Electric & Gas Boilers for Home Hydronic Heating Systems
Whether replacing an aging, inefficient system, installing in-floor heating in your garage or home, or looking for a back-up hydronic heating source for your new heat pump system, BPH Sales has a modern, condensing gas boiler for your system!
Did you know that we specialize in designing, building, and installing custom boiler systems? Contact us to learn how we can help you with your new boiler system or upgrade!
What is a boiler heating system?
A boiler heating system is a gas or electric unit that heats up a liquid, most times a water or glycol mixture, circulates the heated liquid to the required zones in a home, and then transfers the heat to that room or zone.
The transfer of the heat from the fluid can occur in a number of ways, such as using radiators, baseboard heaters, in-floor radiant heating, or a hydronic furnace.
Boiler systems are often also referred to as (but not necessarily completely correctly) Central Boilers, Heating Boilers, Condensing Boilers, High-efficiency Boilers, or In-floor Heating Boilers.
What is a Hydronic Heating System?
A hydronic heating system is any home heating system that uses a heated or cooled fluid circulated through a closed circuit. When heating, the heated fluid, most times a water or glycol mixture for lower freezing points in Canada, transfers the heat energy to the home or air inside the home. This transfer of energy can occur in a number of ways, the most common hydronic heating systems include one or more of the following:
- Radiant heaters
- Baseboard heaters
- In-floor radiant heating
- Hydronic furnaces
Can you help me design and size a boiler system?
We sure can! In fact, one of our key focuses over the past 15 years has been in the sizing, design, and installation of custom boiler systems. This includes all the lines, valves, bypasses, pumps, thermostats, and controls required. If required, we can even pre-assemble your boiler board and factory test your boiler system prior to shipment from our facilities.
Should I get an electric or a gas boiler?
This depends on your situation. Typically, gas boilers are a more cost-effective hydronic heating solution as the cost of natural gas is significantly lower than electricity in most parts of Canada. However, there may be situations where electrical heating is actually more cost effective, or where a gas unit is not an option (such as off the grid homes, farms, or cottages).
Can I get a propane boiler system?
Yes, for sure! Most of our gas boilers, tankless water heaters, and combi-boilers are also field convertible from natural gas to propane. Contact us directly for more information about converting your boiler unit.
Are boilers efficient?
Yes, definitely! A modern condensing gas boiler can reach AFUE ratings upwards of 95%! This means that 95% of the energy input into the system is transferred to the output hot water.
Electric boilers are, by the nature of their design, more efficient - the BPH Sales selection of electric boilers can achieve thermal efficiencies greater than 99%!
Gas condensing boilers, tankless water heaters, and combi-boilers are often also Energy Star Rated, the golden standard for indicating energy efficient appliances across North America.
Which gas boiler is best?
This all depends on what YOU are looking for. Some considerations that will impact what is the best boiler may include:
- How large is your home or area to heat?
- How many zones are being heated?
- Personal budget considerations
- Local servicing or spare parts availability (not usually a problem for our offered brands, but something to consider nonetheless)
Overall, our personal favourites (and also our most popular!) are the Bosch boilers, but, these do come at a premium compared to some other quality brands, such as Navien or Viessmann. So, as we said, there are multiple factors in determining what boiler heating system is best for YOU.
How much does a boiler system cost?
This all depends on the complexity of your heating system. Do you require a multi-zone system, with separate thermostats, valves, and controls? Will you be heating only one system (such as in-floor heating), or will you use the boiler for multiple hydronic heating solutions in parallel (such as in-floor heating plus a hydronic furnace)?
In general, for just the boiler itself, you can expect to pay anywhere from $3,000 for a low-end brand to upwards of $5,000 or $6,000 for a premium, high-quality brand like Bosch or Viessmann.
Although the savings from investing in a lower end product are tempting at first, we do strongly recommend that you consider our input that investing into a quality brand and product now will save you both money and stress in the future. Breakdowns and replacement parts can be expensive and almost always occur at the worst time possible, such as when it is -35ᵒC outside during Christmas holidays.
Can I use a boiler for in-floor radiant heating?
Absolutely! In fact, this is the most common way to heat an in-floor heating system. A hydronic heating system, using a gas boiler, most often has significantly lower operating costs than an electric heating system.
Can I use a boiler with my central heat pump system?
Definitely. You can use your boiler with your heat pump system in a number of ways!
- Use your boiler as a back-up heating source with a hydronic air handler (AHU)
- Use your boiler for in-floor heating in parallel to your central heat pump system
What sizes of boilers are available?
We have a selection of the best residential boilers available in Canada from leading brands like Bosch, Viessmann, and Navien. We have sizes available from 75,000 BTU/hr up to 200,000 BTU/hr, so there is a boiler for any sized residential hydronic heating system.
Where are boiler systems and custom boiler solutions available?
Boiler heating systems and custom boiler board solutions are available across Canada!