What Is a Conventional Boiler? Pros, Cons & More

Are you struggling to figure out which type of boiler is best for your home?

If you live in an older, larger property, a conventional boiler could be the perfect choice.

Read on to learn about:

• How they work
• The pros and cons
• Whether they are right for your property’s needs.

Please note: The following article is aimed at helping you understand conventional central heating systems. It’s always advisable to leave boiler installation, diagnosis, and repair work to a professional Gas Safe registered engineer.

What is a conventional boiler?

Conventional boilers are also known as regular, traditional, heat only, or open vent boilers.

Unlike combi boilers, a conventional boiler requires both a hot water cylinder and a cold water tank installed in the loft.

They are quite common in older homes with traditional central heating systems already installed.

How they work

Cold water from the loft tank is heated up in the hot water storage cylinder, which then feeds into your household’s taps and faucets.

A pump circulates the hot water to your home’s radiators. Meanwhile, a feed and expansion tank in your loft keeps your heating system’s water levels relatively constant.

This expansion tank also incorporates a safety device. This means if there is too much hot water in the system, it will fill the tank and then exit safely through an overflow.

However, regular boilers do not heat water on demand. You will need to programme your boiler to heat the water in your cylinder ahead of time so you have plenty for when you need it.

Deciding if a regular boiler is right for your home

1. Check your property size

Regular boilers can efficiently heat large homes with up to 7+ bedrooms and more than one bathroom.

If you have a large and busy family, this might be your ideal home heating solution.

2. Check your current layout

The most obvious way to tell if a regular boiler is suitable is to look at your current central heating setup.

If your home already has a boiler, a hot water cylinder, and a loft-installed tank, a like-for-like regular boiler swap will be much easier and cheaper for engineers.

They are also an excellent choice for homes with older radiators, as these older systems might not cope well with the higher water pressure supplied by modern system or combi boilers.

Pros of conventional boilers

High water volume

Because they don’t supply hot water directly from the mains, you can run multiple outlets at the same time without the water flow dwindling.

This is an excellent advantage it holds over combi boilers.

Solar compatibility

Modern condensing conventional boilers extract and recycle heat from flue gases, and they are highly compatible with solar energy systems.

This allows you to lower carbon emissions and save on energy bills.

Low pressure friendly

They are perfect for older homes in areas with low water pressure. And small leaks generally won’t cause a massive loss of pressure in your shower.

Cons of conventional boilers

Space requirements

A central heating system installed with a regular boiler takes up a lot of room due to the need for both a bulky hot water cylinder and a loft tank.

Installation costs

With all these components, the installation of a new regular system takes time, money, and effort. The cylinder also requires proper insulation, which could increase your costs further.

Waiting for heat

You only have access to as much hot water as your tank is able to hold. Because they don’t heat water on demand, you will have to wait for the water to heat up again if you run out.

Conventional boiler alternatives

If a conventional boiler isn’t right for your home, you might want to consider the alternatives:

Combi boilers

Combi boilers are an all-in-one home heating solution operating from one unit.

They don’t need a tank or cylinder, making them perfect for smaller homes, but they can’t run hot water to multiple faucets simultaneously without the pressure dropping.

System boilers

System boilers are similar to conventional boilers but don’t need a loft tank.

All key components are built into the boiler. This makes installation quicker for smaller households while still providing hot water to multiple bathrooms.

Expert boiler advice from Hometree

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Get in touch with Hometree.