How Do Boilers Work?
Sat in the corner of the kitchen, or the utility room, the boiler is often overlooked, but it is one of the key components of the modern day house.
And if it stops working, then you know about it pretty quickly, as you’ll have no heat. It also deserves a little respect, because a faulty boiler can kill, so it’s best not to forget that yearly service.
In it’s simplest form, boilers are quite simple pieces of kit. They burn a fuel source – gas, electricity, oil, or solid (wood, coal), or green fuels (wood chips, waste) – to create enough energy to heat water, which is then put to use as required.
Central heating boilers are nowadays quite sophisticated, but they essentially do the same job: they burn a fuel source which is ignited and, via a heat exchanger, creates hot water for the hot water taps and radiators.
It’s worth noting that the hot water used to heat the radiators is separate from the hot water used to say take a bath, or wash your hands.
This is mainly because the central heating hot water operates within a closed system that is only drained when being repaired, or cleaned. A closed system allows for less corrosion within the radiators and connected piping.
And there are a whole raft of boiler types, including conventional boilers, combi (combination boilers), condensing boilers, back boilers, balanced flue boilers, open flue boilers and fan assisted boilers.
Conventional boilers heat the water at regular intervals and this water is then stored in a copper cylinder for use on demand.
Combi boilers work by providing hot water as it is required, either by the hot water taps, or the central heating system.
Condensing boilers are super efficient, using two heat exchangers to give a near 90% efficiency rate, as opposed to the 50% to 70% of the other boilers.
Back boilers, as the name suggests, sit behind an open, or semi-closed fire in say a living room, or kitchen, and take their heat from the energy source also used to heat the particular room.
Open flue boilers have a pipe that is fitted to the top of the boiler and leads directly into the flue, or chimney. But this is considered nowadays as the least efficient type.
More efficient are balanced flue boilers (which are usually fan assisted boilers) and these have a pipe system which is taken through an outside wall. It consists of two pipes, inside each other, with one drawing in fresh air for the boiler combustion and the other, removing the exhaust gases.
Whatever boiler you have, it pays, to have the most efficient you can afford.
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