When considering the replacement of a gas or diesel boiler for central heating of your home using radiators there are some very important considerations. The system should be carefully designed to ensure the household is comfortable with indoor temperatures and satisfied with running costs after the installation of a replacement boiler system.
Using a Hot Water heat pump for Radiators
To run the heat pump efficiently the flow temperature to the radiators should be reduced as low as practical, ideally to 55°C or even less. The challenge is that radiators lose performance as the water temperature reduces. Radiators will lose up to 50% output from 75°C (standard boiler flow temperature) to 55°C (heat pump flow temp).
This means we need to look carefully at how much heat each room requires and compare that to the radiator’s output at the reduced flow temperature.
Easypell Hot Water Heat Pumps
Easypell R290 heat pumps can be run at hotter temperatures and there may be a sweet spot at 60°C for example but as the flow temperature increases the efficiency decreases and their power use increases. Learn more about Easypell R290 Heat Pumps.
Designing Central Heating Systems with Hot Water Heat Pumps
We want to find the sweet spot between householder comfort, heat pump efficiency and running costs.
The design process that we undertake addresses these issues by taking the following steps:
- Calculates the heating required for the house (heat load assessment)
- Reviews the output of the existing radiators against the heating required
- Recommends a flow temperature for heat pump
- Recommends if any radiators need to be upgraded to optimise heat pump flow temperature
- Sizes heat pump against heating required, flow temperature and outdoor design temperature for that specific location
- Specifies and designs the complete system to replace the gas boiler for central heating and hot water for the home
We can undertake this design process for any home with an existing central heating boiler. We will require some information to undertake this work and charge a small design fee. When you go ahead with the system 50% of the design fee is rebated.
Using Biomass Boilers for Radiators
Pellet boilers and log boilers operate at the same temperatures as gas and diesel boilers. This means installing an Easypell pellet boiler or log boiler as a replacement for an existing gas or diesel boiler is usually as simple as determining the required heating capacity and ensuring sufficient installation space is available. The main consideration is that the boiler must be installed indoors and can occupy valuable space within the home.
Easypell Pellet Boilers
Easypell pellet boilers do not require a buffer tank, so they can be connected directly to an existing heating system. They do need to be installed indoors, and adequate space should be available for storing wood pellets for refuelling. These requirements are easy to assess by comparing the available space with the boiler dimensions provided in the product brochure. Learn more about Easypell Pellet Boilers.
Easypell Log Boilers
Easypell log boilers do require a buffer tank because they need to burn all of the wood loaded into the boiler and operate most efficiently at maximum output. The minimum recommended buffer tank size is 1,500 litres, and the tank can be connected directly to an existing heating system.
Once loaded with firewood, an Easypell log boiler will automatically ignite and operate whenever heating is required and a room thermostat or timer provides a start signal. Both the log boiler and the buffer tank must be installed indoors. Learn More about Easypell Log Boilers.
