Viesssmann Boiler Equipment
Not many people will refute these simple facts. When Viessmann introduced the Vitola Biferral series in the late 1970’s, boiler technology would never be the same. It earned the reputation for being the best boiler in the world. It uses a patented two metal system- cast iron on the inside and stainless steel on the outside. With tiny grooves in between the two layers the flue gas condensation actually vaporizes before it can “cling” the flue-way at the dew point of the fuel (136 F for Natural Gas and 118 F for fuel oil). Please be aware that ALL boilers will produce a small amount of soot every time the boiler temperature reached the dew point- only the Vitola Biferral (and other Viessmann models) will “burn off” this offensive combustion process.
Why Viesssmann Boiler?
Because of this hi-tech design, the Vitola Biferral is ideal for radiant heating applications. As discussed in the Radiant Floor Heating link, these systems employ much lower system temperatures, operating at the dew point most, if not all of the time. Does this mean that you can’t use another brand of boiler for radiant heating? Absolutely not. The only stipulation is this- if your heating installer doesn’t use a control to shut down circulation at the dew point of the fuel, the boiler will condense. Unless you have a condensing boiler, your nice new boiler has a drastically reduced life span. That’s why Viessmann is the first choice in radiant heating applications. Please click here to view photos of actual Viessmann boilers.
Energy Efficiency & Viesssmann Boilers
The Vitola Biferral has about twice as much water than the average American unit. This is also known as “large mass”. With more water in the boiler, it will cycle less (that is come on and off). The savings in this feature alone are incredible. Less wear and tear on the boiler components, less metal fatigue after the thousands of light-offs every heating season, and better steady state efficiency. What does steady state efficiency have to do with it? Well, good question! You know that A.F.U.E rating that comes will all boilers? Here’s the scoop. The National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) was passed in 1987 and became effective for manufacturers on January 1, 1992. This “testing” procedure was meant to put all residential boilers on the same playing field, testing them all the same way. I’ll skip all the techno stuff, but essentially the test doesn’t take into account the fact that most “small mass” boilers won’t even reach the steady state efficiency under normal operating conditions! That’s what I said. It takes about 5 minutes for a conventional boiler to reach steady state efficiency. How often do these small boilers run longer than 5 minutes? Not very often. So, to wrap up this confusing subject, you can’t read a boiler by its yellow sticker, unless it’s a Viessmann. Please click here to view photos of actual Viessmann boilers.
To end this link on Viessmann- I just want to mention that Viessmann offers a complete line of controls that take the confusion out of control wiring. The world needs electricians, but a lot of them run the other way when it comes to boiler wiring. With a Viessmann boiler room, all the heating installer needs from the electrician in many Viessmann installations is one outlet at the boiler area. The heating installer simply plugs in the rest of the control system with the factory supplies snap in connectors.