It’s rare that we find a heat-only boiler that is good enough to recommend, but the Glow-worm Ultracom 24 hxi ticks all the boxes for efficiency, low emissions and ease of installation, servicing and use.
In our tests, we measured its Sedbuk efficiency value to be 90.3%, a fraction lower than the manufacturer’s claim of 90.5%, which is extremely good. We were also impressed by it low emissions of the polluting gases NOx, low power use and low heating-loses from the casing. It can also be converted to run on LPG.
Installing the boiler is very easy – making the gas and water connections was a doddle, and our engineer was extremely impressed with this model’s flue options.
The control panel has a reset button, central-heating temperature-control button and a digital display showing the mode and output level. These controls are very simple to use, with +/- buttons to increase or decrease the temperature.
The boiler is also easy to service, and passed our limited durability trial with no problems. It has a 2-year parts and 1-year labour warranty, which can be extended.
Pros: Excellent efficiency, magnetic instructions sheet, compact size
Cons: None
Lincs Group Gas its nice to see a boiler that ticks all the boxes
Glow-worm Family Fun Day raises £7,300 for charity
Over 1,000 people attended the Glow-worm Family Fun Day at our site in Belper last week, raising £7,300 for the Babington Hospital. Members of staff brought along friends and family to enjoy a range of games and activities for the company’s 4th biennial fun day.
Drawing competitions, face painting and donkey rides kept all the kids amused whilst the adults enjoyed penalty shootout tasks, basketball and the dodgems.
The day was also an opportunity for Glow-worm staff to telling members of the local community about Glow-worm products including the production methods employed on site.
There was also keen interest in renewable energy and, with the poor British weather on the day being what it was, we were able to highlight that you don’t need bright sunshine to power solar thermal options such as Clearly Solar. Or to enjoy the Family Fun Day.
Other popular stalls included the tombola, cake selling and the Pimm’s and strawberries which helped get everyone in the mood for summer. The central attraction for the day was a petting zoo with snakes, rabbits, ferrets, reptiles and birds for everyone to enjoy and learn about.
Thanks to all who attended and here is a picture to remind you of the day.
efficiency is important
If you're thinking about a new boiler or making other changes to your central heating, then energy efficiency should be an important consideration. Boilers account for around 60 per cent of all domestic CO2 emissions - a major cause of climate change - something we can't afford to ignore. By upgrading your heating so that it is more energy efficient you'll not only save money, you'll also reduce the carbon dioxide emissions generated by heating your home.
Learn how to make your heating more energy efficient
it's gone cold!
If you've got a large or expanding family and live in a house with more than one bathroom or are planning to move to one, then it's likely that you'll need a central heating system which can cope with high demands. Here are the main things to consider:
- System and open vent boilers have storage cylinders for hot water so the water flow rate can be much better at times of high demand. This means more than one bath or shower can be run at the same time without reducing the flow of water.
- If you're thinking of switching from a combi to a system boiler you'll need space for the cylinder, usually an airing cupboard.
- With a system or open vent boiler an important consideration is the cylinder capacity, because the supply of hot water will run out once the cylinder is empty.
- Combi boilers will only allow you to run one bath or one shower at a time. If you run both at once, the water flow rate will slow down.
- The water flow rate of a combi will be significantly reduced if two or more taps are running simultaneously
- If you're considering replacing your storage cylinder why not install a twin coil cylinder. This will future proof your system, allowing you to add a solar system at a later date.
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