Use Your Boiler to Pay Less for Your Hot Water

Posted: January 27, 2016

Posted: January 27, 2016
Posted by: Gerald Kuller, Home Comfort Manager

A lot of our customers are now using their boilers not only to heat their homes, but to produce domestic hot water too. That means hot water for sinks, tubs, showers, washing machines, etc…

How is this possible?

Wilson Oil and Propane can install an indirect-fired water heater, which we connect to your boiler. In fact, most of the boiler installations we do now include the addition of an indirect-fired water heater.

This type of water-heating system provides a unique advantage for people with boilers. It’s a practical and economical way to heat your water—whether you have an oil, natural gas or propane hydronic heating system.

This water heating system is most efficient in the winter when the boiler is being used to heat both the home and domestic (tap) water. In effect, no extra energy is needed to heat your domestic water—as opposed to a traditional water tank with its own oil or gas burner or electric heating elements.

In other words, all the hot water produced during the winter months is virtually FREE. This can help you reduce your hot water costs by hundreds of dollars a year! You’ll see the biggest savings if you convert your electric water heater to either an oil-fired or gas-fired indirect water heating system.

How an Indirect-Fired Water Heater Works

• The boiler circulates hot water to a coil inside the water heater.
• The heat from the boiler’s hot water transfers from the coil to the water in the tank.
• Because the indirect fired water heater gets installed as a separate zone with its own thermostat, the boiler “understands” when it needs to produce heat for that tank only—and not send unnecessary heat into the home.

Please contact us if you would like to explore your options in new water heaters. You can read more about water heaters here.