Heating area
The maximum area of the building 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 even more so 50-year-old houses. Accordingly, this paragraph is more of a reference nature and does not allow a full assessment of 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; see Heat output for more details. In our case, the heating area is calculated according to the formula "boiler power multiplied by 8", which is approximately equivalent to use in houses that are more than a dozen years old.
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.
Coolant min. T
The minimum operating temperature of the heat medium in the boiler system when operating in heating mode.
DHW circuit max. pressure
The maximum pressure in the hot water circuit (DHW) at which it can operate for a long time without failures and damage. See "Heating circuit maximum pressure".
DHW max. T
The maximum temperature of domestic hot water supplied by a dual-circuit boiler. For comparison, we note that water begins to be perceived as warm, starting from 40 °C, and in centralized hot water supply systems, the temperature of hot water is usually about 60 °C (and should not exceed 75 °C). Accordingly, even in the most modest models, this figure is about 45 °C, in the vast majority of modern boilers, it is not lower than 50 °C, and in some models, it can even exceed 90 °C.
Also when heated to a given temperature, the temperature difference ("ΔT") may be different — depending on the initial temperature of the cold water. And the performance of the boiler in the DHW mode directly depends on ΔT; see below for performance details.
Performance (ΔT=25°C)
The performance of a dual-circuit boiler in the DHW supply mode when the water is heated by 25 °C above the initial temperature.
Performance is the maximum amount of hot water the unit can produce in a minute. It depends not only on the power of the heater as such, but also on how much water needs to be heated: the higher the temperature difference ΔT between cold and heated water, the more energy is required for heating and the smaller the volume of water with which the boiler can handle in this mode. Therefore, the performance of dual-circuit boilers is indicated for certain options ΔT — namely 25 °C, 30 °C and/or 50 °C. And it’s worth choosing according to this indicator, taking into account the initial water temperature and taking into account what kind of hot water demand there is at the installation site of the boiler (how many points of water intake, what are the temperature requirements, etc.). Recommendations on this subject can be found in special sources.
We also recall that water begins to be felt by a person as warm somewhere from 40 °C, as hot — somewhere from 50 °C, and the temperature of hot water in central water supply systems (according to official standards) is at least 60 °C. Thus, for the boiler to operate in the ΔT=25 °C mode and produce at least warm water at 40 °C, the initial temperature of cold water must be at least 15 °C (15+25=40 °C). It is a rather high value — for example, in a centralized water supply system, cold water...reaches 15 °C, except in summer, when the water pipes warm up noticeably; the same applies to water supplied from wells. So this performance is a very conditional value. The boiler does not work so often with a temperature difference of 25 °C. Nevertheless, the data for ΔT=25°C is still often given in the specifications — including for advertising purposes since it is in this mode that the performance figures are the highest. In addition, this information may be useful if the boiler is used as a pre-heater, and heating to operating temperature is provided by another device, such as an electric boiler or instantaneous water heater.
Performance (ΔT ~30 °C)
The performance of a dual-circuit boiler in hot water mode when water is heated by approximately 30 °C above the initial temperature.
Performance is the maximum amount of hot water the unit can produce in a minute. It depends not only on the power of the heater as such, but also on how much water needs to be heated: the higher the temperature difference ΔT between cold and heated water, the more energy is required for heating and the smaller the volume of water with which the boiler can handle in this mode. Therefore, the performance of dual-circuit boilers is indicated for certain ΔT — namely 25 °C, 30 °C and/or 50 °C. And it is worth choosing according to this indicator, taking into account the initial water temperature and taking into account what kind of hot water demand there is at the installation site of the boiler (how many points of water intake, what are the temperature requirements, etc.). Recommendations on this subject can be found in special sources.
We also recall that water begins to be felt by a person as warm somewhere from 40 °C, as hot — somewhere from 50 °C and the temperature of hot water in central water supply systems (according to official standards) is at least 60 °C. Thus, for the boiler to operate in the mode ΔT ~ 30 °C and give out at least warm water at 40 °C, the initial temperature of cold water should be about 10 °C (10 + 30=40 °C). A similar temperature can be found in wells in the warm season, and cold water in the ce...ntralized water supply system often warms up to 10 °C in the warm season. However, boilers, including dual-circuit boilers, are switched on mainly in cold weather, when the initial water temperature is noticeably lower. Accordingly, if the boiler is used as the main water heater, heating to the claimed temperatures (see "DHW min. T", "DHW max. T") often requires a greater ΔT than 30 °C, and the performance is less than indicated in this paragraph. But when operating in the preheating mode (when the water is heated to the desired temperature by an additional device like a boiler), this parameter describes the capabilities of the unit very reliably.
"Summer" mode
It is an operating mode designed for the warm season. In this mode, it works only to provide domestic hot water, and the heating is turned off. If the boiler is equipped with an outside temperature sensor, this sensor is also switched off in
summer mode so that the heating does not turn on at night when the outside temperature drops.
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.
