A condensing boiler synopsis
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A condensing boiler synopsis
I’m thinking of buying a combi boiler - could you give me an overview of some of the mai points and questions which are asked?
Can you suggest on the right boiler size?
You should bear in mind that when first fitted central heating engineers frequently put in boilers that had a higher yield than strictly necessary.. Whilst this meant that there was no possibility of the boiler being unable to provide sufficient hot water, even in the coldest winters, it also meant that they were only using a part of their heat generation capabilities, and so running below their maximal efficiency. If you have put in additional loft or cavity wall insulation since the previous boiler was put in, it could well be that you will be commended to install a smaller boiler than the current one.
We advocate seeking professional advice from a CORGI registered fitter before choosing a suitable replacement boiler.
What is a Combi Boiler?
A condensing boiler is a efficient innovative boiler that incorporates an additional heat exchanger to enable the hot waste gases transfer a percentage of their energy to start to heat the cold water input. When operating at high efficiency, the water gases developed in the burning process distills back into liquid form relinquishing the latent heat of vaporisation.
A side effect will be this water, named condensate, most times acidic, needs to be piped away to a waste pipe or soakaway. The boiler is recommended to be fixed on a wall and the exhaust fumes will go through the flue. Hot water is first delivered by a small-scale storage tank to ensure quick hot water availability.
Do I need to put in oversize radiators with condensing boilers??
The fundamental reason for this amended efficiency from a condensing boiler is because it contains a bigger heat exchanger. Larger radiators would allow lower return temperatures, and so push efficiency higher still, but the further saving is not proven to be cost effective, as you need to remember that that the system is operating at very low capacity for the greater part of the winter. That in all probability remains true, though the smaller heating requirement for new build may easily mean that householders would now endure over-sized radiators more willingly.
These events were looked at during the SEDBUK project, and had a look at the recommendations for condensing boilers. The decision was that no new recommendations were needed, and the test results forthe condensing and the existing boilers share the same SEDBUK equation.
