Whilst we have the current range of boilers and they are very efficient and all that good stuff, they don't seem to promise the longevity that the old boilers did. ..or even the reliability. Good news for CORGI guys of course but bad news for the consumer.
There are very reliable boilers around. Try Atmos, ACV, Buderus, Viessmann. But you pay for them.
Obviously they are more complex but I wondered if there are any "new" technologies being developed for the next generation of boilers to combine efficiency with longevity ?
1. Air to water Mitsubuishi heat pumps Are closing the gap.
2. Combined Heat & Power boilers are here using an integral Stirling engine.
3. Zeolithe Heat Pump. Vaillant are doing ongoing research on Zeolithe heat pumps which run on natural gas providing DHW & CH. Zeolithe is a non-poisonous ceramic type of material consisting of aluminium oxide and silicium oxide. Operating on a combination of the substance zeolithe, which acts as an absorption system using water as a cooler. These units are floor mounted and resemble a typical boiler in appearance.
Zeolithe heating appliance’s use less energy and are more environment-friendly than electric heat pumps and gas boilers. It provides higher output than the current gas, oil and LPG boilers. Carbon-dioxide emissions are reduced by approximately 20 to 30%. After a number of lab tests a pilot series may be run. Hopes are high for this technology and research and development is well advanced.
4. SteamCell. Developed in Germany, the SteamCell (Micro Heat & Power) mCHP unit produces hot water and electrical power simultaneously. Packaging is neat, about the size of a PC computer tower unit. The SteamCell system can use numerous fuels: natural gas, LPG gas and oil. For other uses, petrol and hydrogen are also possible. Essentially, it is a highly efficient closed cycle steam engine producing heat turning an alternator. The estimated production price per kW is predicted to be up to ten times lower than fuel cell mCHP systems.
Iit is not a full off-the-grid system with two-way metering used to receive from and to supply the electricity grid - the electricity generating company buys surplus electricity from the householder.
5. Hydrosonic Pump Boiler Developed by Hydro Dynamics in Georgia, USA, and currently only in commercial use, this ingenious boiler uses an electric pump to create shock waves which in turn heat water. The resulting energy from shock waves is absorbed by water and subsequently heats the water turning to steam. A number of public buildings in Georgia have installed hydrosonic pumps and have reduced their heating and DHW bills by 30%. Compared to UK prices of natural gas hydrosonic boilers are more expensive to run, although cheaper than electrical element boilers.
The basis of operation is a rotating cylinder within a cylinder that harnesses the power of cavitation. This controlled cavitation generates shock waves, which convert mechanical energy into heat energy.
The hydrosonic pump power generator operates by taking water into the machine housing, where it is passed over a spinning cylinder. Holes in the cylinder, clearance between the cylinder and the housing and the cylinder rotational speed create a pressure differences within the water where tiny bubbles form and collapse. These collapsing bubbles generate shock waves that heat the water.
The process is scale free. The hydrosonic pump generator heats water in a totally different way and creates the heat in a totally different place - inside the liquid where it is needed. The hydrosonic pump has no heat transfer surfaces - the metal surfaces are actually cooler than the water. Scale will not migrate from a hotter liquid and build up on a cooler metal surface.
The Vizor Corporation in Moldavia sell a version of the hydrosonic pump, the Yusmar, that operates on similar principles as the Hydro Dynamics unit with minor differences. Many thousands of small domestic and larger commercial units have been sold in Moldova and Russia. The efficiency is said to be less than the American machines.
6. Hydrogen Hydrosonic Pump Boiler This technology generates plasma, a very hot gas, and heat from hydrogen, obtained from ordinary water, requiring no fuel in the process. If the technology becomes commercially proven, then the energy from this process could be used to cleanly and cheaply meet the world’s demand for electricity, motive, chemical, and mechanical energy, as well as thermal power.
There is a focus on heating and electrical applications. mCHP, including a direct converter to produce electricity. The system may be autonomous of the existing fuel infrastructure and very cost competitive with zero environmental impact. Electrical power generation with this plasma-to-electric power technology lends itself ideally to mCHP and microdistributed electrical power to replace the existing infrastructure. Residential/light commercial units, substation units, and a low voltage local distribution system could totally replace the current central power based system.
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