We all like the warmth of our houses on a cold winter day. Keeping our house warm and comfortable requires an appropriate heating system. The customary use of boiler systems for this job is prevalent in many countries.
The choice of the right boiler, which will be perfect for your house, plays a crucial role in the process. A system that guarantees an adequate amount of heat and water for circulation in the target area is essential. Here you should keep in mind the design and make of the opted boiler and the plan of your house.
Every boiler system manufactured works on a different principle, so not every boiler might be a perfect fit for your house. Thorough research leads to the selection of the best boiler for your home. How do you select the suitable boiler for you out of all the residential boiler systems available in the market?
The factors that determine the type of boiler system to select are:
- The desired heating needs
- The budget for the job
- Space layout of the house
- The size or volume (of both the house and the boiler)
- Number of rooms
- Number of kitchens & bathrooms
- Average ambient temperature
- Historic climatic conditions
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning or HVAC professionals can also help a great deal to design the right system for your house.
Knowledge about the boiler systems available in the market and their functioning can be handy if you plan to buy one.
You can seek a professional opinion from different companies operating in this domain. The internet can act as a secondary source of information. Thus helping make a sensible and well-versed decision. You can find below the details of the types of residential boiler systems available in the market today.
Table of Contents
Electric Boilers
It is the most popular type of boiler system available in the market. It does not depend on fossil fuels, such as oil or gas. It is one of the least carbon-intensive options among the available systems.
Electric boilers are very cost-efficient and environment-friendly. They do not release any exhaust fumes into the atmosphere, and thereby there is no loss of heat. The cost-efficiency comes from the low per-unit cost and low installation charges.
Steam Boilers
Steam boiler works on the principle of heat exchange. The system uses heat to turn water into steam. The steam reaches the radiators with the help of a pipe network, placed across the house. The steam accumulates on the closed vents of the radiator. The radiator heads radiate the heat from the steam. As the steam cools down, it condenses back to the water. It goes back to the boiler for reheating.
Steam Boilers use gravity and steam pressure to work. Steam pressure takes the steam along with the heat to the radiators, which helps to radiate it. Gravity helps the condensed water to get back to the boiler.
Oil Boilers
Oil-fired boilers or oil boilers use oil as fuel. The boilers use water to carry the heat across the house through pipes. An oil heating system is very efficient and the most common sight to watch at a cottage.
If you need maintenance, you can reach out to any of the professional gas service agencies in your area.
Natural Gas Boilers
A natural gas boiler uses gas to generate heat in the system. It draws gas from the main pipeline that runs near the house. The boilers use gas as the fuel to heat water and circulate across the house.
If you live in a populated area, a natural gas-fired boiler is the most used residential boiler system that you will see. The gas lines run beneath the house, and the gas usage monitoring happens through a thermocouple.
Hot Water Boilers
The water boiler uses high pressure, water volume, and temperature to heat the radiators. The system uses single or many pumps to build water pressure. Like the steam water boiler system, this also uses the heat exchange principle.
The boiler generates heat by using either fossil fuel or electricity.
Condensing Boilers
The condensing boilers are fast getting attention. They are cheap, efficient, and environment-friendly. There are two heat exchangers in the boiler. One exchanger heats the water that runs through the pipeline across your house. The used water, as it cools, goes to the second exchanger. The second exchanger re-heats the water and circulates it back to the pipeline.
The above will suffice you as a comprehensive list of the heating boiler systems. Development of alternate heating systems, which are currently for commercial use, is also underway. We can expect a less expensive residential heating system that has the least carbon footprint in the near future.