If you're struggling with replacing your old boiler or choosing a model for the first installation in a new home, our advice is to go all out on a condensing boiler.
The reasons for this choice, which we will then illustrate in the article, are essentially four:
- compliance with current regulations;
- greater efficiency and lower energy consumption;
- lower emissions;
- access to tax breaks for energy efficiency improvements in homes.
But let's go in order, and let's try to understand what a condensing boiler is, how it works, and what the difference is with a "traditional" boiler and how to access the currently available incentives.
What is a condensing boiler?
A condensing boiler is a device designed for the production of domestic hot water and independent heating in the home - therefore, by activating the radiators - which, unlike a traditional boiler, disperses less heat, recovering some of it through the condensation of water vapor produced by exhaust fumes.
What does this mean?
Traditional boilers - otherwise known as type B11 boilers or more simply B - produce hot water by burning a fossil fuel, gas, or methane. In the process, they generate a certain amount of heat that is lost, especially through the still-hot flue gases that escape from the chimney. In short, useful heat is lost into the atmosphere, which could otherwise be reused for hot water and radiators. This is, in effect, a waste, especially considering that the heat produced (and wasted) was generated specifically to heat the home. It's a contradiction, don't you think?
Well, condensing boilers do what traditional models can't do, that is, retain and use that excess heat otherwise expelled, through an exchanger, to obtain efficiencies greater than 100% (we are referring, in this case, at PCI, Potere Calorifico Inferiore).
The principle, ultimately, is very simple: the lower the losses generated, the higher the boiler's efficiency.
Therefore, the condensing boiler guarantees a higher efficiency than the traditional.
How a condensing boiler works
To understand how a combustion boiler works we can use a very simple example, but it helps to understand.
Try to imagine a pot full of water boiling on the stove.
When As water heats up, it begins to produce heat, until it reaches its peak with evaporation, which disperses into the air of your kitchen.
Well, the traditional boiler is the equivalent of a pot of boiling water left uncovered. In this way, much of the heat generated is lost.
The condensing boiler, on the other hand, is like a pot on the stove with a hermetic lid, which can then retain heat and use it to bring water to the desired temperature in less time and with much lower gas consumption.
With the recovered heat, the condensing boiler can do two very useful things:
We have tried to simplify the operation of the condensing boiler as much as possible, which is actually very complex and sophisticated. If you'd like to learn more, we recommend reading this CNA brochure, which goes into much more detail. Ensuring greater efficiency, lower consumption, and lower gas emissions climate-altering,for some years, condensing boilers have become the new standard. In fact, starting from 26 September 2015, the European Directive 2009/125/EC, which established the end of the production of traditional open-chamber boilers (type B) and established that they can no longer be installed in our homes (except in some particular cases where special measures are required). exemptions). This means that, in the event of replacing or installing a new boiler, you will have no choice but to opt for a condensing model. Be careful, though, because this legal requirement is actually very convenient for the consumer. Condensing boilers are much more convenient than traditional ones, and can can save a homeowner hundreds of euros on their heating bills every year. By burning fewer fuels and reducing a home's carbon emissions, a condensing boiler is also a more environmentally friendly option. If you're looking to install a new boiler in your home, we invite you to take a look at our range of condensing boilers and contact us for more information. As mentioned in the introduction, the condensing boiler is one of the energy efficiency devices for which access to certain tax benefits is provided. Specifically, we are referring to the following IRPEF or IRES deductions: What are the interventions referred to? For the expenses incurred in 2020 and 2021, it is possible to opt, as an alternative to the direct use of the tax deduction, for the transfer of the credit
The condensing boiler and current legislation
Condensing boilers and 50% and 65% tax breaks
For full details, please consult this ENEA brochure.