What is a boiler?

January 20, 2015

The coldest months of winter Sandpoint generally find us with more service and repair calls, some of which result in homeowners discovering they need new heating systems. You can find a variety of home heating products on the market, from furnaces to boilers. Many people haven’t heard much about boilers. If you’re one of them, we have some information for you.

Types of boilers

Boilers come in both steam and hot water models. Both deliver heat throughout a home using either a radiant system that uses a boiler to heat water, or through forced air heating systems.

Steam boilers

Steam boilers are kind of like big tea kettles. They boil water until the steam accumulates to create enough pressure to push heat to radiators across your home. The heat is emitted into your rooms by air moving across the radiators. The cycle continues after the steam then cools and condenses to water, which then returns to the boiler to be reheated. Steam boilers are usually fueled with natural gas or propane.

Hot water boilers

Like steam boilers, hot water boilers circulate warmth around your home, but with hot water rather than steam. When the water rasies to your desired temperature, it is pumped through the radiant system. Gas is usually used to power water boilers, however, you will see oil-fired boilers in New England and the Northeast United States.

Benefits of boilers for home heating

Many people are partial to boilers because of their extremely quiet operation. In fact, it’s almost impossible to hear a boiler operating at all unless it’s broken. They are also known for providing comfortable and even heat thanks to the design of the system with pipes installed inside the walls or under the floors. Boilers can also be useful, in non-forced air heating systems, to allergy suffers because they don’t blow air around and spread allergens.

Even though they can be more costly than furnaces, many people find that boilers are a great heating system for them. If you want more information about high-efficiency boilers in Sandpoint, look to Age Heating & Cooling. Give us a call at 208-578-4258 or schedule an appointment with us online.