Choosing Between Two Basic Types of Boiler Systems
A good modern boiler system can be expected to put in a decade or more of reliable service. This means that making a good initial choice of system type and model is incredibly important, because the consequences of that decision will likely be felt for many years to come. Fortunately, it is relatively easy to understand the basic options, as well as the advantages and drawbacks of each.
Traditionally, a boiler system included two essentially separate main components. One of these was responsible for heating water and pushing it out through a home's radiators in order to heat the dwelling when the weather was cold. Standing nearby would be a large tank that would accept some of that hot water for temporary storage, sending it through a home's plumbing when residents used the appropriate taps.
This relatively simply design was generally reliable and fairly efficient, but it did involve some definite drawbacks. The most obvious of these was that so-called system boilers of this kind took up quite a bit of space, in part because they included by design something in the way of redundancy. Even more so than that, the large water tank that was a central part of each such system was inherently bulky itself, and finding a good place for it was often difficult to do.
The introduction of the combi boiler a couple of decades ago was meant to address these issues head on. Instead of holding hot water until it might be needed, a combination boiler heats any water destined for a home's plumbing as and new system boiler when it is needed. This approach does away with the need for a large, bulky storage tank, greatly reducing the footprint of such a system.
The best combi boilers are also capable of delivering a steady stream of hot water for as long as it might be needed. That is in contrast to traditional system boilers, where the emptying of the storage tank would mean a delay until more hot water could be provided. The best combi boiler, then, can sometimes support more in the way of hot water demand from a home's residents, although the exact details will vary from one unit to the next.
For many people who are contemplating buying a new boiler, simply deciding between these two basic options will take care of much of the necessary work. More and more often, that means choosing a boiler of combination design, since these units are becoming increasingly popular as manufacturers refine and improve them.
