Heating and Plumbing
In recent years storage heaters have made great advances in efficiency and control technology. The principle of storage heater is that a heavy mass core is heated overnight using cheap rate electricity. This core is made of a high density Iron Oxide compound that gives up heat very gradually. During the day different levels of heat can be achieved by adjustment of the output controls. All heaters now have integral adjustable electronic room thermostats. More advanced intelligent controls now mean that heating a building using storage heaters, exceeds Part L of the building regulations for energy efficiency and controllability.
Typically heat is recovered from the flue gases; the water vapour in the exhausts gases is cooled by the incoming air, thus causing the vapour to form into a liquid state, hence the term condensing. Condensing boilers tend to work at their highest efficiency at lower temperatures so boilers are often designed to feature fully modulating operation at low temperatures, ensuring the output matches very closely to the heat demand.
Most natural gas boilers are suitable for Propane LPG fuel options and require only a change of burner nozzle. Many boilers are now able to run in conjunction with solar panels where gas forms the secondary top up, heat source. Solar smart combi boilers are now being produced by many boiler manufacturers. Other new features available are economisers, or top box gas savers, where even more heat is recovered from flue gases by incorporation of a secondary heat exchanger.
Electric under floor heating is extremely popular in modern apartment blocks where stone, tiled and limestone floors can be maintained at very comfortable temperature. The under floor heating elements tend to be installed in the form of heat-mats whereby the mat forms a continuous heating element. The heat provided is a radiant heat and thus creates very few convection air currents or draughts. The whole electric under floor heating system is controlled by room thermostats.
Fluing technology has advanced significantly in recent years with telescopic and concentric flues, which have made the heating installer’s life much easier. Many vertical flues tend to be open flues with most wall mounted boilers having horizontal room sealed flues. Flue fittings are available in many configurations for the differing circumstances of each boiler installation. Gases leave high efficiency boilers at lower temperatures, which can cause condensation problems on nearby windows for example. Plume management then becomes an issue and plume management kits and accessories are available.
The Construction Centre can put you in contact with the UKs largest number ofHeating and Plumbing suppliers. So if you are looking for example, supplers of Electric Fires, then the Construction Centre should be top of your list.
