Back boiler
A back boiler is a device which is fitted to a residential heating stove or open fireplace to enable it to provide both room heat and domestic hot water or central heating. The device is water filled heat exchanger enclosed at the rear of the burning chamber, with a hot water output at the top of the chamber and a cold water feed at the bottom.
Water circuit
The back boiler is typically used with a gravity feed circuit to the hot water cylinder, with a vent or overflow to prevent excess pressure build up. It can also be connected to a series of radiators to provide central heating but usually requires an electrical pump to be fitted to circulate the hot water, some systems can use the gravity circuit to include radiators.
Advantages
A back boiler can improve the efficiency of a stove by acting as a heat-sink and can also act as a method of extracting additional heat from the flue system which would otherwise have been lost. Manufacturers of stoves with back boilers quote efficiency figures of up to 80% on oil-fed models.
Safety
Back boilers require that the hot water or central heating system be able to disperse all of the heat captured from the fire, otherwise boiling or overheating of the water can occur. Back boilers are strictly regulated in Ireland and the UK following explosions relating to incorrectly serviced or installed back boilers.[1]
A gravity circuit is commonly employed to connect the back boiler to an indirect hot water cylinder and sometimes one or more radiators. This hot water cylinder needs to be placed at a higher level than the boiler so that hot water will flow to it from the boiler via convection. This is a safety feature to ensure the boiler will not overheat in case of power outage or failure of the circulation pump [2]
References
External links
- Example of an open fireplace back boiler by Grant Engineering Ltd
- v
- t
- e
concepts
- Air changes per hour
- Bake-out
- Building envelope
- Convection
- Dilution
- Domestic energy consumption
- Enthalpy
- Fluid dynamics
- Gas compressor
- Heat pump and refrigeration cycle
- Heat transfer
- Humidity
- Infiltration
- Latent heat
- Noise control
- Outgassing
- Particulates
- Psychrometrics
- Sensible heat
- Stack effect
- Thermal comfort
- Thermal destratification
- Thermal mass
- Thermodynamics
- Vapour pressure of water
- Absorption-compression heat pump
- Absorption refrigerator
- Air barrier
- Air conditioning
- Antifreeze
- Automobile air conditioning
- Autonomous building
- Building insulation materials
- Central heating
- Central solar heating
- Chilled beam
- Chilled water
- Constant air volume (CAV)
- Coolant
- Cross ventilation
- Dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS)
- Deep water source cooling
- Demand controlled ventilation (DCV)
- Displacement ventilation
- District cooling
- District heating
- Electric heating
- Energy recovery ventilation (ERV)
- Firestop
- Forced-air
- Forced-air gas
- Free cooling
- Heat recovery ventilation (HRV)
- Hybrid heat
- Hydronics
- Ice storage air conditioning
- Kitchen ventilation
- Mixed-mode ventilation
- Microgeneration
- Passive cooling
- Passive daytime radiative cooling
- Passive house
- Passive ventilation
- Radiant heating and cooling
- Radiant cooling
- Radiant heating
- Radon mitigation
- Refrigeration
- Renewable heat
- Room air distribution
- Solar air heat
- Solar combisystem
- Solar cooling
- Solar heating
- Thermal insulation
- Thermosiphon
- Underfloor air distribution
- Underfloor heating
- Vapor barrier
- Vapor-compression refrigeration (VCRS)
- Variable air volume (VAV)
- Variable refrigerant flow (VRF)
- Ventilation
- Water heat recycling
- Air conditioner inverter
- Air door
- Air filter
- Air handler
- Air ionizer
- Air-mixing plenum
- Air purifier
- Air source heat pump
- Attic fan
- Automatic balancing valve
- Back boiler
- Barrier pipe
- Blast damper
- Boiler
- Centrifugal fan
- Ceramic heater
- Chiller
- Condensate pump
- Condenser
- Condensing boiler
- Convection heater
- Compressor
- Cooling tower
- Damper
- Dehumidifier
- Duct
- Economizer
- Electrostatic precipitator
- Evaporative cooler
- Evaporator
- Exhaust hood
- Expansion tank
- Fan
- Fan coil unit
- Fan filter unit
- Fan heater
- Fire damper
- Fireplace
- Fireplace insert
- Freeze stat
- Flue
- Freon
- Fume hood
- Furnace
- Gas compressor
- Gas heater
- Gasoline heater
- Grease duct
- Grille
- Ground-coupled heat exchanger
- Ground source heat pump
- Heat exchanger
- Heat pipe
- Heat pump
- Heating film
- Heating system
- HEPA
- High efficiency glandless circulating pump
- High-pressure cut-off switch
- Humidifier
- Infrared heater
- Inverter compressor
- Kerosene heater
- Louver
- Mechanical room
- Oil heater
- Packaged terminal air conditioner
- Plenum space
- Pressurisation ductwork
- Process duct work
- Radiator
- Radiator reflector
- Recuperator
- Refrigerant
- Register
- Reversing valve
- Run-around coil
- Sail switch
- Scroll compressor
- Solar chimney
- Solar-assisted heat pump
- Space heater
- Smoke canopy
- Smoke damper
- Smoke exhaust ductwork
- Thermal expansion valve
- Thermal wheel
- Thermostatic radiator valve
- Trickle vent
- Trombe wall
- TurboSwing
- Turning vanes
- Ultra-low particulate air (ULPA)
- Whole-house fan
- Windcatcher
- Wood-burning stove
- Zone valve
and control
- Air flow meter
- Aquastat
- BACnet
- Blower door
- Building automation
- Carbon dioxide sensor
- Clean air delivery rate (CADR)
- Control valve
- Gas detector
- Home energy monitor
- Humidistat
- HVAC control system
- Infrared thermometer
- Intelligent buildings
- LonWorks
- Minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV)
- Normal temperature and pressure (NTP)
- OpenTherm
- Programmable communicating thermostat
- Programmable thermostat
- Psychrometrics
- Room temperature
- Smart thermostat
- Standard temperature and pressure (STP)
- Thermographic camera
- Thermostat
- Thermostatic radiator valve
trades,
and services
- Architectural acoustics
- Architectural engineering
- Architectural technologist
- Building services engineering
- Building information modeling (BIM)
- Deep energy retrofit
- Duct cleaning
- Duct leakage testing
- Environmental engineering
- Hydronic balancing
- Kitchen exhaust cleaning
- Mechanical engineering
- Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing
- Mold growth, assessment, and remediation
- Refrigerant reclamation
- Testing, adjusting, balancing
organizations
- Indoor air quality (IAQ)
- Passive smoking
- Sick building syndrome (SBS)
- Volatile organic compound (VOC)
- ASHRAE Handbook
- Building science
- Fireproofing
- Glossary of HVAC terms
- Warm Spaces
- World Refrigeration Day
- Template:Home automation
- Template:Solar energy