REM uncovers the secrets of condensing boilers

March 28, 2013 - PRLog -- In the company’s latest video to generate interest on YouTube, Denis discusses the secrets of condensing boilers and explains why a condensing boiler on its own won’t necessarily deliver the levels of efficiency or performance that the user expects.

After growing in popularity in the 1990s, the condensing boiler was heralded as a new, environmentally friendly and sustainable method for heating your home. In fact, by 2005 the Labour government and its Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had put together a masterplan that made it illegal to fit any other type of boiler.

Accompanying this was the boiler scrappage scheme – a government programme encouraging homeowners to replace their old, inefficient central heating boilers by giving a voucher towards the cost of a new boiler. This promised homeowners that made the switch £400 towards a state-of-the-art condensing boiler.

Unprecedented numbers of householders took advantage of the scheme to improve their heating systems and reduce their heating bills. As a result there are now more than eight million condensing boilers in operation across the UK, with many not working properly, not saving the homeowner money and simply not delivering what it claims.

The Energy Saving Trust – leading provider of impartial, accurate and independent advice to communities and households on how to reduce carbon emissions – estimated that homeowners could save up to £350 a year by installing a new A-rated condensing boiler and full set of heating controls in a gas-heated, semi-detached gas heated home with three bedrooms. So why are so many condensing boilers still not up to the task?

Using latent energy from combustion air to heat the return water from your heating system, condensing boilers can actually be inefficient as they will only function when return temperatures are at a certain level. Denis explains that as the UK runs its boilers at 80°C, many will only condense during the initial start-up or after it has switched off.

So what’s the secret? As Denis states in the video, the boiler needs to know when to condense and the only way to do this is with weather compensation and modulating burners. In fact, by combining weather compensation, new boiler technology and solar thermal, homeowners can reduce their total bills by 40 – 50%. And it is for these reasons that REM only installs weather compensating, modulating boilers.

To view the full video and see how REM can help you cut your energy bills in half, click www.remltd.org/videos