Plumbing heating refers to the installation and repair of central hot water or steam heating systems, the installation and repair of appliances that provide water for domestic use and repair and replacement of peripheral appliances that use and dispense hot water, such as sinks, showers, and dish washers. One important question in the area of plumbing heating concerns the pros and cons of central hot water heating.

Among homes that use a boiler to heat the home, there are those that use steam heat, and those that use hot water heat. The fundamental difference between steam heating systems and hot water heating systems is the temperature. The temperature of a steam heated system, by definition, must be raised to boiling point to generate steam. A hot water system, on the other hand, can utilize water heated to a variety of temperatures. The water must be drawn through the closed loop circulation via a pump, whereas steam flows by its own power once it is generated.

What are the advantages of a hot water heater over a steam heater?

1) Since the sub-boiling temperature heater runs at lower temperatures, it is more fuel conservative than steam boilers.

2) Since the temperature of the hot aqua is not fixed the heat coming out of the radiators can vary depending on the need, which is not the case with a steam heating system. When the steam flows, it is coming out at boiling point, and the house is thus subject to the extremes of too much heat when the boiler is on at night, and too little heat, when the system is off.

3) Elevated temperature water boilers can be maintained on a low flame at night, as opposed to steam boilers which must be kept at a high flame to boil the water.

4) The warmed water based central boiler is small and more durable than a steam boiler.

5) Because they run at lower temperatures, hot water boilers are considerably safer than steam boilers.

Heating systems using water at elevated temperatures also have some disadvantages, compared to steam heating systems.

1) A direct warm water heating system, provides no ventilation.

2) Because the water temperature is lower than steam , the size of the radiator is proportionally larger.

3) There is a danger of the water in the hot water system freezing, although keeping the boiler on all night can prevent that.

4) A heated water central boiler requires more fittings than a steam boiler, and thus more parts that can break. These breakable parts include: a flow check valve, a circulator, an expansion tank and most importantly, a pump.

5) Additional problems, that can occur with both hot water boilers, and steam boilers include: insufficient heating surface, insufficient boiler power, and imperfect circulation.

As you can see this is a complicated question and each homeowner has to decide for themselves which type of heating system will work best in their home.

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