Combi or combination boilers have become a popular choice amongst households in the UK, due to the practicality of combining all of the usual features of a standard central heating system into one compact unit with no need for large storage tanks. These systems are favoured for their high efficiency and the fact that they can be more cost effective than regular boilers. If you are considering a combi boiler for your home, allow us to provide more information on these systems and whether they will be suitable for your needs.
How does a combi boiler work?
To heat the water for your tap or shower, a combi boiler works by triggering a sensor to burn fuel and increase the temperature of the heat exchanger. Cold water then flows over this and is heated to optimum temperature before arriving at your hot water taps. This works in a different way to conventional boilers in that there is no storage tank where the temperature of the wateris constantly maintained.
Why should you choose a combi boiler?
This type of boiler has numerous benefits for your home, including:
Space saving
Whereas regular and system boilers require a large tank to store water at all times, a combi boiler is a much more compact heating system. This means that if you are limited for space in your property, it can be installed out of the way and will not take up a large portion of one room.
Energy efficient
Modern combis are often built with a gas heat recovery system, meaning the gas created from burning fuel is reused to heat water from the mains supply. This means your heating system will burn less fuel and operate at a high efficiency of over 90%. You can expect this to result in you saving a large amount on your energy bills. Traditional systems with hot water tanks must continuously heat water throughout the day to keep it at optimal temperature, whereas a combi saves money through only using this energy when hot water is required.
Hot water on demand
Combi boilers are favoured for their ability to provide hot water whenever you need it. Whilst traditional boilers store up hot water ready for use, a combi will heat water as it is required. This means that whilst a standard system will eventually run out of hot water to supply your taps and showers, you will not need to worry about this with a combi.
Is a combi boiler suitable for your home?
Before deciding on a combi boiler for your home, you should remember that they require good water pressure to operate. Because they take water directly from the mains supply, pressure will drop rapidly if there are multiple taps and showers running at once. Larger homes that will have multiple bathrooms in use at once will be unsuitable for a combi boiler and will be more suited to a system that includes a hot water tank. These options are able to cope with the higher demand for hot water.
If you are deciding on a new boiler for your home, allow our boiler engineers at Gas Tech Heating to help. Our Gas Safe registered team can manage any boiler installations, repairs or servicing at your property. If you would like to get booked in for any of our services, give us a call on 01442 832202 or email info@gastechheatingltd.co.uk to speak to our team.