Home and Living

Heating from a central source is known as central heating. In olden days the central heating was in form of an open fire under the floor and the heat was pushed in through large ducts built into the floor. Today, the central heating system uses water as the medium for central heating. A centrally heated house is cheaper than installing independent fireplaces in each of the rooms. A well-designed central heating system with good quality controls can save a lot of energy.

Central Heating System

The boiler plays a major role in the central heating system. The pipes and radiators are connected to the boiler. Though the boiler provides heat it is the pump that transfers the heated water from the broiler to the radiators to and fro. The heating systems can be custom made according to the customer preference. Carefully designed and installed system and the one that is maintained regularly will keep the fuel cost low and will be functioning without giving any trouble. The different types of central heating systems are open vented, sealed system, one pipe system, two-pipe system, micro bore system and pump positions.

Central Heating Boilers

Boilers are the heat generators and are required to heat the rooms. It is advisable to install the boiler that matches the size of the building. The fuel bills are likely to go up if the boiler is over sized and if the boiler is undersized the heat generated may not be enough. The output of the radiators, pipes and cylinders determines the size of the boiler.

Flue Boilers

Flue is a duct that supplies air to the gas–burning appliances and removes the burnt gas from the pipes. The types of flue boilers are balance flue or room sealed broiler and open flue broiler. The room sealed or balance flue boilers are highly recommended boilers. In balance flue boiler the air for combustion of gas is taken from outside through a duct and the fumes from the burnt gas are taken out through the second duct. The open flue boilers are not recommended. This is because by chance a fault develops in the boiler there is a possibility of poisonous fumes entering the living space.

Boiler Ventilation

Ventilation is installed to keep the boiler cool if fitted in a small compartment. The size of the ventilation depends on the heat input of the boiler and the type of flue used.

The different types of boilers available are back boilers, cast iron boilers, combination, condensing and low water content boilers. Most of the modern boilers are now fanned flue and room sealed which is not only the safest way but also fuel effective.