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Boilers 101: How Boilers Work
Boilers burn fuel (natural gas or LP) to heat water that heats your home as part of a closed hydronic heating system. This video explains how Navien high-efficiency condensing heating boilers work, what’s inside, and which factors determine the best boiler for your home.
Learn More About Navien Boilers
Navien’s advanced burner technology offers the highest energy efficiency in the industry - up to 95% AFUE. Learn more about the benefits of Navien residential boilers.
Navien’s NHB series boilers are compact, easy to install, and include our advanced burner system.
Navien’s NFB-H series boilers are the most advanced condensing fire tube boilers available today, with capacity for homes of all sizes.
What is a Boiler?
A boiler is the heart of your hydronic heating system
In the simplest terms, a boiler is a vessel that heats water, which is then pumped through radiators, baseboard heaters or other components of a closed hydronic heating system.
Boiler Applications
Most boilers are only used for hydronic space heating.
Boilers that are used for both space heating and domestic hot water production are called combi-boilers.
Navien boiler external connections
Boilers are fairly straightforward – on the outside you’ll see connections for combustion air, exhaust, boiler return, boiler supply, gas and condensate drainage.
Boilers internal components
On the inside, the critical components of a boiler include the heat exchanger, controls, fan, burner, gas valve, control wiring and internal piping.
How a Navien Boiler Works
Similar to a forced-air heating system, your home’s thermostat senses a drop in temperature and signals the boiler to turn on.
Using natural gas or propane, the boiler heats the water in the system. This heated water then flows through your house via radiators, hydronic baseboards or in-floor radiant heating systems to warm your home.
As the system heats the home/space, the water cools and returns to the boiler to be reheated.
This process continues until your home reaches the set temperature and your thermostat calls for the boiler to turn off. Your boiler remains in this standby mode until the thermostat calls again for heat.
Selecting a Navien boiler type
When selecting the right boiler for your home, there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration, including space heating capacity requirements, efficiency, fuel type, heating type, physical size, and boiler output.
Navien requires that every boiler sizing and installation be performed by a qualified contractor and conform to the installation and operation manual included with the unit.
Boilers 101: Summary
Navien offers a wide range of high efficiency, high capacity home heating boilers. Navien has 6 residential condensing boiler models that are available from 55,000 BTU/h up to 199,900 BTU/h.
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