With winter only half way over, wouldn’t it be horrible if your water heater or boiler went out? If your boiler is getting on in years, you may want to start researching buying a new one. Here are a few things to look for before you buy.
Boilers rated over 90% efficient are called condensing boilers and are designed to extract heat from the combustion of gasses that’s normally lost in regular boilers. This only saves energy under the right conditions. Condensing boilers are designed to work with water 135 degrees Fahrenheit and below. If the water temperature is higher than 135 degrees, your high efficiency boiler is really only about 80% efficient. To control this, make sure to look for a boiler with a control system so you can adjust the water temperature according to indoor and outdoor temperatures. These are called weather responsive controls or outdoor reset controls. Some boilers are automatically sold with these controls while others have them as an optional feature. Beware of the boilers that don’t offer some sort of temperature control, you may be losing efficiency! This feature can not only save 15-20% on your heating bills, but also help provide a constant, steady flow of heat through your house.
Another thing to look at is the material the heat exchanger is made out of. Stainless steel is better at heat transfer and is longer lasting than aluminum. Some companies are not even making aluminum heat exchangers anymore.
Paying attention to these two small details when boiler shopping will increase your boiler’s efficiency and life span as well as save you some money.
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