Central Heating Insurance guide Do you want to find out more about boilers and heating systems?  Fair enough.  Your heating system plays a very important role in your home.  Over 22 million households in the UK rely on their central heating system to warm their home and provide hot water.

Boilers and heating systems

Most modern central heating systems use water to move heat throughout the house.  The boiler provides the heat but it's the pump that moves the heated water from the boiler through the pipe work to the radiators, and back to the boiler for re-heating.

There are many types of heating system that can be installed, and tailored to your own preferences.  A carefully designed and installed heating system will be trouble free and low-cost.

•    Different types of boilers
•    Different types of heating system
•    How do I insure my boiler and heating system?

Different types of boilers

Free-standing or wall-mounted

Free standing boilers are built to stand on the floor and are usually quite slim so that they can fit between kitchen units.  The majority of modern boilers are wall mounted.  They have light, compact heat exchangers.

Condensing boilers

Condensing boilers are very efficient.  They waste almost no heat through the flue, so can cost less to run.  Although they can be initially more expensive than non-condensing boilers, for homes with three or more bedrooms they usually prove to be cost effective within several years.

Typically, a condensing gas boiler might have a seasonal efficiency of around 88% compared to non-condensing boiler at about 75%, and an older type boiler at 55%-60%.

Combination boilers

Combination boilers are very common, accounting for over half of all new boiler sales within the UK.  They are small, easy to install and cheap to run.  Combination boilers supply the home with both central heating and hot water, but not simultaneously.  With a combination boiler, there is no heat output to the radiators when hot water is running.  Homeowners can experience a low water rate, as combination boilers only feed one tap at a time.

Different types of heating system

Electric storage heaters

Storage heaters are designed to take advantage of cheaper night time rates.  Storage heaters contain special heat-retaining bricks.  Each night, these bricks are warmed through, and then the heat is slowly released during the day.

Low water content boilers

This type of boiler only holds a only a small amount of water in its heat exchanger, which makes it small and very economical to run. These boilers must be fitted to a fully pumped system. Most modern boilers are fan flue with electronic ignition, so there is no pilot to re-light.

System boilers

Similar to a low water content boiler, system boilers have all the necessary components to fit to a sealed, fully pumped heating system. This makes them larger but easy to install.

How do I insure my boiler and heating system?

energyhelpline.com can help you choose the perfect heating insurance policy. We have collected all the necessary information so you can research the whole market by visiting just one website.

When you’ve chosen the heating insurance package that’s best for you, you can apply quickly and easily using our online sign-up forms.  You will then receive a confirmation email and the insurance company will inform you when your policy will go live.  Generally, it will take a week for your heating insurance policy to come into effect.

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