Boiler Facts
A boiler is simply a sealed container where hot liquid is heated quickly, without boiling. In a conventional system, the boiler supplies heat to the entire house or building in which it is located. The heated liquid usually doesn’t actually boil, though. Instead, the heated or cooled liquid exits the boiler for reuse in different heating or cooling applications, such as in central heating, solar energy conversion, water heating, boiler-powered electricity generation, steam heating, and domestic plumbing applications. Boilers are also used to provide hot water for domestic use, though they are rarely used for this purpose today, due to the availability of piped-in water heaters. In fact, most homes are heated with either a furnace-style central furnace or an electric furnace.
In comparison to furnaces, boilers are much smaller and more compact, making them ideal for residential use. They also have the added benefit of being less dangerous and more easily maintained than furnaces. Since they work by circulating hot water through a series of copper or steel containers, there are very little wear and tear on these items. Unlike furnaces, there is no need to change or clean copper boiler parts because they rarely experience “gathering” of sediment from the bottom of the tubes. Additionally, the large storage tanks of boilers make them easy to maintain and require less maintenance. This makes boilers an excellent choice for a green energy home.
Since they take much less time to start up and operate than do furnaces, boilers are better suited to providing electricity as a supplement to household electric heating. Most boilers will generate their own electricity, but some require an external supply of fuel to keep going. In areas where there is an abundance of renewable or non-polluting energy, this option can be a great boon. For those who use a conventional heating system, however, the lack of fuel required to keep the boilers running and the slow start times of some boilers can prove a bit problematic. As technology improves, more efficient heating systems with better fuel sources may replace the boiler altogether.