Heating area
A very conditional parameter that slightly characterizes the purpose based on the size of the room. And depending on the height of the ceilings, layout, building design and equipment, actual values may differ significantly. However, this item represents the maximum recommended area of the room that the boiler can effectively heat. However, it is worth considering that different buildings have different thermal insulation properties and modern buildings are much “warmer” than 30-year-old and especially 50-year-old houses. Accordingly, this item is more of a reference nature and does not allow us to fully assess the actual heated area. There is a formula by which you can derive the maximum heating area, knowing the useful power of the boiler and the climatic conditions in which it will be used; For more information on this, see "Useful Power". In our case, the heating area is calculated using the formula “boiler power multiplied by 8”, which is approximately equivalent to use in houses that are several decades old.
Heat output
It is the maximum useful power of the boiler.
The ability of the device to heat a room of a particular area directly depends on this parameter; by power, you can approximately determine the heating area, if this parameter is not indicated in the specs. The most general rule says that for a dwelling with a ceiling height of 2.5 – 3 m, at least 100 W of heat power is needed to heat 1 m2 of area. There are also more detailed calculation methods that take into account specific factors: the climatic zone, heat gain from the outside, design features of the heating system, etc.; they are described in detail in special sources. Also note that in dual-circuit boilers (see "Type"), part of the heat generated is used to heat water for the hot water supply; this must be taken into account when evaluating the output power.
It is believed that boilers with a power of more than 30 kW must be installed in separate rooms (boiler rooms).
Min. heat output
The minimum heat output at which the heating boiler can operate in constant mode. Operation at minimum power allows you to reduce the number of on-and-off cycles that adversely affect the durability of heating boilers.
Power consumption
The maximum electrical power consumed by the boiler during operation. For non-electric models (see Energy source), this power is usually low, as it is required mainly for control circuits and it can be ignored. Regarding electric boilers, it is worth noting that the power consumption in them is most often somewhat higher than the useful one since part of the energy is inevitably dissipated and not used for heating. Accordingly, the ratio of useful and consumed power can be used to evaluate the efficiency of such a boiler.
Outdoor temperature sensor
The outdoor temperature sensor allows you to monitor the outdoor weather conditions and automatically adjust the operation of the boiler to them — increase the heating power when the outside temperature drops and decrease it when it rises.
Heated floor mode
The boiler has a special
mode for underfloor heating systems.
Underfloor heating differs from conventional heating systems primarily by a
lower coolant temperature — otherwise the floor could be too hot for comfortable use (plus, high temperatures are also undesirable for flooring and furniture installed on it). In addition, boilers with this function are distinguished by increased pump power. In order to ensure efficient circulation of the coolant through branched heating circuits that have rather high resistance.
Programmable thermostat
The presence of a programmable thermostat in the design of the boiler.
Programmable thermostat is a device that allows not only to maintain the temperature but also to programme the operation of the boiler for a certain time. The simplest programmable thermostats cover a day, and more advanced ones allow you to set the operating mode for individual days of the week. Anyway, this function provides additional convenience and eliminates the need to adjust the operation of the boiler manually. On the other hand, the presence of a programmable thermostat affects the cost.
Efficiency
The efficiency of the boiler.
For electric models (see "Energy source"), this parameter is calculated as the ratio of net power to consumed; in such models, indicators of 98 – 99% are not uncommon. For other boilers, the efficiency is the ratio of the amount of heat directly transferred to the water to the total heat amount released during combustion. In such devices, the efficiency is lower than in electric ones; for them, a parameter of more than 90% is considered good. An exception is gas condensing boilers (see the relevant paragraph), where the efficiency can even be higher than 100%. There is no violation of the laws of physics here. It is a kind of advertising trick: when calculating the efficiency, an inaccurate method is used that does not take into account the energy spent on the formation of water vapour. Nevertheless, formally everything is correct: the boiler gives out more thermal energy to the water than is released during the combustion of fuel since condensation energy is added to the combustion energy.
Max. gas consumption
Maximum gas consumption in the boiler with the corresponding energy source (see above). Achieved when the gas heater is operating at full capacity; with reduced power and consumption, respectively, will be lower.
Note that boilers of the same power may differ in gas consumption due to the difference in efficiency. While the more fuel-efficient models tend to cost more, the price difference pays off in gas savings.
