What is the difference between a convector and an oil cooler

Climatic household appliances are purchased for additional heating of the room for various reasons. Someone wants to create a separate comfortable relaxation area. Someone prefers a warmer, more comfortable atmosphere throughout the house. Independent heaters are sometimes the only way to heat.

The variety of models offered by manufacturers that differ in their technical characteristics complicates the choice of the necessary device for consumers. Power, compactness, economy and safety. EThese parameters must be considered when choosing climatic equipment, regardless of where they are installed, offices or residential premises.

The most common are two types of heaters:

  • convector type;
  • oil radiators.

Heaters with open heating elements (spirals) equipped with a reflective screen are in low demand due to low efficiency and high energy costs.

Convection type heaters

The principle of operation of the convector is based on the natural principles of heat transfer. Cold air entering through the intake holes into the convector, where the heating elements of various designs are located, is heated, and through the output channels (nozzles, shutters) enters the room. The natural convection flow of warm and cold air ensures constant heat exchange of the air masses and even temperature equalization inside the room. The time for heating the room depends on the power of the heating elements installed in the convector (TEN) of their design, the shape of the heater body and the volume of the room itself.

Convector Features

As already noted, air heating is carried out through the use of heating elements. Air distribution can be natural or forced using a fan. The shape and design of the intake and output channels may vary. The cross section of the channels can be fixed or adjustable in manual or automatic mode. The housing provides for use as a floor or wall heater. There are models used as baseboards with a heating system. Any design of convector heaters provides a more uniform and faster heating of air masses, with low energy consumption.

Oil coolers

The principle of operation of the oil cooler is based on heating a certain volume of air in contact with the surface of the heater body or located in close proximity to it. Heat transfer occurs within a certain area and the convection component in this case is weakly expressed. When using oil radiators, the room gradually warms up due to an increase in the total air temperature. As the temperature rises, more intense heat transfer occurs. To create additional convection and reduce heating time, many oil cooler models are equipped with fans. In essence, it is already a heater combining two types, oil and convection.

Design Features

The shape of the oil cooler housing depends on the design of the radiator (heat exchanger) in which the coolant (mineral oil) is located. The tubular heat exchanger takes up less space. In this case, the housing design has a minimum thickness. The use of heat exchangers arranged according to the type of connected separate sections, similar to central heating batteries, increases the thickness of the device itself, but at the same time, the useful contact area of ​​the housing and air masses increases. It is these models that are equipped with fans, which reduces the time to warm up the room to certain temperatures. Options may include the use of a floor heater (the most common models) or a wall heater.

The power of the oil cooler is determined by the power of the installed heating element. You can calculate the required power for heating a certain area yourself. But, as a rule, such data is contained in the instructions attached to the device and similar information can be obtained from the seller.

All modern oil heaters are designed to operate in several modes. Mechanical or electronic control and management units simplify their maintenance.

Convector or oil cooler

There are no standard recommendations for the preference of one type of heater over another. It all depends on the expected conditions and operating conditions of the climate equipment. Typically, consumers are only interested in a few indicators, reliability, efficiency and cost. Based on these indicators, he makes his choice. The only thing that can be added is that all modern devices in terms of their technical characteristics meet all the stated indicators and are able to create additional coziness and comfort.

Watch the video: Oil cooler heat transfer analysis (March 2024).

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