There is a lot of controversy over the efficient connection of radiators in the heating system. I figured out this issue, drew illustrations to clearly tell you about the disadvantages and advantages of each of them.
There are five types of connection in total
1) Top-Top
What happens to the efficiency of the radiator with this arrangement? The coolant passes only along the upper part of the battery, respectively, the heat transfer is minimal and efficiency "0". The only way to launch such a radiator is to increase the flow rate of the coolant to 200 kg per hour or more. In this case, the accelerated flow produces an "ejection" effect. The cold coolant from the battery will be captured by the hot coolant, thus the lower part of the radiator will gradually warm up. In addition, this battery will be a large sump for sludge in the system. We come to the conclusion that this arrangement of the register is very unfortunate. Loss of radiator efficiency up to 25%. With an increased flow rate of the coolant. And at low costs up to 80%.
2) Connecting registers bottom - top, diagonal
According to the laws of physics, heat rushes upwards, and it seems that such a connection should work perfectly. But as practice and research of such connections have shown, the power loss of the registers reaches 15% due to parasitic flows arising during the circulation of liquid. Of the advantages, this scheme is not inflated, so the system will not stop.
Connecting registers in this way is considered a gross error.
3) Side connection of heating radiators bottom - top
Effective connection of the heating device, with a dead-end register arrangement, it should be used, but provided that its length is not more than 2 meters. In long radiators, the coolant will not be able to warm up the last sections.
This connection is widely used by installers of engineering systems.
4) Connecting radiators bottom - bottom
This scheme is used by many specialists due to a number of advantages. No or minimal sludge deposition in the radiator, which is very important in central heating systems.
An air pocket can collect inside the register, which is an advantage since the air cannot stop the system due to an air lock, but the efficiency of the radiator decreases. Minus: with this arrangement, laminar gravitational flows are formed that reduce the heat transfer efficiency of the device by 5-7%
5) Diagonal connection of the radiator top - bottom
Practice and laboratory tests have shown that this scheme is the most efficient in terms of heat transfer.
Minimum resistance to heat carrier flow. Even distribution of heat over the entire surface of the radiator, except for the upper right corner. It is widely used by experienced heating specialists.
We come to the conclusion that depending on the situation, you can use a 3-4-5 connection diagram. I hope for your support: