installation work. It is more difficult to stretch out a socket to the installation site than to tie a convective device.
Electric convectors operate from the mains. Unlike the heating batteries described above, there is no coolant or any other liquids in them. Heating here is carried out due to ribbed heating elements installed in the lower part of the heating devices. The air is taken through the lower slit holes and is removed through the upper.
The operation of convector heating is monitored by automation. It can be mechanical or electronic. Mechanical thermostats work on the principle of the bimetallic plate. As soon as the temperature reaches a given value, the plate will bend and open contact groups. If the air has cooled, the opposite will occur. The contacts will be closed, the heating element will continue its operation. It is not a temperature set here, but the degree of heating (for example, with numbers from 0 to 9).
Electronic thermostats are built on the basis of control modules with sensors, microcircuits and other electronics. They carefully control the air temperature, giving commands to turn on/disable the hets. This work scheme is characterized by the following advantages:
- Convectors receive additional functionality. Timers, anti.Frustration, work on the program, etc. D;
- Economics-electronic convectors provide up to 5-10% of electricity savings;
- The ease of creating a comfortable atmosphere-the temperature can be adjusted with an accuracy of 0.5-1 degrees.
Therefore, we recommend building convector heating on these units. Let them be more expensive, but the efficiency of heating is a priority.
Convector heating based on electrical convectors is recommended for use in non.Stamped houses of small and medium sizes. Its main drawback is the high cost. For heating even the smallest house, several thousand will have to be given.
Gas convectors
We approached the latest equipment from our review. These are gas convectors. They can work both on main and liquefied gas. The principle of their action is very simple:
- Gas burner burns gas, generating heat;
- Under the influence of flame, the heating of a metal radiator begins;
- A ribbed radiator begins to heat the air;
- Next works the simplest convection. We considered this principle at the very beginning of the review.

Convector heating based on a gas convector cannot be called the most common approach to heating residential buildings. Rather, this is the rarest option, since such units are not widely used.
The gas burner used in such devices requires the removal of combustion products. For this they are equipped with coaxial chimneys removed right behind the wall. Accordingly, how many devices are in the house, so many chimneys. This approach cannot be called optimal, but if the task is to heat a small country or country house with 1-2 rooms, then this will be the best option. Such equipment is not suitable for heating large houses.
As a fuel, liquefied gas is most often used here, connected through a flexible hose. If convector heating involves the installation of several gas devices, we recommend that you lay a small gas line over the floors for the fuel divorce for all convectors. Such a scheme will allow you to write several gas devices from one cylinder.