Gas Heating System types
Gas Heating System types
There are numerous different forms of Central Heating System on the market and several types of boiler to drive these. This article focuses on the form of system available. When you purchase a central heating system you are essentially purchasing a collection of different component parts including a heating boiler and radiators.
In northern Europe the primary household system will be the heating system, although there is much talk of global warming at the moment there is little mass requirement for air conditioning systems. Nowadays central heating systems are a feature in every modern home.
Whilst we tend to forget about the central heating system it will be operational day-to-day to provide hot water and comes to the fore in the winter when heating your household. You can relax at dwelling when the heating is working. A central heating system also provides hot water for bathing and washing. As heating and hot water are essentials your system needs to be dependable. Systems tend to last for 15 years and you will need one that is both efficient and dependable.
Pumped systems and sealed central heating systems are the two primary varieties.
The most usual type is a pumped or vented system. The main difference you will see is that this form of heating system in addition to the hot water cylinder is that it has an expansion tank. In addition to allowing for water expansion when heated the expansion tank also tops up the central heating system with water when required. The expansion tank needs to be mounted higher than the other system elements and most often this will be positioned in your attic.
A more modern option is a sealed system. Sealed systems have less components having no need for the water expansion tank. The role of the water feed tank is now provided by the cold water mains. There are no tanks or pipework in the loft, seaing the system and removing the need to vent the hot water has some advantages:
- taking out the copper pipes from the loft removes any risk of them freezing
- no upkeep work on the tank or pipes that would be in the attic in a pumped or vented system
- less pipework and seals to leak
- as the system is sealed there is less chance of air entering leading to corroding or airlocks
Typical variations of pressure can be permitted in a sealed system through a pressure vessel that holds compressed gas. If the pressure becomes too high in a sealed Central Heating System; a escape valve will allow water to escape from the system and if the pressure drops too low a valve will open to refill the system with water.