Some fan-assisted, non-condensing furnaces and boilers, installed between and , may be vented horizontally through high-temperature plastic vent pipe not PVC pipe, which is safely used in condensing furnaces. This type of venting has been recalled and should be replaced by stainless steel vent pipe. If horizontal venting was used, an additional draft-inducing fan may be needed near the vent outlet to create adequate draft.
Floor furnaces may have special venting problems because their vent connector exits the furnace close to the floor and may travel 10 to 30 feet before reaching a chimney. Check to see if this type of venting or the floor furnace itself needs replacement. If you smell gases, you have a venting problem that could affect your health. Contact your local utility or heating contractor to have this venting problem repaired immediately.
Subscribe to receive updates from Energy Saver, including new blogs, updated content, and seasonal energy saving tips for consumers and homeowners. Understanding the Efficiency Rating of Furnaces and Boilers. Retrofitting Your Furnace or Boiler. Retrofits are fuel-specific, so see the following sections for retrofit information: Gas-Fired Furnaces and Boilers includes units fired with natural gas and propane Oil-Fired Furnaces and Boilers.
Replacing Your Furnace or Boiler. Maintaining Your Furnace or Boiler. The following maintenance should be provided by a heating system professional. All systems: Check the condition of your vent connection pipe and chimney. Parts of the venting system may have deteriorated over time. Chimney problems can be expensive to repair, and may help justify installing new heating equipment that won't use the existing chimney.
Check the physical integrity of the heat exchanger. Boiler heat exchangers may leak water and are easy to spot. Furnace heat exchangers mix combustion gases with house air when they leak—an important safety reason to have them inspected.
Combustion gases leaking into the house can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. It is suggested that ever home have a working carbon monoxide alarm. Adjust the controls on the boiler or furnace to provide optimum water and air temperature settings for both efficiency and comfort. If you're considering replacing or retrofitting your existing heating system, have the technician perform a combustion-efficiency test.
Forced Air Systems: Check the combustion chamber for cracks Test for carbon monoxide CO and remedy if found Adjust blower control and supply-air temperature Clean and oil the blower Remove dirt, soot, or corrosion from the furnace or boiler Check fuel input and flame characteristics, and adjust if necessary Seal connections between the furnace and main ducts.
Not only does the pool itself act as a storage tank saving you money , but pool chemicals wreak havoc on the inside of a water heater causing premature failure.
This chemical concern combined with the potential to overwork a standard tank-type water heater makes boilers the better choice for pool applications. This can be done by connecting a hydronic heating boiler with an indirect or coil water heater tank. An indirect water heater is something in between a water heater and a storage tank.
But an indirect tank is also more than just a storage tank because it does technically heat the water within it, just indirectly. Water and heating combination systems are becoming more popular because they can offer greater efficiency in the right circumstances.
An indirect water heater is kind of like a sidecar on a motorcycle, piggy-backing off the power of the primary appliance to gain a secondary bonus function. The heat is transferred from the boiler-heated water in that coiled pipe to the cooler water that is held within the indirect tank.
Admittedly, this has been a rather generic overview of boilers and some of their modern uses today. However, there are a few more factors about boilers still worth mentioning here: efficiency, safety, and longevity. Not all boilers are created equal. There is a multitude of subcategories of boilers based on function, fuel source, type of heat exchanger, materials used, etc. And just like with water heaters, technological advancements have allowed boilers to achieve increased efficiencies by maximizing energy use.
In the past, most boilers installed were atmospheric units, meaning they draw air for combustion from the surrounding atmosphere to feed their flame, and the exhaust gasses are vented out through a chimney. The larger the temperature difference, the more heat the boiler must add to the water.
When the temperature difference is small, the boiler can remain at low fire, making these units much more efficient. Different firing levels can be accomplished in a number of ways, including varying the number of burners within the equipment or by varying the intensity of the flame by reducing fuel level or creating negative air pressure inside the unit. Just like water heaters can explode , boilers also come with that risk for the same reasons thermal expansion, increased pressure, enclosed vessel.
But because boilers are equipped with more power, they have the potential to make much a bigger boom. For that reason, most commercial boilers, regardless of use, require a permit to operate and an official safety inspection upon initial install before the permit is issued. These laws vary by state , and by size and type of boiler, to some extent. Most states also require regular periodic inspections to keep the permits renewed. In Indiana, for example, boiler safety inspections are actually regulated by the IDHS Indiana Department of Homeland Security , and many periodic inspections are performed by state inspectors and billed to the owner as a part of the permit renewal process.
Well, with a routine maintenance and service plan, a boiler can last a surprisingly long time. The type of application, water quality, weather conditions, housing environment, and regular maintenance all play a big part in the lifespan of a boiler system.
Sediment in the heat exchanger of a boiler can clog the tubes and inhibit the free flow of water. This may cause the boiler to bounce up and down, eventually causing the heat exchanger to give way, resulting in a leak from the heat exchanger that will a extinguish the pilot assembly, putting a stop to all water heating capability and b end up as a giant puddle on the floor of your building.
Being careless about softening water can lead to the catastrophic failure of your equipment. Heat exchangers and other internal components may need to be fully replaced and depending on the type of boiler, replacing a heat exchanger could cost just as much as a new boiler. The components of a boiler system may seem fairly simple to understand, but there are many critical pieces that must be in working order for the boiler to run smoothly and safely.
Always use a professional to service and perform maintenance on your boiler and water heating equipment. Contact our trained professionals at Reliable Water Services to get the best recommendation for your business. Your email address will not be published. My boss has been telling me about how he wants to make sure that our office has enough hot water in the coming months. My wife and I are buying a new home and it has a boiler so I wanted to learn what benefits they have.
I am going to send this article to my wife so she can give it a read to know more about boilers. In general, appliances larger than this are classed as commercial boilers. Gas and oil-fired commercial boilers are often in the kW to 1,kW range. This huge spread of output sizes helps to ensure that organisations are able to find appliances which meet their specific heating and hot water needs. Certain commercial boilers have an output of less than 70kW.
For example, it is possible to get portable commercial electric boilers ranging from 15kW to 36kW. These compact appliances are a popular choice on construction sites, for example as an aid in the screed drying process. They can also be used in shops, garages, sports halls and a variety of other settings. With so many different types of commercial boiler available, it can be confusing deciding which to choose for your organisation.
There are various issues that you should consider when selecting one of these appliances. Here are some of the most important:. As mentioned previously, commercial boilers differ hugely in terms of size. For example, how large is your building, how many radiators do you need to heat, and how many hot water outlets do you have?
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