There are many ways to heat and supply hot water to your home. What is the most efficient boiler for your home? There are many things to consider.
A boiler and a water heater (titanium) are not the same thing. The most common types of domestic water heaters:
- Tank type water heaters (electric, gas or oil)
- Non-contact or instantaneous water heaters
- Indirectly heated water heaters connected to the boiler
All water heaters have one task: to heat the water that is used for showers, sinks, dishwashers and washing machines. Water heaters are part of the plumbing system. If your home is equipped with a boiler, it provides warmth. Boilers are part of the heating system.
Water heaters and boilers are two different appliances that serve two separate systems. However, there are boilers designed to heat the house and at the same time provide hot water. These boilers are known as combi boilers.
What type of boiler should you choose?
Thus, there are 2 main types of boilers: combined and heating only.
We will help you determine which boiler is right for you and consider the advantages and disadvantages of each.
What is a combi boiler?
A combi boiler is a single unit that produces all the heating and hot water for the home. There are no hot water tanks.
What is a heating (conventional) boiler?
A heat-only boiler provides heating only. The choice of such boilers is quite large. You can buy heating boilers on the Internet.
How does a combi boiler work?
The combi boiler heats the water through the built-in heat exchanger. Provides instant hot water.
It differs from the traditional system in which hot water is stored in a tank before use. The combi boiler does not need a water heater. Everything is done using a single, usually hanging device.
What type of boiler do I need?
The advantages of a combi boiler:
- Saves space by eliminating the need for hot water tanks
- Reduced maintenance costs - the built-in heating and hot water functions are covered by the boiler manufacturer's warranty.
- No long waiting time for water heating
Disadvantages of a combi boiler:
- They do not work well with poor supply water pressure.
- Hot water consumption is reduced when hot water is supplied to two or more outlets at the same time, although this is actually a problem only in homes with two or more showers.
How does a heating boiler work?
A heating-only boiler (also called a "regular" boiler) provides heating directly to the radiators and works with a water heater to supply hot water. They often work with a so-called "open ventilation" heating system, that is, there is a supply and expansion tank, but they can also work with a "sealed" system.
Heating boiler advantages:
- Works well with old radiators. Old radiator systems that are under high water pressure from combi boilers can leak.
- Low replacement cost as heating-only boilers are the cheapest type of boiler to buy
Disadvantages of a heating boiler:
- The manufacturer's warranty applies only to the boiler. This leaves many other components in the system (such as the hot water tank, pumps and valves) that are also at risk of failure.
