Characteristics of a central heating boiler

If you are thinking about upgrading or installing a central heating boiler you have to consider some characteristics.

1. First of all you have to decide on the type of fuel you want your boiler to use.

The most common are gas and oil and from the two ones, gas is the more convenient as you can connect it to a main gas supply that will eliminate the need to refill the tanks. You could also use wood burning boilers but you will have to deal with cleaning the ashes. Another factor to consider is the cost of the fuel and maintenance. The oil-burning system is the most expensive from the ones mentioned.

2. Evaluate the size of the household and calculate the size of the boiler you will need. Consider the number of rooms and bathrooms you have together with the people living inside the house.

3. Choose from the three central boiler heater available: a combination, conventional or a system boiler. Most households use conventional units to heat the house and the water. This unit requires a holding tank and is the largest consumer of energy from the 3.

The combination unit works without a holding tank and extra pipe work and also provides hot water on demand. Even though they are cheaper than conventional units this one takes longer to heat up the water and also allows only one tap at a time.

Being also the most expensive, system boilers have the advantage of providing more consistent temperatures and flow rates because of the heating element located inside the storage tank.

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