What is a boiler?

January 20, 2015

The harshest months of winter Winnipeg usually find us with more service and repair calls, some of which result in homeowners needing new heating systems. You can find a variety of home heating products on the market, from furnaces to boilers. Many people don’t know a lot about boilers. If you’re one of them, we can tell you what you need to know.

Types of boilers

Boilers come in both steam and hot water models. Both provide heat throughout a home by means of 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 kettles. They boil water until the steam builds to create enough pressure to push heat to radiators throughout your home. The heat is distributed into your rooms by air moving across the radiators. The cycle continues when the steam then cools and condenses to water, which then returns to the boiler to be reheated. Steam boilers are typically fueled with natural gas or propane.

Hot water boilers

Like steam boilers, hot water boilers push warmth around your home, but with hot water in place of steam. When the water heats up to your desired temperature, it is forced through the radiant system. Gas is often used to power water boilers, however, you will discover oil-fired boilers in New England and the Northeast United States.

Benefits of boilers for home heating

A lot of people love boilers because of their extremely quiet operation. In fact, it’s almost impossible to hear a boiler working at all unless it needs repair. They are also known for providing comfortable and even heat because of the design of the system with pipes installed behind the walls or under the floors. Boilers can also be helpful, 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, several people find that boilers are the right heating system for them. If you want more information about high-efficiency boilers in Winnipeg, look to Kirkfield Heating & Air Conditioning. You can reach us at 204-272-8128 or schedule an appointment with us online.