How to choose a stove for home brewing

Why do you need to know gas consumption?

Household meters are used to know how much blue fuel was consumed over a certain period. But in order to install a meter, you must initially know how much blue fuel is consumed per month. It is not the average indicators that are taken into account, but the maximum parameters. For example, if hot water is turned off in the house and you will have to often use the kitchen stove to heat it.

What is this data for? It’s very simple - each meter is designed for a certain amount of fuel consumed. If the power of the stove is small and there are no other devices or appliances in the house that run on gas, you can get by with the simplest and most inexpensive meter. If a water heater and individual heating are additionally used, the throughput of the meter should be much greater. You will also need to replace the gas pipeline pipes, choosing a configuration with a larger diameter.

How to calculate household gas consumption by power so that you can choose the “right” meter?

These data are given in the instructions for the stove. If documents are lost or problems arise with translating the data specified in the passport for kitchen appliances, you can use average indicators: a 4-burner stove consumes 1-1.3 m³/hour.

Information in GOST

Information about burner power is strictly regulated by GOSTs, and if the stove has the appropriate certificates and is approved for installation in an apartment or residential building, it must comply with these parameters. Thus, in residential buildings it is allowed to install gas stoves with 2, 3 or 4 burners, the standard power of which should be:

0.6 kW - reduced;
1.7 kW - average;
2.6 kW - high.

Information on burner power is in GOST

Additionally, it is worth calculating the power of the oven, the average performance of which is within 2.5 kW.
The final parameters will be about 10 kW. Many people ask how they can increase the power of a gas burner if it is insufficient or if they need to switch the stove from liquefied gas to the mains. Despite the fact that many experts give advice on how to do this correctly and what manipulations should be carried out with the valves, the burner itself, and the reducer, all these methods are illegal and unacceptable in relation to gas appliances. Such re-equipment can lead to accidents at home and huge fines from the gas service. If the power of the stove is insufficient, the equipment must be replaced with a new one.

Mains gas for heating needs

If a highly efficient condenser boiler is installed, the minimum specific heat value for “blue fuel” category G 20 is 37.78 MJ/cu. meter.

You can order a calculation of the heat losses of a residential building in order to create an “accounting” of seasonal costs and clarify for yourself whether there is a need to do insulation from a design organization
V=Q / (Hi x efficiency)

V is the desired value that determines the gas consumption for generating thermal energy, measured in cubic meters/hour;
Q – the value of the calculated thermal power expended to heat the building and provide comfortable conditions, measured in W/h;
Hi is the minimum value of specific heat during fuel combustion;
Efficiency is the efficiency of the boiler.

The efficiency of a boiler generator shows the efficiency of using the thermal energy generated during combustion of the gas mixture, which is directly spent on heating the coolant. It is a passport value.

In the passports of modern boiler units, the coefficient is indicated by two parameters: by higher and lower calorific value. Both values are written through the fractional line “Hs/Hi”, for example: 95/87%. To obtain the most reliable calculation, take as a basis the value specified in the “Hi” mode.

The lowest value of the specific heat of combustion of gas is a tabular value, the parameters of which correspond to the accepted standards DIN EN 437

The “Hs” value indicated in the table determines the highest heat value of gas combustion. It is indicated in the table for the reason that the water vapor released during gas combustion is also capable of converting latent thermal energy. If you use this thermal energy wisely, you can increase the total return on the consumed fuel.

The operation of new generation boilers – condenser units – is based on this principle. In them, due to the conversion of steam into an aggregate liquid state, an additional 10% of heat is generated.

In addition to G20 gas, an analogue of the second group, G 25, can also be used for domestic purposes. G 20 gas is extracted from Siberian deposits, and G25 is supplied from Turkmenistan and the Volga region. The difference between them is that G25 emits 15% less heat when burned.

Gas grade G25 is characterized by an increased percentage of nitrogen, due to which its energy potential is 15% lower than its natural analogue G20

You can find out what type of gas “flows” in the pipeline from the gas supply company in your region.

READ MORE: Chimney for a gas boiler in a private house: installation requirements

We propose to consider an example of calculating gas consumption for heating a country cottage, the initial data of which has the following parameters:

The area of the premises reaches 100 square meters. meters;
recommended heat unit power – 10 kW;
The boiler efficiency reaches 95%.

To simplify the calculation, joules are converted to another unit of measurement - kilowatts. So, provided that 1 kW = 3.6 MJ, the calorific value of G 20 gas will be 34.02/3.6 = 9.45 kW.

It is also worth considering that the recommended power of the heat generator, indicated as 10 kW, will only be required to heat rooms under the most unfavorable conditions. In fact, throughout the entire heating season, the number of such unfavorable days will be counted in single units.

With a well-thought-out and equipped heating system, the installed boiler unit will definitely not work around the clock

On the remaining days of the cold season, significantly less power is used to heat the building. Therefore, to obtain correct calculations, as well as to determine the average, and not the peak, consumption of “blue fuel”, the boiler power readings are not 10 kW, but “half” 5 kW.

Substituting the obtained data into the formula, perform the calculations: V = 5/(9.45 x 0.95). It turns out that to heat a cottage with an area of 100 square meters, the gas consumption is 0.557 cubic meters per hour.

Having clarified the tariffs for paying for one cubic meter of “blue fuel”, it will not be difficult to calculate material costs for the entire heating period

Based on the data obtained through simple calculations, it is not difficult to calculate gas consumption for the entire heating season, which in mid-latitude regions lasts about 7 months:

For a day it is 0.557 x 24 = 13.37 m3.
For a month 13.37 x 30 = 401.1 m3.
For a heating season lasting 7 months 401.1 x 7 = 2807.4 m3.

Knowing the price of one cubic meter of “blue fuel”, it will not be difficult to plan both monthly expenses and “accounting” for the entire functioning of the heating system.

Rules for determining flow

It is almost impossible to determine how much gas will be spent per hour, day, month, since there will be too many variables in the finished formula:

number of people living in the apartment (house);
culinary preferences (dumplings are cooked for 15 minutes, cooking cutlets will take about 1 hour);
using burners at full or half power;
season;
use of cookware with different thermal conductivities.

It is almost impossible to determine how much gas will be spent

Taking all this into account, it is only possible to find out how much gas a gas stove consumes per month, hour or other period of time only very approximately.

How to determine the gas consumption of a gas stove per hour

How to correctly calculate gas consumption in m³, knowing only the power of the burners? To do this, the total power of the stove is divided by the thermal conductivity of the gas (average values 8-11 kW*hour/m³).

If, as an example, we take a stove with average burner power ratings of 0.6 kW (1 piece), 1.7 kW (2 pieces) and 2.6 kW (1 piece), then the gas consumption per hour will be:

6.6/9.5=0.7 m³

If we take the gas oven into account, we get the following data:

(6.6+2.5)/9.5=0.95 m³

These calculations are conditional and imply simultaneous operation of all 4 burners at full power for 1 hour (+ oven). The actual parameters of gas consumption can always be found out by the meter, which records the amount of blue fuel used.

About gas meters

Having calculated the gas consumption, we can begin to select a gas meter model. It is very important to select it in accordance with the power of gas appliances in order to avoid inaccuracies in recording the results of the gas used.
In this case, the gas meter will have to be replaced, which means additional costs for the purchase of a new meter and the installation fee. The power index of a gas meter is denoted by the letter G. If you only use a gas stove, without a boiler and a water heater, then, knowing that your device can consume no more than 2.5 cubic meters of gas, choose a G1.6 meter, well, as a last resort , G2.5, but nothing more.

If you use blue fuel to heat your home, heat water, and cook food, then problems may arise with choosing a gas meter. After all, the minimum gas consumption will be 0.3 cubic meters per hour (when you use only one stove), and the maximum - 7.1 cubic meters per hour (when you start heating batteries and water for washing with gas in winter).

A meter with index G, capable of giving accurate readings over such a huge range, simply does not exist in nature. So, in this case, you will most likely have to install two meters of different power - separately on the boiler with a column and separately on the stove. It’s a shame, because you’ll have to pay twice for installing a gas meter, get two personal bills and pay for each of them separately.

If the house has a gas stove and a gas double-circuit boiler, then the power range will not be so striking, because the boiler and heater cannot work at the same time, because they have one common burner. This means that it will be possible to select a gas meter of appropriate power, and there will be no need to install a separate gas meter on the stove.

Let's say you need to calculate the gas consumption of a stove. Calculating this indicator is simple. Gas consumption is measured in cubic meters per hour (m³/h). First of all, it is necessary to find the sum of the powers of all burners. Then divide it by the calorific value of the gas, which is 8–11 kWh/m³. So, if we add up the parameters of two average, one low and high fuel consumption burners and an oven burner, we get the result of gas consumption for a four-burner stove: (0.6 kW 2.6 kW 1.7*2 kW) / 8 kW*h/m³ =1.2 m³/hour.

This is the maximum figure for a device with similar technical characteristics. If there is an instruction manual for the device, this parameter will be indicated in it. If the house has an old stove and there is no documentation, you can take the average. Such household appliances consume from 1.2 to 2.5 m³/hour of fuel. Whether you use natural or liquefied gas, it doesn’t matter. Using this calculation result, if the stove operates for an average of one hour every day, the gas consumption per month will be: 1.2 m³/h*30 h=36 m³.

A meter will help you correctly determine the exact amount of fuel consumed. Of all the household appliances that use gas, the stove consumes the least amount of gas. If the house has a gas water heater or boiler, costs can increase tenfold. Then calculations of burner consumption are almost neglected. For example, when using autonomous gas heating, fuel consumption per month can be 300–400 m³ during the heating season.

Heating a home using natural gas is considered the most popular and convenient today. But due to the rise in price of “blue fuel”, the financial costs of homeowners have increased significantly. Therefore, most zealous owners today are concerned about the average gas consumption for heating a house.

The main parameter when calculating the fuel consumption used to heat a country house is the heat loss of the building.

It’s good if the home owners took care of this during the design process. But in most cases, in practice it turns out that only a small part of homeowners knows the heat losses of their buildings.

The consumption of the gas mixture directly depends on the efficiency and power of the boiler generator.

No less influential are also:

climatic conditions of the region;
design features of the building;
number and type of windows installed;
area and height of ceilings in rooms;
thermal conductivity of the building materials used;
quality of insulation of the external walls of the house.

Keep in mind that the recommended nameplate power of the installed unit demonstrates its maximum capabilities. It will always be slightly higher than the performance indicators of the unit operating in normal mode when heating a particular building.

The power of the installed unit is calculated in strict accordance with current regulatory requirements, taking into account all of the above factors

For example, if the nameplate power of the boiler is 15 kW, then the system will actually function effectively with a thermal power of about 12 kW. A power reserve of about 20% is recommended by experts in case of accidents and extremely cold winters.

Therefore, when calculating fuel consumption, you should focus specifically on real data, and not be based on maximum values calculated for short-term operation in emergency mode.

It is recommended to buy a gas unit with a power reserve of approximately 20% in case of emergencies and cold winters. For example, if the calculated thermal power is 10 kW, then it is recommended to purchase equipment with a nameplate power of 12 kW

Not all owners of country houses have the opportunity to connect to a centralized gas pipeline. Then they get out of the situation using liquefied gas. It is stored in gas holders installed in pits, and replenished using the services of certified companies that supply fuel.

Liquefied gas used for domestic purposes is stored in sealed containers and reservoirs - propane-butane cylinders with a volume of 50 liters, or gas holders

If liquefied gas is used to heat a country house, the calculation formula is taken as the basis. The only thing you need to take into account is that the bottled gas is a G30 mixture. In addition, the fuel is in an aggregate state. Therefore, its consumption is calculated in liters or kilograms.

A simple calculation will help you estimate the cost of a liquefied propane-butane mixture. The initial construction data is the same: a cottage with an area of 100 square meters, and the efficiency of the installed boiler is 95%.

When calculating, it should be taken into account that fifty-liter propane-butane cylinders, for safety reasons, are filled to no more than 85%, which is about 42.5 liters

When performing calculations, we focus on two significant physical characteristics of the liquefied mixture:

The density of bottled gas is 0.524 kg/l;
The heat released during the combustion of one kilogram of such a mixture is equal to 45.2 MJ/kg.

To facilitate calculations, the values of heat released, measured in kilograms, are converted into another unit of measurement - liters: 45.2 x 0.524 = 23.68 MJ/l.

After which joules are converted to kilowatts: 23.68/3.6 = 6.58 kW/l. To obtain correct calculations, the same 50% of the recommended power of the unit is taken as a basis, which is 5 kW.

The obtained values are substituted into the formula: V = 5/(6.58 x 0.95). It turns out that the consumption of the G 30 fuel mixture is 0.8 l/h.

Knowing that on average 0.8 liters of fuel are consumed per one hour of operation of a boiler generator, it will not be difficult to calculate that one standard cylinder with a 42-liter refill will be enough for approximately 52 hours. This is a little more than two days.

For the entire heating period, the consumption of the combustible mixture will be:

For a day 0.8 x 24 = 19.2 liters;
For a month 19.2 x 30 = 576 liters;
For a heating season lasting 7 months, 576 x 7 = 4032 liters.

READ MORE: Which is better - a wall-mounted or floor-standing gas boiler, which one to choose, which one is the most ergonomic and the principles of their operation

To heat a cottage with an area of 100 square meters you will need: 576/42.5 = 13 or 14 cylinders. For the entire seven-month heating season, you will need 4032/42.5 = from 95 to 100 cylinders.

To accurately calculate the number of propane-butane cylinders needed to heat a cottage for a month, you need to divide the consumed monthly volume of 576 liters by the capacity of one such cylinder

A large volume of fuel, taking into account transportation costs and the creation of conditions for its storage, will not be cheap. But still, in comparison with the same electric heating, such a solution to the issue will still be more economical, and therefore preferable.

Many boilers can run on liquefied gas. How profitable is this? What will be the consumption of liquefied gas for heating? All this can also be calculated. The technique is the same: you need to know either the heat loss or the power of the boiler. Next, we convert the required quantity into liters (units of measurement of liquefied gas), and, if desired, we count the number of required cylinders.

Let's look at the calculation using an example. Let the boiler power be 18 kW, respectively, the average heat demand is 9 kW/hour. When burning 1 kg of liquefied gas, we obtain 12.5 kW of heat. This means that to get 9 kW, you will need 0.72 kg (9 kW / 12.5 kW = 0.72 kg).

Next we consider:

per day: 0.72 kg * 24 hours = 17.28 kg;
per month 17.28 kg * 30 days = 518.4 kg.

Let's add a correction for the boiler efficiency. We need to look at each specific case, but let’s take 90%, that is, add another 10%, it turns out that the monthly consumption will be 570.24 kg.

Liquefied gas is one of the heating options

To calculate the number of cylinders, divide this figure by 21.2 kg (this is the average kg of gas in a 50 liter cylinder).

Mass of liquefied gas in various cylinders

In total, this boiler will require 27 liquefied gas cylinders. Calculate the cost yourself - prices vary in the regions. But don't forget about transportation costs. By the way, they can be reduced by making a gas holder - a sealed container for storing liquefied gas, which can be refilled once a month or less often - depending on the storage volume and demand.

Again, remember that this is just an approximate figure. In cold months, gas consumption for heating will be higher, in warm months it will be much less.

PS If it is more convenient for you to calculate the consumption in liters:

1 liter of liquefied gas weighs approximately 0.55 kg and, when burned, produces approximately 6500 kW of heat;
There are about 42 liters of gas in a 50 liter cylinder.

One counter or several?

It would seem that the answer is obvious. Two meters require additional financial costs for installation, design and purchase of the device itself. On the other hand, the presence of a second meter is justified if the house, in addition to a gas stove, also uses other equipment that runs on blue fuel. At the same time, the difference in average gas consumption indicators is very large and metering devices are not able to cover such a range. It will either not capture the minimum values (0.3 m³/h), or will not cope with high loads (more than 7-8 m³/h). And then a second metering device becomes a necessity.

The choice of suitable meters depends on the maximum (not minimum) power of the household appliance. Metering devices have special markings that help you select a device with the most suitable operating parameters. A meter marked G1.6 or G2.5 is suitable for a stove, and the gas consumption of a boiler and geyser will be calculated by a meter marked G4 or more.

Important: if, in addition to the stove, you use a double-circuit boiler, and not two separate devices for heating and water heating, you will not need a second meter.

Features of installation of the accounting device

The rules for installing a gas meter are very simple - this work should only be performed by a specialist. His tasks include:

Selecting a location for installing the meter. It should be taken into account that the meter must be located at a certain distance from the heating elements and be accessible for taking readings and performing installation and dismantling work;
Direct installation of the meter;
Sealing the metering device.

Installed gas meter

Mains gas for heating needs

The use of gas as an energy carrier for the operation of the heating system is advantageous from all sides. First of all, they are attracted by the quite affordable tariffs for “blue fuel” - they cannot be compared with the seemingly more convenient and safe electric one. In terms of cost, only available types of solid fuel can compete, for example, if there are no special problems with the procurement or purchase of firewood.

In a word, if it is possible to choose this particular method of heating your home, then there is hardly any doubt about the advisability of installing a gas boiler.

In terms of efficiency and ease of use, gas heating equipment currently has no real rivals.

It is clear that when choosing a boiler, one of the key criteria is always its thermal power, that is, the ability to generate a certain amount of thermal energy. To put it simply, the purchased equipment, according to its technical parameters, must ensure the maintenance of comfortable living conditions in any, even the most unfavorable conditions.

This indicator is most often indicated in kilowatts, and, of course, is reflected in the cost of the boiler, its dimensions, and gas consumption. This means that the task when choosing is to purchase a model that fully meets the needs, but, at the same time, does not have unreasonably inflated characteristics - this is both disadvantageous for the owners and not very useful for the equipment itself.

When choosing any heating equipment, it is very important to find the “golden mean” - so that there is enough power, but at the same time - without completely unjustified overestimation

It is important to understand one more point correctly. This is that the specified nameplate power of a gas boiler always shows its maximum energy potential. With the right approach, it should, of course, slightly exceed the calculated data for the required heat input for a particular house. In this way, the same operational reserve is laid down, which may someday be needed under the most unfavorable conditions, for example, during extreme cold, unusual for the area of residence.

Will this capacity be fully utilized? – it’s quite possible that not. But its supply does not look excessive.

Why is all this explained in such detail? But only so that the reader becomes clear on one important point. It would be completely wrong to calculate the gas consumption of a specific heating system based solely on the equipment’s nameplate characteristics. Yes, as a rule, the technical documentation accompanying the heating unit indicates the energy consumption per unit of time (m³/hour), but this is again a largely theoretical value.

It is not advisable to use certified gas consumption values as a basis for calculations, since they will not show the real picture.

Often, passports indicate a consumption range - the boundaries of minimum and maximum consumption are indicated. But this probably will not be of great help in calculating real needs.

But it is still very useful to know gas consumption as close to reality as possible. This will help, firstly, in planning the family budget. Well, secondly, the possession of such information should, willingly or unwillingly, stimulate zealous owners to search for reserves of energy savings - perhaps it is worth taking certain steps to reduce consumption to the possible minimum.

So, the starting point for determining gas consumption for heating needs should still be the thermal power that is required for these purposes. Let's start our calculations with it.

If you look through the mass of publications on this topic posted on the Internet, you will most often find recommendations to calculate the required power based on the area of the heated premises. Moreover, for this a constant is given: 100 watts per 1 square meter of area (or 1 kW per 10 m²).

Comfortable? - undoubtedly! Without any calculations, without even using a piece of paper and a pencil, you perform simple arithmetic operations in your head, for example, for a house with an area of 100 “squares” you need at least a 10-watt boiler.

Well, what about the accuracy of such calculations? Alas, in this matter everything is not so good...

Taking the axiom that 100 W of heat is required for every meter of area as a basis for calculating heating power is not a completely serious approach.

Judge for yourself.

For example, will the thermal energy requirements of premises of the same area, say, in the Krasnodar Territory or regions of the Server Urals be equivalent? Is there a difference between a room bordering on heated premises, that is, having only one external wall, and a corner one, and also facing the windward north side?

So, there is no doubt that the required amount of thermal energy for heating a room is influenced not only by its area - it is necessary to take into account a number of factors related to the characteristics of the region and the specific location of the building, and the specifics of a particular room. It is clear that rooms within even the same house can have significant differences.

READ MORE: Why doesn't the gas water heater light up?

Each room may have individual characteristics, so it is advisable to carry out calculations for the rooms separately, and at the end - to summarize the total

The proposed calculation algorithm does not claim to be a professional calculation, but has a sufficient degree of accuracy, proven by practice. To make the task extremely simple for our readers, we suggest using the online calculator below, the program of which has already included all the necessary dependencies and correction factors. For greater clarity, brief instructions on how to perform the calculations will be provided in the text block below the calculator.

Go to calculations

So, we will count for each room separately in approximately this sequence

We start with the area of the room. And we will still take the same 100 W per square meter as the initial value, but many correction factors will be introduced as the calculation progresses. In the input field (using the slider) you must indicate the area of the room, in square meters.
Of course, the required amount of energy is influenced by the volume of the room - for standard ceilings of 2.7 m and for high ceilings of 3.5 ÷ 4 m, the final values will differ. Therefore, the calculation program will introduce a correction for the height of the ceiling - you must select it from the proposed drop-down list.
The number of walls in the room that are in direct contact with the street is of great importance. Therefore, the next point is to indicate the number of external walls: options are offered from “0” to “3” - each value will have its own correction factor.
Even on a very frosty, but clear day, the sun can affect the microclimate in the room - the amount of heat loss is reduced, direct rays penetrating the windows sensitively heat the room. But this is typical only for walls facing south. As the next data entry point, indicate the approximate location of the external wall of the room - and the program will make the necessary adjustments.

“Frost and Sun – a wonderful day...” - it really is! The sun's rays, even in winter, are quite capable of influencing the microclimate in a room facing south

Many houses, both country and urban, are located in such a way that the outer wall of the room is windward most of the winter. If the owners know the direction of the prevailing winter wind rose, then this circumstance can be taken into account in the calculations. It is clear that the windward wall will always cool more strongly - and the calculation program calculates the corresponding correction factor. If there is no such information, then you can skip this point - but in this case, the calculation will be carried out for the most unfavorable location.

If the prevailing direction of winter winds is known, then this circumstance can be taken into account in the calculations

The next parameter will adjust for the climatic specifics of your region of residence. We are talking about temperature indicators that are typical in a given area for the coldest ten days of winter. It is important that we are talking specifically about those values that are the norm, that is, they are not included in the category of those abnormal frosts that every few years, no, no, and even “visit” any region, and then, due to their atypicality, remain for a long time in memory.

It is necessary to indicate those indicators of minimum winter temperatures that are the norm for a given region

The level of heat loss is directly related to the degree of thermal insulation of the walls. In the next data entry field, you must evaluate it by choosing one of three options. At the same time, a wall can be considered fully insulated only if thermal insulation work has been carried out in full, based on the results of thermal engineering calculations.

Prices for PIR boards

Tips for saving gas

Despite the fact that payments for blue fuel used for cooking make up the smallest share of utilities, savings are never superfluous. The desire to reduce costs, regardless of what gas is used in the gas stove, is completely justified, especially since they do not require any special effort:

If you cover the dishes with a lid, the water in it will not only boil faster, but you will save gas on average by 20%. This method is effective when preparing any dishes;
The bottom of the pan should be slightly larger than the flame of the burner. In this case, the heat is not wasted;
If the recipe does not require gradual heating, the contents of the pan must be brought to maximum temperature as quickly as possible. Otherwise, significant heat loss occurs through the walls of the dish;
Drafts and air conditioners blow the flame aside, increasing the heating time and gas consumption of a gas stove, by an average of 10-15% per hour;
Do not use the stove for longer than required. This applies to a boiling kettle, a hot frying pan, and boiled eggs. When preparing some dishes, it is recommended to turn off the gas a little earlier than the food is ready. For example, when preparing cereals and pasta.

Watch a video about installing a gas meter