Throughout Europe, boilers are the most popular appliance for providing central heating and hot water in the home.
Depending on what fuel is available in the home, boilers can run on natural gas, liquid gas, oil or electricity.
Boilers can be wall hung or floor standing. Wall hung boilers are more popular because they take up less space than floor standing boilers. However, traditionally, floor standing boilers have a higher output and are especially suitable for larger properties.
Types of boiler:
Open vent boilers - Sometimes known as heat only boilers, provide central heating and hot water using a boiler, a hot water storage cylinder housed in an airing cupboard and water tanks in the loft.
Combination boilers - Combination boilers or combis, provide central heating and instant hot water so they do not need a separate water storage cylinder.
System boilers - System boilers are often referred to as sealed system boilers. They provide central heating and hot water via a storage cylinder housed in an airing cupboard. However, there is no need for water tanks in the loft, as with an open vent boiler.
Some boilers have an integral hot water storage tank. These combination-store, or combi store, boilers are usually floor standing.
Boilers can be either conventional or condensing.
The term condensing, or high efficiency, means the boiler recovers more heat from the amount of oil or gas that is burnt, making it more efficient than conventional boilers. By recovering and using heat that would otherwise be lost up the flue, the best condensing boilers are more than 90% efficient. Although condensing boilers cost more initially, they are very economical to use, and can pay back the initial extra cost in fuel savings. Condensing boilers also have lower emissions of toxic gasses making them much better for the environment. - Description added by: Baxi + Add your own description
The word 'offsetting' simply means 'compensating for'. 'Carbon offsetting' means compensating for carbon dioxide (CO2) that's being generated. We need to compensate for CO2 because of the threats posed by climate change.
Realistically, no-one can expect people to cut out absolutely everything they do that leads to CO2 emissions. We all can - and must - reduce the CO2 we're responsible for, but offsetting means we can compensate for the CO2 we can't avoid creating. Carbon offsetting schemes work by reducing CO2 that would otherwise be created, or by removing existing CO2 from the atmosphere.
And who benefits from the carbon offsetting? Who gets compensated? The answer is Planet Earth - and absolutely everyone and everything that lives on it. - Description added by: David Lockie + Add your own description
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