As the number of high-rise residential buildings in the UK’s major cities increases, so does the trend towards electric heating. Alan Clarke, technical support manager at Heatrae Sadia, discusses electric wet central heating boilers and the points to consider when specifying them.
From London to Manchester, Birmingham to Leeds the number of high-rise buildings in UK cities is on the up as developers look to bolster their return on investment for premium spots of land.
Many of these developments are dwellings, and when it comes to heating them evidence suggests that more and more developers are choosing electric options.
From the perspective of the specifier, selecting electric over gas means fewer restrictions, and no flueing, condensate drainage or plumbing issues to consider.
If the properties are to be rented, the landlord benefits from simplified maintenance, as the need for annual gas boiler services – for which gaining entry to individual dwellings is often problematic – is eliminated.
Electric wet central heating
Fortunately, the electric heating market has moved on from the inflexible, largely uncontrollable night storage heaters that it was once associated with. Today, innovative, sophisticated, controllable products that provide heating and hot water when the end user wants it have been developed.
One of the main advancements has been the introduction of electric wet central heating flow boilers. Compact, wall hung and efficient, electric wet central heating boilers are used in conjunction with conventional wet radiators or underfloor heating systems, and provide central heating on demand, when it’s actually needed.
To supply hot water to all-electric properties, electric boilers can be teamed with direct cylinders. High-performance unvented hot water cylinders, which are fed directly from the cold water mains, will provide the end user with powerful showers and fast filling baths. Our Megaflo Eco can deliver up to 72 litres per minute of hot water, and there won’t be a significant difference in performance if more than one tap or shower is used simultaneously (depending on the mains water pressure and flow rate coming into the property).
Product selection
Most end users will want an electric boiler to be as comparable to a gas boiler as possible, not only in terms of user benefits like controllability but also operating life. There are various electric boilers on the market, but it’s important to remember that they differ in terms of cost, longevity and quality.
To ensure that our Amptec electric boilers have a long operational life, several key features were designed into the product. For example, we use solid state technology for the switching of the heating elements to ensure a much longer switching life compared to what is achievable using conventional electro-mechanical devices such as relays and contactors.
In addition, the heating elements used in Amptec are designed to run at low Watts density, which is essential to prolong the boiler’s life, and we chose copper sheathed elements, as in this particular application they last longer than other materials.
In addition to Amptec, Heatrae Sadia has also combined an electric boiler and a hot water cylinder in a ‘one box’ solution. Electromax provides full wet central heating and unvented domestic hot water from one compact unit.Factory assembled and tested and pre-plumbed, it’s really simple to install.
Whilst electric heating was historically considered to be lacking in choice and flexibility, a series of innovations over the last few years has provided a raft of products that offer a viable solution for urban high-rise developments, and meet the needs of specifiers, landlords and residents.
For further information please visit www.heatraesadia.com.
[i] http://www.newlondonarchitecture.org/docs/james_ba...
