When purchasing a new boiler for your home, efficiency is the name of the game.

The development of condensing technology and improvements to conventional boilers have dramatically increased efficiency levels over the past decade.

What many homeowners don't realize, however, is that improvements to your home's heating system don't have to stop there!

Let us show you several products and systems that can improve your home's heating efficiency even after a boiler's installation.

Smart Thermostats

Smart thermostats integrate with a user's wireless device and have the following features to varying degrees, depending on the model:

• Over time, smart thermostats identify patterns in your temperature settings. Maybe you want your room warmer first thing in the morning after getting out of bed, but then things can cool down after they leave for work. The smart thermostat will learn all this and automatically program itself to maximize comfort.
  
  
• Some smart thermostats come with sensors that can tell if someone is in a room. If so, the thermostat adjusts the temperature for maximum comfort. If integrated with a mobile device, certain thermostats can track a user's location and, for example, start warming up the house when the homeowner is driving home from a late-night party.
  
  
• Weather tracking is a feature found on some smart thermostats that allows them to monitor outdoor temperatures and adjust indoor temperatures accordingly. For example, if the weather forecast calls for a major warm-up, the smart thermostat will make sure to keep the home cool enough.
  
  

Outdoor Reset Control

During the spring and autumn months, outdoor temperatures can shift dramatically on a day-to-day basis. Some days can be mildly chilly, with others descending to the bitter cold.

Your boiler doesn't know the difference, however, and responds to them all the same: full throttle to the burner until the required indoor temperature is met.

An outdoor reset control works with your boiler to keep overall system water temperature lower when outdoor temperatures are higher. This not only reduces indoor temperature fluctuations but also provides a much more efficient heating process for your home.

Variable Speed Pump

A variable speed pump has a multitude of practical applications in hydronic heating, but for now, let's focus on how it increases your home's overall energy efficiency level.

Having a variable speed pump allows the pump to modulate its speed precisely according to your home's current heating demand rather than switching between a few pre-specified speeds or not switching at all.

It gives you the best of both worlds: a powerful pump that can deliver high throughput when needed, yet can dial back its speed (and, as a result, electrical energy needs) when your home only needs a few degrees of temperature adjustment.

High-Efficiency Combination Boiler

While smart thermostats and variable speed pumps are external components of the boiler system, what about the boiler itself?

For maximum efficiency that will impact both your space and domestic water heating, a combination boiler is the way to go.

A combination (combi) boiler combines a boiler and tankless domestic water heater into one, compact unit. There is no hot water tank. Instead, the boiler circulates hot water through a heat exchanger, which in turn heats incoming cold water on demand. The heated domestic water then flows to fixtures throughout the home.

Combination boilers offer you higher efficiency since water is being heated only on-demand and not throughout the day. They also cut down on the wait for hot water because there isn't a finite amount stored in a tank. Finally, they offer significant space savings by combining two heating functions into one unit.

Insulated Boiler Jacket

An insulated boiler jacket keeps the heat from burned fuel inside of your boiler where it belongs. Boilers with a plain metal jacket or a casing with older insulation can release surprisingly large amounts of heat energy to the outside environment, preventing the heat from going where it was originally intended to go: your boiler's heat exchanger.

Here at eComfort.com, most of the boilers we sell already come with well-insulated boiler jackets. Individually purchased boiler jackets should be boiler-specific, though, so make sure you have the right one for your boiler.

There are many additional accessories you can purchase to optimize your boiler's performance. Browse our site or give one of our experts a call today to learn more about accessorizing your boiler. Get everything you need to finish out your install with convenient trim packages.

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