A tale of two boilers...

Terry Fields · 2010-01-08T15:48:59+00:00

Well, mine and my next-door neighbours...I don't know the make and model of next door's condensing boiler, butit was installed in their kitchen in last three years, replacing aback-boiler. At the same time, a living-flame gas-fire was installedin the lounge.A couple of summers ago they had the loft insulation increased to270mm, while SWMBO and I added 100mm of space blanket to the massive25mm that the house was originally built with.Our boiler is a 30-year-old Glowworm.The recent snow that has fallen on the roofs has resulted in anopportunity to see how the two houses compare in terms of heat losses.Surprisingly, the snow coverage has remained the same, suggesting notmuch difference in the heat losses into the lofts.More surprisingly, the areas of snow that have melted around thechimney stacks is quite different: about 4' of clear area around myneighbour's stack, almost no clear snow around mine.From these observations I suggest that their 'living flame' gas fireis pumping more total heat up the chimney than my back-boiler, andthat the 'waste' heat from my set-up is staying mostly within thehouse, keeping it warm. It would appear that my setup, taken a whole, is 'wasting' somewhatless heat than my neighbour's modern efficient system...and as this isthe season of highest heating demands, perhaps there is less to gainedoverall by going 'modern' than claims might suggest...TF

Jan 08, 2010 20 Replies

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geoff 16 years ago

In message , Peter Andrews writes

You were ripped off then ...

You are OK as long as your gas valve doesn't do - they are now obsolete

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A tale of two boilers...

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