Deciding What Type of Boiler Is Right for You

Every home, whether it is located in the tropics or a temperate zone, has its own heating needs. However, these needs vary widely according to location, time of year, and your personal budget. Boilers typically use gas or some other kind of fuel to convert water to steam, and they are a common means of meeting domestic heating needs.

If you are unfamiliar with boilers but are considering installing one in your home, the wide variety of types and models available might seem daunting. But that variety also means that, whatever your heating needs, there is probably a boiler out there designed to meet them in an energy efficient manner.

Different Needs, Different Designs

Essentially, boilers can serve two different purposes: heating your home and heating the water you use on a daily basis. Some boilers will only serve one of these purposes, whereas others can do both. Deciding what kind of boiler is right for you is a matter of determining which of these functions is most important to you.

Heat Only

While installing a boiler that provides both heat and hot water will save you space and likely reduce your monthly bills, many people are on a tight budget and only looking to replace one appliance at a time. If this is the case for you, a heat only boiler may be the ideal choice, as they are typically cheaper than combination or system boilers.

Heat and Water

On the other hand, if you do have some money to invest, installing a boiler that heats both your home and your water will save you space and potentially reduce your energy consumption. It is important to evaluate your particular needs before deciding whether to invest in a combination boiler or a system boiler.

Combination, or combi, boilers use a single unit to warm your home and provide you with hot water. Combi boilers use copper heat exchangers to heat water only as it is needed. While this frees up a lot of space in your home by eliminating the need for a bulky hot water tank, it also limits the rate at which you can use hot water. For this reason, combi boilers are great for single-person households.

Conversely, if you have a large family and expect more than one shower to be running at a time, then a system boiler might be a better choice for you. A system boiler works like a combi boiler, except that it uses a tank to store hot water, thereby increasing the capacity that can be used at once. The drawback to this is that system boilers take up more space and use more energy, as they have to keep water warm even when it is not being used.

Northern Gas Heating - the UK's local supplier of new Boilers including the energy efficient Condensing boiler.