How do conventional heating systems work

A combi boiler would struggle to supply the same amount of water as a conventional boiler. You are now probably thinking, what is a regular boiler? A regular boiler is just another name for a conventional or traditional boiler.

These types of boilers are going to fit in perfectly into a home that has plenty of space. If you currently have low water pressure in your home, then a conventional boiler could be the answer that you have been looking for.

Well known brands such as Worcester Bosch , Ideal , Baxi and Viessmann provide fantastic convectional boilers. If it is an open vented system, it is open to atmospheric pressure , and they have a feed and expansion tank, which helps to accommodate water loss or leakage. However, if you have a sealed system, there is no feed and expansion tank, which makes it closed to the atmosphere.

The water in the tank in the loft space will make sure that the water level is right while the pump circulates the hot water to the radiators. The simple process of how a conventional boiler works though is that the cold water from the tank gets heated up in the hot water storage cylinder, and from there it is fed into the taps and outlets of the home. If you have a large family, or there are always plenty of people in your home, then you might need a conventional boiler to make sure that water is being provided to multiple bathrooms at the same time.

Also, if you already have a conventional system in your home, then this should certainly be something on the top of your consideration list. This is because there will be a small amount, if any pipework that needs replacing, which makes the entire process easy, quick and cheap. Despite this, a regular boiler could still serve your heating needs effectively. There is also a feed and expansion tank, located in your loft, which is filled with water. It also incorporates a safety device whereby if there is too much hot water in the system it will fill the tank then exit through the overflow.

The greatest advantage of installing a conventional boiler is that it can produce high volumes of water to multiple bathrooms at the same time, making it perfect for larger families. Some of the other advantages of this type of boiler include:. Outside of exceptional circumstances, all boilers installed in the UK must be condensing, which means that if you install a conventional boiler today, it will be a condensing boiler.

These boilers extract heat from flue gases which would otherwise escape into the atmosphere and recycle it, saving energy and money in the process. In addition, conventional boilers are compatible with solar water heating systems, making them a good choice for environmentally-conscious homeowners. An increased level of fuel efficiency in your home heating system can help you to save money and reduce your carbon footprint. Freedom for business tariff.

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These central heating systems will require some additional all-be-it smaller kit to compensate for the lack of the tank.

Closed systems are also pressurised systems. Another set of phrases that related to boilers and can cause some confusion is the difference between condensing and non-condensing boilers. This really relates to the way the boiler itself works, and all you really need to know is that a condensing boiler is more efficient so will use less fuel. Due to government legislation if you are looking for a new boiler, it will be more than likely a condensing one.

Regardless of the type of boiler that is installed in your property, the way that the central heating system works is that fuel is brought into the boiler and converted into heating energy by boiling the water in your system. When it comes to fuel, there are several different ways a boiler can be powered.

This can be gas, electricity, LPG, heating oil and even some modern eco fuels, like solar and biomass fuels can run the central heating system. When water is heated, the warm water is then passed through the pipes in the system to the radiators in each of the rooms.

This is carried out by another device in the central heating system called a pump. Hot water enters the radiator, and cooler water leaves the other side of the radiator and travels around the pipework to end up back in the boiler, where it is re-heated. Radiators have valves that can control the heat output of the radiator.

A thermostatic radiator valve TRV valve , is a manual operated valve that is used to control the heat output on an individual radiator.

Radiators also need to be balanced, which means setting them so that the heat output is the same for each radiator. View all TRV valves. Electric Boilers - In an electric central heating system, water radiators are not used. Instead storage heaters on the way, fan heaters and even underfloor heating which has become popular, may be used instead.

The general temperature of the central heating system, and whether the heating system is turned on or off is controlled by the thermostat. This is a device that a user can set either using a manual dial, or via programmable display, or even using a mobile phone or tablet in a Smart Heating system such as Nest - that uses the very latest technology to control the heating output.

A central heating system can seem quite complex on the surface but once you learn what each component is meant to do in the system and the type of systems that are available, they become a lot easier to understand.