Combi boilers, what are they and why do you want one?

In addition to providing you with hot water for your central heating, combi boilers give you a way of instantly generating hot water for your taps. The energy efficiency, compact designs and instant hot water mean that combi boilers are now the most popular boiler type in the UK, accounting for over 50% of all new boiler sales.

As combi boilers do not need to store hot water in a copper cylinder in the airing cupboard the hot water storage components can be eliminated saving you space and reducing heat loss from the stored hot water. This improves the energy efficiency profile and means that there are fewer components in the system.

Central heating installations which are based upon a combi boilers have fewer components within the overall system. Combi boilers take their cold water input direct from the cold water mains . They also create hot water on demand. As a result the cold water feed tank in the loft,and the hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard are not required. This can save you a lot of space in a smaller home.

The absence of these components also means a lower price installation and fewer components to go wrong or need maintenance in the future. A final bonus is that the cold water mains pressure means you can have a hot water power shower without the expense of buying and installing a pump. All said combi boilers are well worth considering.

One disadvantage is that the instant and continuous flow of hot water needs a good supply of cold water. This can be influenced by your cold water supply. It can also be impacted by the number of people trying to use hot water at the same time. The hoit water flow has a limited capacity, according to the power of the boiler, and you need to select a boiler taking into account your families maximum hot water requirements. For this reason you may find that a combi boiler is not suitable in your water supply area if the pressure is low or you often have sudden drops in pressure.

A gas combi boiler is a type of central heating boiler where the water is heated on need and is 60 percent more efficient than the indirect hot water storage method.

The most efficient type of combination boiler is a condensing combi-boiler which has an additional heat extract to reclaim the heat in the exhaust gases and use of this to heat your water reducing its energy consumption.

The gas requirements of the boiler are significantly reduced as it reuses the exhaust gases heat.