Compare Central Heating

The easiest way to understand central heating is to categorize the different systems based on the energy they use for heating.

Heating by burning wood, oil or gas

Fuel (wood, oil, gas, etc.) is burned in a boiler to heat water (sometimes gas) then transmitted through radiators or underfloor heating.
It requires a system built around a boiler and pipe network.
It is renowned for its reliability and efficiency.
Ecological heating using wood is considered a renewable energy.

Integrates the functions of heat production and distribution in the same device: radiator or underfloor heating.
Unrestrictive: just needs to be plugged into the mains electricity supply.
Sometimes criticized for producing dry heat. However, new models are more comfortable. It is always possible to use a humidifier.

Two main types:

Heat pump: heats the whole house.
Solar: not normally sufficient to heat the whole house. Needs to be supplemented by an auxiliary heater .

Technologically they are more complex and therefore more expensive to buy. However, much cheaper to use.

Comparative performance and environmental impact of heating boiler, electric and renewable energy
		PERFORMANCE	ENVIRONMENT
COMBUSTION SYSTEM (BOILER)	Gas	Very good	Poor Fossil fuels CO2 emissions (greenhouse gas emissions)
	LPG tank
	Fuel
	Wood		Very Good Renewable energy, good CO2 balance
ELECTRIC		Very good Good rapid heating	Good Clean energy, especially if nuclear
RENEWABLE ENERGY	Solar	Not enough to heat a home Need extra heating OK for DHW	Fine
	Heat pump	Good Need for additional heating for certain types of pumps or harsh winter climates Much higher performance *	Very Good Renewable energy, but works partly on electricity

* Yield = ratio between energy consumption and heat output depends on the source of energy and the quality of the product.

Heating Systems

Types of heating system

Hot Water

Heating system Estimates