Hi all,
Have moved into a new house, and the current cold weather has highlighted the inadequacies of the current heating system.....
Not all my rads are getting hot. By turning off the hot rads, I can get each one to heat up by itself, so I don't think it's sludge - I just can't get them all hot at the same time, no matter how I try and balance the system.
Could my boiler be underpowered? And if it is, is rads not getting hot a symptom of an underpowered boiler? My theory is as follows, and I'd appreciate comments from someone who understands more about heating than me!
It's a large-ish house, 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom, and has been extended over time. I have an Ideal Minimiser SE80, about 10 years old, which the manual says is rated at about 23kW.
I have 14 radiators in my house, with a total surface area of 18.43 square metres. Looking in the FAQ on this site, it says that 0.6 square metres equates to about 1kW - so, by that calculation, I need about a 30kW boiler to heat my rads, plus, say 2kW for hot water = 32kW. Therefore, at 23kW (assuming that, at 10 years old, it can still produce even that) my boiler is seriously underpowered, and therefore I'm never going to be able to get all my rads hot at the same time, because the boiler just can't pump out the right amount of heat. Which means it's time for a new boiler.
Does that sound right? Any opinons welcome!
Have moved into a new house, and the current cold weather has highlighted the inadequacies of the current heating system.....
Not all my rads are getting hot. By turning off the hot rads, I can get each one to heat up by itself, so I don't think it's sludge - I just can't get them all hot at the same time, no matter how I try and balance the system.
Could my boiler be underpowered? And if it is, is rads not getting hot a symptom of an underpowered boiler? My theory is as follows, and I'd appreciate comments from someone who understands more about heating than me!
It's a large-ish house, 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom, and has been extended over time. I have an Ideal Minimiser SE80, about 10 years old, which the manual says is rated at about 23kW.
I have 14 radiators in my house, with a total surface area of 18.43 square metres. Looking in the FAQ on this site, it says that 0.6 square metres equates to about 1kW - so, by that calculation, I need about a 30kW boiler to heat my rads, plus, say 2kW for hot water = 32kW. Therefore, at 23kW (assuming that, at 10 years old, it can still produce even that) my boiler is seriously underpowered, and therefore I'm never going to be able to get all my rads hot at the same time, because the boiler just can't pump out the right amount of heat. Which means it's time for a new boiler.
Does that sound right? Any opinons welcome!