There are numerous Gas boilers boilers available on the market Combination Boilers ,often known as Combi Boilers, system boilers and heat only boilers.
Combination boilers are more compact and take up less overall space as they dont require cylinders or tanks in the property.
System boilers are boilers with heating components built in – these do require a cylinder for hot water but no tanks for heating.
Heat only boilers- often referred to as traditional boilers, these do require cylinders and tanks for filling so take up the most space.
So what’s right for me?
There are a few things to consider when thinking about a new boiler:-
How many people live in my home?
This is a key decision maker for type of boiler because if the wrong boiler is chosen then you may not get enough heat into the house or not enough hot water to suit the demands of your household. If you choose a boiler that’s too big then you could have a bigger than needed gas bill and produce emissions that are not needed.
The larger the family the more likely you are to use large amounts of water so a system or conventional boiler coupled with a cylinder may be more appropriate. The smaller households may use less heat and water so a combination boiler may be better.
How Many Bathrooms do i Have?
If you have several bathrooms that are used at the same time, this will mean high demands for water at the same time so you will be better suited with a gas system or gas conventional boiler and cylinder. If you have 1 bathroom then you may be suited be better suited with a gas combination boiler.
There are some of the larger combination boilers that have been designed to run with more than one bathroom – consult our team to give you the best of our knowledge for your requirements.
In your home do you have free space for tanks and airing cupboard?
This is important to consider as some newer houses haven’t been built with these factors in mind. There are boilers on the market which handle the demand for hot water better than others. If you have a need for lots of hot water and heating then a gas conventional boiler with a cylinder and/or tanks in the loft may be the way to go.
If you have a need for lots of water and heating at the same time then a gas system boiler and unvented cylinder may be the way to go as you wont need the tank storage in the loft. Gas system boilers work in the same way as traditional conventional boilers but they have heating components built into them taking up less space.
If your personal demand for heating and hot water is low and not a lot is needed at the same time then a Gas Combi boiler may be the way to go forward. With a Gas Combi boiler you never have an issue with no hot water. It is on demand. Unlimited as is central heating. However most Gas Combi boilers won’t be able to handle several hot water demands at once.
How Many Radiators do i have or need?
This generally works out the output of the boiler needed. Our engineers will work out the heat loss of your property and determine from this the size of boiler needed.
For Gas Combi boilers then a general rule of thumb is less than 9 radiators a 24 kw will be ok for heating. 9-12 radiators then a 30 kw will suffice. Anything larger then a 35-42 kw boiler will be needed.
This will also obviously change or be determined by what the customer needs also we can only offer advice and guidance.
Combination boilers come in a variety of outputs!
Starting from 24 kw right up to 42 kw by some manufacturers. The smaller the output of the gas boiler the less hot water that you get from them at the tap.
By this we mean :
24kw gas boiler typically give you up to 10 litres a minute
30kw gas boiler typically give you up to 12/13 litres a minute
35kw gas boiler typically give you up 15 litres a minute
40 kw gas boiler can give anywhere up to 20 litres and more.
All the above depends on the manufacturer and of course how many litres per minute you have coming into your property from the cold water mains. It’s no good putting a combination boiler in your house that can give 15 litres a minute at the hot tap if you only have 12 litres coming in at the cold tap. So this will need matching up correctly by your installer along with the output of your radiators to keep you warm during the cold winter months.
There are numerous other options available on the market to accompany any of the above you eventually decide to go with. These include, but are not limited to, smart controls. With smart controls you have the convenience of being able to see what temperature your house is at while at work. If its cold then you can turn this on from wherever you maybe ensuring a warm house or room when you arrive home. These can save you a considerable amount of money as you can use them to just heat the room you are in. This saves having to heat the whole house if you spend most of the evening sat in the living room watching telly for example.
We recommend and fit Salus Smart Home and Honeywell evohome products for this.
Any queries or advice you need give us a message or call our approved Gas Safe installers and we will do our best to help.
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