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• Introduction
• Energy efficiency and your boiler
• What are the benefits to me of a HE boiler?
• How much will I save?
• How will I know when it's saving me money?
• Why choose Glow-worm?
Introduction
The information in this section is based on the Government's Energy Efficiency Best Practice programme.
Energy used in the home is responsible for 25% of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas produced when electricity is generated, is a major contributor to climate change ("global warming").
The Government is dedicated to bringing the level of these emissions down, and in order to achieve this, the Energy White Paper was introduced.
The drive to High Efficiency in the UK and the Energy White Paper was launched in 2003 at Glow-worm’s state of the art manufacturing facilities in Belper, Derbyshire.
The Energy White Paper has four main objectives:
- To put ourselves on a path to cut the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions by some 60% by 2050.
- Tom maintain the reliability of energy supplies
- To promote competitive (energy) markets in the UK and beyond, helping to raise the state of sustainable economic growth and to improve our productivity.
- To ensure that every home is adequately and affordably heated.
As from April 2005 onwards, the EWP states that the majority of new and replacement gas central heating boilers fitted must be either SEDBUK ‘A’ or ‘B’ rated.
Boilers for heating and hot water use much more energy than any other household appliances. For an average household with central heating, 84% of its energy consumption is for heating and hot water.
That makes it important to choose an efficient boiler, and have it installed in a correctly designed system - both for money-saving and for the environment.
The Energy Savings Trust, set up by the Government to promote energy efficiency, also advises that 'the largest saving in home energy costs is from a more efficient boiler, even ahead of wall insulation.
The efficiency of the central heating boiler is the major factor affecting the energy efficiency of your domestic central heating system.
Boiler efficiency is dictated by many factors, which include its design, boiler and radiator size relative to design heat load, system controls (pumps, programmers, thermostats, TRV's), regular servicing, and so on. Your installer will be able to advise you on all these.
Improved energy efficiency is beneficial to everyone. Reduced levels of pollution will provide a cleaner environment to live with increased comfort conditions and lower fuel bills.
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Energy efficiency and your boiler
In any particular heating system a condensing or High Efficiency boiler is always more efficient than a non-condensing boiler.
It achieves this by including a large heat exchanger which extracts more heat from the flue gases. This has the effect of reducing the temperature of the flue gases, typically from 150-200 degrees centigrade for a non-condensing boiler to 50-60 degrees centigrade for a condensing boiler. There is so much heat removed that the water vapour present in the flue gases condenses and the water needs to run to a drain. As the flue gases condense the heat exchanger becomes wet, which makes it more susceptible to corrosion. To avoid this, these boilers have to be made of corrosion resistant materials, making them a little more expensive than lower efficiency non-condensing models. Over a few years this additional costs can be recouped from lower fuel bills.
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What are the benefits to me of a HE boiler?
Just one:
- you will save money
- in effect you will get a permanent discount on your gas bills of up to 35%
It will also benefit the environment, (Nox and reduced CO2) and a regularly serviced system with low running costs may be an added feature if you ever sell up and move house.
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How much will I save?
You will always save money by fitting a HE boiler how much depends on:
- how inefficient is the old boiler you are replacing?
- what size house you live in?
Broadly, if you live in a 1 or 2 bedroom flat, you will save up to £100 a year. If you live in a detached house, you will save up to £200 a year. The bigger you fuel use - the more you save .
High Efficiency boilers are designed to fit as easily onto an existing system as a new standard efficiency boiler, with no changes to radiators.
Your installer will need to fit a drain for the condensate. This is not harmful - it is a very weak acid, like vinegar, and can be tapped into your existing drainage system easily.
A HE boiler will emit a plume of vapour. All boilers do this in cold conditions, but it is more noticeable with a HE boiler - because it scrubs so much heat from the flue gases, the water vapour they contain drops below the 'dew point' and either stays as condensate in the boiler or emerges as harmless water vapour from the flue. If this pluming becomes a nuisance, if it is emitted over a path way for example, then this can be easily remedied using the Glow-worm Plume Management Kit, which redirects the pluming.
There is huge difference in flue gas temperature of a HE boiler compared to non-condensing. This is something that is directly represented in the reduction in cost per household.
Payback
You will enjoy reduced gas bills the moment you fit a HE boiler.
If you set that against the extra cost of buying the boiler, the savings will outweigh the cost within 2 to 3 years.
This depends on various factors including house size.
But after that the boiler will last for many years and the savings will increase in line with fuel costs.
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How will I know when it's saving me money?
You will see the difference in your gas bills immediately.
When you see the boiler pluming you know it's saving you money.
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Why choose Glow-worm?
Glow-worm have invested heavily in research and development and latest engineering technology to produce a suite of High Efficiency and High Performance boilers to meet every different application. Our commitment to engineering excellence is demonstrated in all aspects of our product and after sales service to all our customers ensuring we meet and then exceed guidelines for energy efficiency and environmental considerations.
With over a decade of producting High Efficiency boilers, we are proud to be the leader in High Efficiency.
Please explore the rest of this site to see why Glow-worm is the right choice for high efficiency.
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