Choosing the Correct type of Boiler
With so many different types of boiler, how do you choose the right one for you? Well let us help you, boilers come in four main groups and they are suited for different household needs.
Below is a list of 5 different types of boiler that you can read a little about while you think of the needs for you and your family and what type might suit your home.
Conventional boilers
Conventional boilers burn gas in a combustion chamber surrounded with a water jacket. This then heats the water, which is then pumped around the heating system. Not all the heat produced by the gas is used to heat the water. Much of it is lost by disappearing up the flue.
Condensing boilers
Condensing boilers are very highly efficient boilers that waste very little heat through the flue. They are also very environmentally friendly, Condensing boilers only work in the condensing mode when the working conditions are correct. They also have a shorter than average life span and can be very expensive to buy.
Combination boilers
Combination boilers provide both instant hot water (heating it as you turn on the tap) and central heating, but not at the same time, they are "hot water priority", which means that when hot water is being run there is no heat output to the radiators. This also means they have a very low water rate, so they can only feed one tap at a time.
If the demand for hot water in your home is low, then combination boilers are ideal, as they do not take up a lot of space. Combination boilers are also very easy to install and cheap to run. Combination boilers can be expensive to repair and many are designed to be replaced after five years, so it might be cheaper to replace it than repairing it!
Low water content boilers
Low water content boilers only hold a small amount of water in a copper heat exchanger, making it very economical to run and small in size. They are very cheap to buy and they have very few internal components so are reliable and work well, however they must be fitted to a fully pumped system.
System boilers
System boilers are like a low water content boilers, but have all the necessary extras built in to fit to a sealed, fully pumped system. They are larger than standard low water content boilers because of the extra components within the boiler, but are a lot easier to install. They are also reliable and cheap to run; however they can be expensive to install and repair.
