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Type of hot water heating

HenryT
HenryT Member Posts: 128
Hi All, a buddy of mine is looking to purchase a house. The house he is interested in does not have a dedicated hot water heater.  The water is heated through the boiler (oil fired, steam system). What do you call this type of hot water heating?

is it efficient and do you recommend putting in a stand alone hot water heater?

Since there is not a huge tank, how does demand for hot water come into play?



Thanks for the info.

Comments

  • Mark Eatherton
    Mark Eatherton Member Posts: 5,858
    It depends....

    If it is a true tankless immersed coil system, and the boiler is being kept hot, waiting for the hot water load to come to it, then it is not efficient. Lots of hot deck standby losses occurring, most of which are not beneficial.



    The base efficiency could be boosted by adding more storage, and allowing the boiler to idle back to room condition whenever there is no call for either space heat of DHW. If you choose this route, make certain there are controls that will allow the boiler to get hot before you begin extracting heat, otherwise, the appliance may begin condensing, which it is probably not designed for.



    I think the term you are looking for is "semi-instantaneous tankless", also referred to as "side arm tankless".



    ME

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