Benefits Of Installing A Boiler In Your Home
Heat and hot water are two important things to have in your home. If you live in a cold climate, heating that works and is efficient can save you money and make your home more comfortable. While heat is not as critical for people living in more tropical climates, there are still cool nights in the winter that the heat is needed. Installing a boiler can provide the heat you need as well as giving you a very efficient method to heat the water for your home as well.
Considering a Boiler
When you start looking closely at the option for heating your home, you may wonder why a boiler should even be a consideration. There are a number reasons but there is a lot of important information you need to know before getting started. A boiler is a very efficient method of heating your home. It uses hot water circulated through pipes and modern baseboard radiant heaters. The heat is very even and constant so the home stays warmer and more comfortable than forced air or electric heat at a much lower cost. Along with providing heat, the boiler can provide domestic hot water and heats that water as it is needed. This means you are much less likely to run out of hot water than with an electric or gas hot water tank.
Plumbing and Installation
The biggest thing to consider is the plumbing that must be installed for a boiler. Because the baseboards have a pipe running through them, there will need to be a lot of copper pipe run through your home. The installer will need to drill holes, run the pipe through walls and floors, and generally upset your living space for a week or more. If you are living in the home, you may have to be very patient with the installers and may even have to live for a day or so without hot water as they reroute the hot water from the boiler and take the hot water tank out of service.
Fueling The Fire
Most modern boilers run on either #2 heating oil or Kerosene and #2 heating oil blends. In very cold areas, the kerosene blend helps keep the heating oil from gelling in the filters and feed lines but only needs to be used in the winter months. You will need to purchase fuel all year long with a boiler but since you will only run the domestic hot water in the summer, your usage will be very low. Averaged out over the year, most people find the cost of the boiler is much lower than that of traditional heating and an electric hot water tank.
Getting An Estimate
Before you make your decision to switch to a boiler, have a heating contractor come out and look at your home. They will tell you what they feel you need and how long it will take to set it up in your home. They will also give you prices for installation. Since a boiler is not something you can install yourself, it is important to know what the process will be and the costs up front so you can decide if it is right for you.
Contact a company like Boiler Services, Inc. for more information and assistance.