A combination boiler (almost always called a “combi boiler”) is both your central heating boiler and water heater in a single, neat unit. One of their real benefits is that they heat the water directly from the mains, rather than by heating a tank of water.

Like all modern boilers, combis are condensing boilers. These take the waste gases produced by the heating process and use them to generate more heat. This is far more efficient than the old-style boilers which simply let escaped energy vanish into the ether – more CO2 in the air, and less money in your pocket.

Combi boilers are compact, wall-mounted units that take up very little space. As there’s no need for a water tank or hot water cylinder, the combi boiler is ideal for a smaller property or flat.

By contrast, a regular boiler heats water from a cold-water tank, which is then stored in an insulated cylinder, ready for when you need hot water. The heating and hot water are often on the same system with older boilers, meaning that if you want one, you have to have the other.

There are plenty of good reasons to replace your old system with a new combi boiler.

Most importantly for many of Duffy’s customers, a combination boiler is more efficient than an old, non-condensing boiler. A typical older boiler is just 60-70% efficient, compared with a new combi boiler, which is 90%+ efficient. That’s a huge difference.

This means that a new combi boiler is a far cleaner option. Upgrading your boiler is one of the best ways to reduce your household’s carbon footprint: just think, your old boiler could be wasting up to 40% of the energy it produces.

One of the ways older boilers waste energy is by having two simple states: on or off. By separating the water and radiators, combi boilers allow you to heat the water without having to fire up the central heating at the same time.

Modern combi boilers come with digital controls that let you set up distinct heating zones in the house. Separate parts of your home – for example, the living and the bedroom areas – can have heat at different times and at different temperatures.

They’re also lower maintenance. The fewer pipes, the fewer problems; and a combi boiler doesn’t have as much pipework as a regular system. There’s less chance of leaks or of pipes freezing in the chilly Dublin winter.

And again, there’s that space saving benefit. You don’t need a loft for your tank or an airing cupboard for a hot water cylinder. We’ll simply wall mount your boiler, usually in the kitchen, utility room or former airing cupboard.

That move from a 60-70% efficient boiler to a 90%+ efficient boiler will definitely save you money - roughly a third of your gas bill. Based on the average Irish household’s annual gas bill of €727 (according to Bord Gais), this could be as much as €200 every year.

You can also make other cost savings by switching to a combi boiler. For example, you’ll never need to guess how much hot water you’ll need, as the combi boiler heats only what you use. Multi-zone heating makes it easier not to heat little-used spaces, such as spare bedrooms. If you have an app-controlled option (more about this in a minute), you can be really responsive to your central heating needs – pausing the heating if you’re late home in the evening, for example.

Because the heating and hot water are separate, you won’t need to fire up the whole system if you simply want a nice, warm bath. This means that your summer gas bills should be happily low, as all you’ll pay for (apart from maybe the cooker) is the hot water.

It’s actually a quick and straightforward job to install a combi boiler, and at Duffy, we’ve installed hundreds across Dublin over the last few years.

There’s no big, separate tank to install, and therefore, there’s a lot less pipework. Because combi-heated hot water is mains pressured, you won’t need to have a separate pump to improve the flow rate to your shower.

The combi boiler’s neat, slimline design means that you won’t have to undertake any structural work to have a new boiler fitted (unless you include fitting a new kitchen cupboard), saving time, effort and money.

If you want to know more about the combi boiler installation process and costs, and live in the Dublin area, please drop us a line at Duffy Heating. We’ll explain the benefits and installation procedure in greater detail; and we can also come out to have a look at your home and current system.