Getting To Know Your Heating System

Is Your Boiler or Furnace Ready for Winter?

Now that it’s officially autumn, it’s a good time to make sure your Southeastern Massachusetts home is ready for whatever winter weather is around the corner. That means making sure your heating system is in good working order. Whether you have a boiler or a furnace, the technicians at W.H. Riley & Son can make sure your heating system is functioning as efficiently as possible.

The experts at W.H. Riley & Son know their way around a boiler and a furnace. How about you? Do you know how your heating system works? Do you know the difference between a boiler and a furnace? Why not spend some time getting to know your heating system? For starters, let’s take a look at what makes boilers and furnaces different and how they each work.

Are Boilers and Furnaces the Same?

You might hear people using the words “boiler” and “furnace” interchangeably. However, boilers and furnaces are different. A boiler and a furnace can each be part of a home’s heating system, but they work differently.

Is It a Boiler or a Furnace?

You don’t have to be an expert to tell the difference between a boiler and a furnace. If you want a quick and easy way to tell which heating system a home uses, check for radiators and vents. A home with radiators (or baseboards) has a boiler. A home with vents has a furnace.

Now let’s take a look at how each of these heating systems work.

How Do Boilers Work?

A boiler is called a hydronic heating system because boilers use hot water or steam to heat your home. That means a boiler can either be a hot water boiler or a steam boiler.

A hot water boiler burns fuel to heat water that is then pumped through pipes to baseboards, radiators, in-floor radiant tubing, or other sealed hydronic devices throughout your Massachusetts home. The water returns to the unit and the cycle continues.

With a steam boiler, the process is very similar. However, the water is converted to steam before circulating throughout your home.

Boilers offer the advantage of running quietly. They also don’t rely on fans or blowers, so they don’t contribute to the blowing of dust, dirt, or allergens in the air.

How Do Furnaces Work?

Boilers are hydronic systems—using hot water or steam. Furnaces are forced air systems. Furnaces burn fuel to heat air. That hot air is then pushed through a system of ducts that lead to vents throughout the home.

Prepare Your Heating System for Winter

You want to know that your heating system is ready to keep your household warm and comfortable this winter. The best way to get peace of mind and prepare your heating system for the cold days ahead is to schedule a maintenance visit.

W.H. Riley & Son performs boiler installation, boiler maintenance, and boiler repair for our customers in Bristol County Massachusetts and nearby. W.H. Riley & Son can also handle all of your furnace needs.

Receiving regular maintenance for your heating system helps you save money all winter long. A heating system that doesn’t receive regular professional maintenance can lose up to 5% of its efficiency every year. When your heating system loses efficiency, it costs more to heat your home.

A maintenance visit now will also make it less likely that you’ll need unexpected (and more costly) repairs this winter. Nearly 80% of heating systems repairs are avoidable with routine maintenance.

Service You Can Count On

Winter will be here before you know it. Let the experts at W.H. Riley & Son make sure your heating system is ready to work reliably and efficiently. Our trained and certified service technicians offer exceptional maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair services for boilers and furnaces. And if they discover you need an upgrade, they can help you through that process too.

Contact W.H. Riley & Son today to learn more or schedule your next maintenance visit.