Oil Boiler – Oil Fired Condensing Boilers

There are numerous types of oil boilers catering for various user requirements and preferences. The usual different factors influencing the choice of boilers are spare space in the home and whether or not there is a need for an immediate hot water supply.

Types of Oil Boiler

Oil boilers can largely be grouped into three predominant and differentiating categories, namely; the combi-boiler; the system boiler; and the regular boiler which are no different to that of a gas boiler in their functionality.

Regular Boiler

Firstly, the regular boiler, often referred to as the ‘conventional’ boiler, is the system indicative of the boilers of old, which would have been installed as standard in the recent past. The features of this set up include the presence of a boiler which is situated separately from the hot water cylinder (most traditionally found in the airing cupboard) which is further fed from a cold water source (most usually present in the attic of the home).

It would be incorrect to assume that a regular oil boiler simply pre-dates more recent developments in the technology and as such is less efficient, as this type of boiler has been exposed to technological updates in line with other styles. The title simply refers to the arrangement and placement of the composite pieces of the system. This type of oil boiler would be best placed in a home where water pressure is low or a home that has more than two bathrooms.

Combi Boiler

This can be contrasted with the second type of oil boiler: the combi boiler, whose developed space-saving design makes it more ideal for homes that have very little loft-space or simply no need for instantaneous hot water supply.

The way in which this development is reached is through the lack of a hot water cistern, where the cold water supply feeds straight into the boiler and is heated thus. The water is then pumped from the boiler to its requisite heat source (e.g. a radiator) and dispensed in this way.

This method saves significantly on hot water costs as there is not a constant hot water supply, rather it is provided, as it were, on demand.

System Boiler

The third element of this tri-partite oil boiler group is the system boiler. This is largely rather similar to the regular boiler, however, it has incorporated some key technological changes which aid the efficiency of the installation process and allows the boiler to integrate more simply into a house where the previous boiler is being replaced.

Also, like the combi boiler, the cold water supply is pumped straight into the boiler itself, eliminating any need for a cold water storage tank and further rendering space saved or a more fitting placement in a smaller home and often used when a boiler replacement is needed due to  a loft conversion. Further, this development creates lower running costs, as the boiler itself provides hot water on demand, but without the need for a storage cylinder, as with the regular boiler.