New Boiler Efficiency Legislation
Choosing and buying a new boiler is not such a simple matter these days.
A central heating boiler is now seen as a key part in the Government’s strategy to make more U.K. homes
environmentally friendly and help save people money in the process. So, boiler efficiency is now a hot topic.
And it’s not just a matter of good advice, the choice of a new boiler is covered by legislation, namely part L of the Building Regulations which laid down certain conditions when installing a new boiler, or replacing an existing one.
Part L of the legislation, for those that are interested, concerns the conservation of fuel and power in dwellings, and lays down the ruling that new boilers have to adhere to stringent efficiency guidelines. It states that new boiler installations should include a condensing boiler which has a minimum 86% SEDBUK rating.
Now, before we look at what the delightfully sounding SEDBUK means, we need to take a quick look at two things: why is a condensing boiler the chosen one and is there any other choice?
Firstly, a condensing boiler is, currently, the most efficient around.
It is more efficient because they use two heat exchangers (which take the heat from the burning of the fuel and passes it into the water), as opposed to one used in conventional boilers. The second heat exchanger in a condensing boiler captures the heat in the flue gases.
The flue gases originate from the initial and main combustion process, and are usually allowed to escape into the atmosphere. With the condensing boiler, it re-uses this flue gas energy to increase the boiler efficiency by up to 15%.
Secondly, there is a choice when upgrading an existing system, because the downside of a condensing boiler is that the by-product of capturing the exhaust gases is a large amount of liquid which has to be removed from the boiler using pipes and drains. But, no matter how good the wastage system, there will still be droplets of water around the base of the flue, meaning that some thought has to be given to where it is installed, so as not to endanger a building, or annoy a neighbour.
So, the ruling states that where a condensing boiler cannot be used say in a boiler upgrade, you are free to use a non-condensing boiler.
Right, back to SEDBUK. It stands for Seasonal Efficiency of Domestic Boilers in the U.K. And basically, when you want a new boiler installed, it should have an A, or B SEDBUK rating.
< Back to Articles
Click here for more information on boilers
| |
^Top | |
 |
© 2012 | An Affiliate of British Gas |  RSS |  |
|
