Don’t thank us for your boiler installation!
Yes, that’s right, although we aim to make you proud with our workmanship and will happily accept a hand crafted medal forged from iridium using dragons fire for our neat boiler installation, there are many people to thank for how far we have come with the innovation of boiler technology, safety and efficient operation of that commodity we call central heating.
Boilers only became commonplace relatively recently, I’m sure many people remember baths, warmed using hot water from a pot heated over the fire in their childhood before modern day boiler installations became the norm depending on your age. You may be asking yourself the question however: who invented central heating?
When in Rome
Well, the invention of course, like a lot of things stemmed from the romans, who used natural heating sources to warm up their famous baths. However, they never created individual domestic water heaters for their own homes, but their ideas and methods account for many modern plumbing techniques.
Early Domestic Boilers Installations
1868 – The Geyser
Modern domestic gas boilers date back to 1868 when Benjamin Waddy Maughan, a painter by trade, put down his paint brush, picked up a wrench and invented an instantaneous water heater intended for domestic use.
His invention was called the Geyser and was fairly popular, but due to its lack of flue, vent or any suitable safety mechanism for that matter, they were incredibly dangerous, and susceptible to exploding from time to time. In the event of a boiler breakdown, the boiler could rupture and blow apart, leading to injury or even death. But hey, anything to keep up with the smiths!
1889 – Automatic Water Storage and Heating Tank
Regardless of the safety risks, the benefit of having a boiler installed to provide central heating was too much for some people to resist, and the success of the Geyser was further sustained by the invention of the automatic water storage and heating tank, credited to Edwin Rudd in 1889.
1919 – The Hartford Loop
In 1919 with the invention of the Hartford Loop the dangers were alleviated. If the return pipes began to leak, the Hartford Loop pipework system would prevent water from leaking out of the boiler.
While modern boiler installations contain a huge range of technologies that effectively eliminate the risk of explosion, such as pressure relief valves and overheat stats, the Hartford Loop is still often used as an additional safety measure.
1923 – The Plate Heat Exchange
In 1923 Dr. Richard Seligman invented the plate heat exchange, using two different metal plates to transfer heat from a hot fluid to a cold fluid, found in nearly every boiler installation nowadays. And his simple but brilliant invention is still seen in millions of combi gas boilers across the world.
Boilers and boiler installations in recent decades
1956 – Material Change
In 1956, boiler installations changed in the form of what materials were used to construct them. Previously, boilers were made from cast iron, however, with the clean air act passed in 1956 and the ever-increasing usage of mains gas opposed to solid fuels, steel became a more commonplace material.
This innovation further improved the safety of boilers, as it is far easier to build seamless steel boilers than seamless cast iron boilers and cast-iron boiler installations were liable to having weak spots that could rupture over time.
However, modern manufacturing techniques have improved and the dangers that cast iron boiler installations pose are all but eradicated and this material is making a comeback, particularly in commercial central heating systems.
2005 – The Condenser Boiler
Although there have been many innovations and technologies in boiler installations since the 1960s, the most significant development was the invention of the condenser boiler, which became popular over the last 2 decades and on the 1st April 2005 became mandatory on all new boiler installations in the uk.
Condenser boilers trap heat and reuse it after it has passed through the main burner and is passed again through another exchanger. Due to the efficiency and the fact that little heat is being wasted to the outside, the emissions are cool enough to pass through a plastic flue and the emissions actually produce condensation similar to your kettles steam under a worktop turning back into water vapour hence the name “condensing boiler”.
And there it is folks, that concludes todays lesson on the history of early boiler installations up to modern day boiler installation and the names of the people we have to thank for that warm feeling we get when we switch on our boilers each time.
Interested in what brands of boilers play what roles in the wonderful world of boiler installation and what mark they’ve made in history and why they may deserve a place in your home?
I will be writing up articles on individual boiler brands shortly, so stay tuned, keep warm, and most importantly, keep gas safe!
