How to choose a heating boiler?
All those who are building their own home or have simply decided to modernize their heating system and want to give up inefficient central heating are faced with the following questions: which boiler to buy, which boiler is better, which heating boiler to choose?
In this article, we assure you that you will find all the answers!
Gas boilers
We present them in two types: a regular gas boiler and a condensing gas boiler.
If there is a connection to the gas network, we recommend that you choose a gas boiler without hesitation. With good thermal insulation of a house with an area of 200-250 m², the cost of operating a gas condensing boiler will not be colossally high.
We recommend that you use the most economical gas installation option: a condensing boiler.
The main advantage of a gas boiler is its simplicity and ease of use. Connect a thermostat and you’ll save an additional 20-25% on your gas bill. Prices for gas boilers can be very different, depending on the manufacturer, power and type of installation.
However, it should be taken into account that gas boilers are equipped with a circulation pump, an expansion tank, and the rest of the system for such a boiler will be much cheaper than for a solid fuel one.
Gas boilers have a warranty of up to 6 years and, if used correctly, will last up to 20 years.
Solid fuel boilers
It is worth choosing a solid fuel boiler if there is no gas connection.
Solid fuel boilers come in several types:
- On wood and coals with manual loading
- Coal-fired with automatic loading
- Long-burning wood and charcoal
- On pellets
- On wood in pyrolysis
It should be noted that for the most part solid fuel boilers have proven themselves to be very reliable equipment. However, there are requirements for fuel quality and moisture content.
We recommend choosing a boiler with automatic loading if you want to keep your home warm for up to 3 days. Coal also leaves some ash behind when burned.
Pellet boilers also have high autonomy and you need to be sure that you have a reliable supply of pellets.
Long-burning boilers can also operate for up to 3 days with a good load of coal and up to 2 days with a dense load of wood.
Electric boilers
Electric boilers have a number of significant advantages: a very wide range of models (from 3 to 40 kW in small increments), stability, comfort and ease of use.
Prices for electric boilers are approximately similar to gas ones, although low-power gas boilers are still cheaper.
Also, the presence of a built-in circulation pump, expansion tank and temperature sensors will help you choose such a boiler.
Electric boilers are quite reliable due to their simplicity of design; their repair and maintenance are also cheap.
Modern electric boilers also have an Internet connection, which allows you to configure it remotely.
Boiler power calculation
The next step in choosing a boiler is to calculate its power. We recommend calculating using a simple formula:
1kW = 10m2. Provided that you have a well-insulated room, with high-quality thermal insulation panels.
Also, the ceiling height should not exceed 2.8 m.
The minimum power of modern boilers is 24 kW, and don’t worry if you have a compact house of 50 m2 (for example). Modern boilers have up to 10 levels of power adjustment, and this power adjustment is carried out by our company’s commissioning engineer (PIF). The setup is done using a professional gas analyzer.
We do not recommend purchasing boilers with a power reserve of more than 20% of the calculated value, because… For most boilers, efficiency drops significantly (5-20%) as energy consumption decreases.
It is also very important to properly insulate the house; this will pay off by reducing fuel costs.
For electric boilers, a power reserve of 20-30% is required due to voltage surges, which lead to a decrease in boiler power.
Choosing a boiler manufacturer
Let’s start, we chose the type of boiler, we chose the power. Now it’s time to decide on a brand.
The cheapest boilers are Chinese; it is clear that the use of such equipment is associated with great risks and subsequent costs for repairs and maintenance. There are also Turkish manufacturers with optimal quality relative to price. A good example is the ECA brand
And there are top European manufacturers: from Germany, Italy, France, producing brands such as Ariston, Viessmann, etc., which are easy to find in our store.
Since we DO NOT sell unsafe or Chinese boilers, we value our name and offer you only quality equipment.
General recommendations for choosing a heating boiler
- Don’t skimp on your heating system, as you’ll be using it for decades.
- Insulate your house properly and get rid of drafts. This will save you significant amounts on heating costs.
- Use only trusted and reliable installers
- After a gas boiler, the first meter to one and a half meters of hot water pipes must be made of steel to dampen the thermal gap of the hot water supply.
- Buy a thermostat for a gas boiler room. This will ensure a stable temperature in the house, increase the service life of the boiler and save 20-25% of the bill.
- When installing a new boiler, it is necessary to flush the heating system, if it is old, and protect it with an anti-corrosion inhibitor.
- To extend service life, it is recommended to install a magnetic filter and deaerator.
- Carry out regular annual maintenance to identify problems and fix them when it is easier and cheaper to do so.
- If you are concerned that your heating system will not freeze in winter, we recommend using only a premium antifreeze solution, that is, one made from propylene glycol (which will last up to 10 years), and not from ethylene glycol (which is much cheaper, but after 2 years it will block all heating system).
We also invite you to learn about the technical parameters and types of boilers for heating your home.
For verified and truthful information, we invite you to our showroom (Chisinau, Vadul lui Vodă, 68) where you can see our entire range or online on our website amber.md!
In this article we examined the main criteria for choosing a boiler for heating. Now you can reasonably and independently choose a boiler for yourself. And yes, we recommend calling our managers with the question “how to choose a boiler for heating your home?” and we assure you that you will receive the information you need!