Oil and water can mix—especially when you’re talking about new, oil-powered water heaters. A lot of people use their oil-fired boilers not only to heat their homes, but to produce domestic hot water too, including hot water for sinks, tubs, showers and washing machines.
This is commonly done through what’s known as an indirect-fired water heater, which connects to your boiler. It’s like having your cake and eating it too.
This type of water-heating system provides a unique advantage for people with oil heat. Indirect fired water heaters are only practical if the water in the tank can be heated quickly. Oil heats water very fast.
How does an indirect-fired water heater work?
- The boiler circulates hot water to a coil inside the water heater.
- The heat from the boiler’s hot water transfers from the coil to the water in the tank.
- This system is most efficient in the winter when the boiler is being used to heat both the home and domestic water. In effect, no extra energy is needed to heat your domestic water–as opposed to a traditional water tank with its own separate burner.
- Because the indirect fired water heater gets installed as a separate zone with its own thermostat, the boiler “understands” when it needs to produce heat for that tank only—and not send unnecessary heat into the home.
Please contact your local oilheat company in Wisconsin to explore your options in oil-powered water heaters.