What is central heating?  

OK, let's get down to the very basics. Central heating literally means heating from a central source - so a gas boiler for instance. One you might find in your bathroom, kitchen or under the stairs.

Central heating systems have been around for a long time. Even the Romans had central heating. The 'central' in their heating system was an open fire under the floor. The heat came up from the fire and was then channelled through ducts built into the floor. It's all the rage these days but underfloor heating has been around for Millenia.

In a modern central heating system, water is used as the medium to conduct heat from the central source (a boiler) to the areas of the building that need heating. So, water is heated and circulated through 'heat radiators', more commonly known as 'radiators'.

Although the main heating device is called a boiler, it rarely boils the water it heats. The standard operating temperature is 78 degrees Centigrade - which is still very hot.

Most houses use a combination boiler as the heat source. A combination boiler is popular because as the name suggests it heats water for the radiators and the taps and showers. They are small and don't require a water storage tank as they heat water on demand direct from the mains water supply.

A modern gas central heating system utilizing a combination boiler is usually the most cost effective method of heating a house. When they are working correctly, they turn themselves on & off automatically, are frugal with gas - typically around 90% efficient. It will keep the house warm and at the correct temperature and provide instant hot water to any tap or shower in the house. It's nothing short of a modern miracle and something our ancient ancestors would consider black magic!

To recap then, central heating works broadly like this - gas is burned in a boiler or electricity is used to heat a filament that heats water from the mains water supply, which is circulated through pipes to both the radiators to heat rooms or straight to taps that release piping hot water for your bath.

So every time you feel like having a moan about your fuel bill, consider how much worse it could be if you had to sit around the house in swaddling and a parker jacket to keep warm and boil the kettle for a bath - you don't know you're born!

Need a new boiler, then? Because - yes, we at Serviceteam are fully qualified to install the miracle that is a boiler replacement in London.

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