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Energy Efficient Boiler?
Think you might currently have an old-fashioned money eating boiler system residing in your home?
Maybe you’re not sure if you’ve got a high energy efficient boiler.
Spend a few minutes answering these questions and find out for sure one way or the other.
Does your boiler have a condensate drain?
Look for a white plastic pipe below your boiler, it should be routed to a drain pipe within your property or into an outside drain.
If you have a combination boiler you should have 7 pipes underneath, 2 for the heating, 2 for the hot and cold supplies, 1 for the gas and one for the pressure discharge, the other one should be in plastic for the condense.
If you have a normal boiler, you should have 2 for the heating, one for the gas and one plastic for the condense.
If you don’t one, it’s not an energy efficient boiler.
Why does this matter?
If your boiler doesn’t have a condensate drain it’s probably not a condensing boiler.
Condensing boilers are the most energy efficient boilers available on the market today.
No drain, no efficiency.
Does your boiler have an open-flue?
Does it vent into an old chimney?
If so, then it’s not an energy efficient boiler.
Why does this matter?
Also known as conventional boilers, open flue boilers are less energy efficient because, by design, an open flue boiler must sacrifice efficiency in order to vent unwanted products of combustion from the house.
Is your boiler more than 13 years old?
If so, then it’s not an energy efficient boiler.
Why does this matter?
A boiler over 13 years old does not benefit from modern innovations in boiler technology and can be as low as 50% energy efficient.
Meaning for every £100 you spend on gas, £50 goes into your heating and the other £50 goes out the boiler flue.
Modern A rated, energy efficient boilers are now capable of efficiencies of around 90%,
with some combination condensing boilers achieving efficiencies as high as 96%.
Is your boiler connected to sophisticated controls?
If not, then it’s not energy efficient.
Why does this matter?
Sophisticated, modern controls are essential to getting the most out of your central heating boiler. Regulating the heat throughout your home is an outdated concept.
Nowadays, with sophisticated controls, your heat follows you into the next room!
Do you have an old hot water tank?
If so, then your boiler could be more efficient.
Why does this matter?
A lot of today’s modern, super-efficient boilers don’t require a water tank.
Known as “combination boilers” these boilers are often connected to water mains, so they don’t need a tank, and can deliver water at mains pressure; they also heat water instantly on demand.
If your boiler still has a tank for its sidekick, there’s a good chance it’s out of date, and therefore inefficient.
Do your radiators have pipework that feeds from one side only?
If so then they’re not energy efficient, and they’re almost definitely connected to an outdated boiler.
Why does this matter?
Normally, when you’re looking at your radiator, you see a pipe going in one side, and then a pipe coming out the other side. This is called “flow and return.”
Prior to the 1970s, radiators were fitted with what was known as a “twin entry valve.”
Since then, twin entry systems have been retrofitted to flow-and-return systems that allow for thermostatic radiator valves to be fitted.
If your radiator is still sporting a twin entry valve system, it’s a tell-tale sign that your radiators haven’t been updated since the ‘70s and neither has your boiler.
This pretty much says it all.
Do you have a feed and expansion tank in the attic?
If so, then there’s a good chance your boiler is not energy efficient.
Why does this matter?
Feed and expansion tanks normally reside in your attic, and they feed water to your boiler and radiators.
Because they are an open system, they allow elements like sludge and algae to build up inside them.
Not good.
Modern systems have a pressure vessel fitted and are filled up with mains water pressure and are air-tight sealed systems.
No build up, No sludge, No algae.
Feed and expansion tanks equal sludge and algae, which equal an old-fashioned system, and most likely, and old-fashioned boiler.
We know – sometimes the truth hurts.
But when it comes to heating your home, the truth can save you money, conserve energy and make your home healthier and more comfortable to live in.
So why not take your head out of the sand, and upgrade to a more energy efficient system?
