Besides gas, oil, and electric furnaces, quite a few homes use boiler heat, and not just older homes or large, older apartment buildings. The same heating and cooling service that sells new furnaces will sell new boilers, too. Boilers may be fueled with gas or heating oil, and they’re an efficient way to have a radiant heat system in your home. The heat from a boiler is consistent, and you won’t feel the drafty, blowing air from the vents like you will with a forced-air system.
Most homeowners are not familiar with Boiler Repair Chicago, so it’s a good idea to get a homeowner’s manual for the unit in your home. If you don’t have one, ask your local heating service to take a look at it during the off season, before you need it, and give it a checkup. Just like forced-air systems, boilers should be inspected once a year to make sure they are ready for the heavy use they will need to provide in the winter months.
If you have lots of service calls for Boiler Repair Chicago, it may be time to replace the unit. When you’re looking at new boilers, pay particular attention to the AFUE percentage of each one. AFUE is the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency number. It refers to the percentage of energy that the boiler converts into heat. The higher the AFUE percentage, the more efficient the boiler is.
For example, the Performance 96 Boiler from Carrier has an AFUE percentage of 96. That means that it uses 96 percent of the oil to warm the home, and only four percent is lost, which gets pushed out in the exhaust. This particular model has a heat rating input of anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000 BTUH, or British Thermal Units of Heat. It has a stainless steel heat exchanger and uses water as the heating format. Despite its output and efficiency, this unit is only 23 inches by 42 inches by 16 inches. That means it takes up less space than a forced-air furnace. You can expect to purchase a new boiler with a minimum of a 10-year limited warranty.
