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standard heating systems explained

Heating systems are necessary to heat the hot water from our taps for washing and cleaning and to keep us warm in the winter; it protects us and our property from frost damage, condensation and damp to an extent.

At the heart of any heating system is the heat source, this can be an oil boiler, gas boiler, wood burning stove, open fire, condensing boiler, air source heat pump.

These heat generators heat the water that passes through our pipes to help with heating and cleaning.

Generally most heating systems would consist of a boiler, hot water cylinder, radiators, a timer / room thermostat and a pump, the boiler heats the water and the pump pushes the hot water through to your heat emitters (radiators) or the coil in your hot water tank to heat you domestic hot water.

Heat emitters are commonly radiators on walls in the form of steel panels with a large surface area that heat up to warm the air that moves across them.

These are generally quick to get hot and warm your home quickly, however more commonly today installers are installing under floor heating, this is deemed to be more energy efficient as the operating temperatures are lower thus reducing the amount of fuel burned.

Time clocks and thermostats are as important as the radiators and boilers alike, for your system to function economically and for your comfort you must use controls to turn the heating on and off as and when required and be able to control the temperature without peaks and troughs allowing you to be nice and snug, the solaressence® ecomaster® does all of this and more.

Hot water tanks come in different shapes and sizes, some gravity fed and others are mains pressure, some of course have a solar system connected. They all do the same job that is to hold large amounts of hot water to be used as and when required.

If you don't have a hot water tank then you probably have a combination boiler, these boilers are instantaneous water heaters that turn on when you run the hot water tap, sort of hot water on demand and in most cases there is no stored hot water. These boilers also do the central heating for radiators and under floor systems and are available in natural gas, LPG and oil.

The solaressence® ecomaster® provides a new way of controlling the heating in houses and small non-domestic properties alike. It's "fuzzy logic" replaces the standard on/off programming of conventional programmers to give you the control you normally only get with complex expensive systems installed in larger commercial buildings.

Condensing boilers

Condensing boilers have been around for many years but it is only recently that they have become more common place in the domestic market; it is now a requirement that all replacement and new boilers have to be condensing high efficiency models. With the exception to some installations with back boilers for instance.

A condensing boiler is best described as an ordinary boiler with an extra heat exchanger or a larger exchanger. The usually wasted flue gasses that are several hundred degrees Celsius are sent to outside air and not used for anything other than venting the appliance of waste products.

A condensing boiler uses the heat from the flue gasses to preheat the water that passes back from the heating system before it passes through to the primary heat exchanger where it gets heated rapidly.

This is free and can reduce your fuel bill by up to 30% and it is also friendlier to the environment too by reducing your CO² emissions and generally reducing your carbon footprint.

A bi-product of the condensing boiler is condensation, hence the name. This occurs when conditions are right within the boiler and when it is most efficient (condensing mode).

The condensate must be led away to a drain or soak away and is quite harmless; it is believed to be as acidic as cola.

Under floor heating

Many heating systems in the new build market are increasingly under floor heated; this is good news because running costs should be lower, comfort level improved and no unsightly radiators spoiling your walls.

The floor temperature only needs to be in the low 20's for optimum results and it is quite a pleasant feeling whilst standing on the floor barefoot that the whole room is at an even temperature from the radiated heat of the floor.

Typical water under floor systems consist of a very long coil of plastic pipe laid out on spacers accurately spaced so that the maximum heat is transferred from the water running through the pipes into the floor slab.

The heat spreads through the floor construction and heats your finished surface whether it is tiles, carpet or wood; the big difference between this method and radiators is the surface area and temperature.

Radiators have lower surface areas but higher temperatures are required to give the same room temperature but under floor is a much larger surface area at a reduced temperature so you should feel more comfortable and have reduced running costs.

Atypical floor construction would consist of the following and is usually only possible on new build as the floor depth is quite deep 200mm plus!

Insulation,
Concrete,
More insulation,
Damp Proof Membrane,
Under Floor Pipes,
65 -75mm Screed
The floor finishes of your choice.

Electric under floor heating is similar but the use of water and boilers is not necessary, a mesh blanket is usually laid containing the wire that heats the floor in a similar way to that above, this can be more expensive to run than the wet system.

Wet systems are fed directly from the boiler via a manifold system; one manifold could contain the pipe loops for many rooms in the property and can be individually controlled by sensors on a per room basis.

The manifold would have its own pump and mixing valve to ensure even temperature and water flow around the individual floor areas. A master intelligent heating control like ecomaster® can tell the system to turn on at the right time in order to get the floor up to temperature in time for when you need it.

This is very important because under floor heating has a slower response time than radiators so controls with optimum start are a must. ecomaster® can allow for up to a 5 hour pre-heat if required making sure that you are comfortable and up to the desired temperature.

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