One of the most popular gas boilers around today is the combination boiler. In the following article we look at some of the advantages of this boiler over some of other boilers currently on the market such as the system boiler and open vented boiler:
- Cost to Repair – One of the main advantages to the combination boiler, is that if you need to call a boiler repair specialist, it will generally be more straightforward to repair. This is due to the fact that everything is contained within the same boiler, and you don’t have things like a separate hot water cylinder, programmer, and cold water storage tank for example.
- Cost to Run – Another thing about the combi boiler is that it is generally a lot cheaper to run than a conventional boiler. This is since the hot water is ‘on demand’ and therefore you are not having to heat up the water in storage as you would with a hot water cylinder or unvented cylinder. This means that you will save money on gas bills and lower your carbon footprint at the same time.
- Space Saving – If you currently have a cold-water storage cistern and cylinder, you will be aware that they take up a fair bit of space. Other than being a handy place to dry clothes, they can take up a fair of space in anyone’s room. Quite often losing the cylinder cupboard, can mean really opening a bathroom or bedroom depending on the current configuration of your property.
- Good Pressure – Another bigger selling point of the combi boilers is that you will get cold water at mains pressure, and the hot water will be nearly as good too. This means you don’t need any noisy shower pumps in the property, which saves time, plumbing and money! A shower pump is just another thing that can and does go wrong in the home, so if you can do without one, then great!
If you currently have a traditional open vented system, then depending on the size of your property and the current local main supply, then converting your system could most certainly be the way to go. This however is where you would need some professional advice from a qualified plumber and heating engineer. He or she will go through the ins and outs of the process, and let you know whether this system will work on your particular property.
Just make sure that you do your homework before hiring a plumber, and above all make sure that they are gas safe registered before carrying out any gas work in your home if you are based in the UK.
