Condensing Boilers
Why are condensing boilers more energy efficient?
Condensing boilers work on the principle of recovering as much
as possible of the waste heat which is normally rejected to the
atmosphere from the flue of a conventional (non-condensing)
boiler.
Condensing boilers are highly efficient boilers that have much lower fuel and running costs than conventional boilers.
A condensing boiler has a large heat exchanger (or, in some designs, a second heat exchanger), that extracts more heat from the flue gases. In a non-condensing boiler, the flue gases are at a temperature of 120-200°C.
In a condensing boiler, more heat is removed and the temperature falls to below 100°C and as low as 50°C for the most efficient boilers operating at reduced boiler return temperature.
The water vapour in the gases condenses (hence the name) and the resulting liquid has to be drained away.
How can I tell if I have a condensing boiler?
If you can see a plastic pipe coming from the boiler then it is probably a condensing boiler (the white plastic pipe in the picture below)
A condensing boiler will always have a better operating efficiency than a conventional non-condensing one, due to its larger and more efficient heat exchanger.The benefits of condensing boilers are therefore quite clear.
Typically a new gas condensing boiler will have a seasonal efficiency of between 84% and 92% compared with a new non-condensing boiler at 78% or an older boiler at 55-65%.
See table below for typical annual fuel costs for condensing and
non-condensing boilers.
Because the flue gases leaving a condensing boiler are cool, they tend to produce a noticeable mist or plume of water vapour around the flue terminal itself (as they condense upon contact with the atmosphere), especially under cold conditions.
This is not a problem and in fact indicates that the boiler is working as intended. However, consideration should be given to boiler and flue location prior to installation so that the plume will not be too close to neighbouring properties or windows, doors and paths regularly used in the winter.
Find Gas Condensing Boiler Installers in the UK & read about the Green Deal
Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Avon, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Bedfordshire, Belfast, Berkshire, Borders Region, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Central Region, Cheshire, Cleveland, Clwyd, Coleraine, Cookstown, Cornwall, Craigavon, Derbyshire, Derry, Devon, Dorset, Down, Dumfried and Galloway Region, Dungannon & South Tyrone, Durham, Dyfed, East Sussex, Essex, Fermanagh, Fife Region, Gloucestershire, Grampian Region, London, Greater Manchester, Gwenedd, Gwent, Hampshire, Hereford & Worcester, Hertfordshire, Highland Region, Humberside, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Larne, Leicestershire, Limavady, Lincolnshire, Lisburn, Lothian Region, Magherafelt, Merseyside, Mid Glamorgan, Moyle, Newry & Mourne, Newtownabbey, Norfolk, North Down, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Omagh, Oxfordshire, Powys, Shropshire, Somerset, South Glamorgan, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Starbane, Strathclyde Region, Suffolk, Surrey, Tayside Region, Tyne & Wear, Warwickshire, West Glamorgan, West Midlands, West Sussex, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire
Find Oil Condesing Boiler Installers in the UK
Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Avon, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Bedfordshire, Belfast, Berkshire, Borders Region, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Central Region, Cheshire, Cleveland, Clwyd, Coleraine, Cookstown, Cornwall, Craigavon, Derbyshire, Derry, Devon, Dorset, Down, Dumfried and Galloway Region, Dungannon & South Tyrone, Durham, Dyfed, East Sussex, Essex, Fermanagh, Fife Region, Gloucestershire, Grampian Region, London, Greater Manchester, Gwenedd, Gwent, Hampshire, Hereford & Worcester, Hertfordshire, Highland Region, Humberside, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Larne, Leicestershire, Limavady, Lincolnshire, Lisburn, Lothian Region, Magherafelt, Merseyside, Mid Glamorgan, Moyle, Newry & Mourne, Newtownabbey, Norfolk, North Down, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Omagh, Oxfordshire, Powys, Shropshire, Somerset, South Glamorgan, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Starbane, Strathclyde Region, Suffolk, Surrey, Tayside Region, Tyne & Wear, Warwickshire, West Glamorgan, West Midlands, West Sussex, West Yorkshire, Wiltshire
