Everything you need to know about floor-standing boilers

We’ve quickly become used to seeing wall-mounted boilers, but that hasn’t always been the case. For a long time, the floor-standing boiler was the most common type of boiler seen in a UK home.

But, advances in technology combined with households becoming smaller meant that the wall-hung boiler quickly became the most popular choice.

When is a floor-mounted boiler a good option?

That all said, there are times when having the heating system on the floor is still a good option and when replacing one with a wall-mounted solution may not be an option.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything that you need to know about the floor-standing boiler so that you can decide if it might be a good option for your home.

Why choose a floor standing central heating system?

There are many reasons a floor-standing central heating system will be a good option, it doesn’t even make a blind bit of difference to how your home is heated, and sometimes, they can even be a better option, we are just that used to the wall-mounted ones these days.

Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of floor-standing boilers.

Floor-standing boilers: Advantages

The upheaval of a new heating solution

More often than not, the only time that a new floor standing boiler is considered is when someone is looking to replace one that’s already powering the central heating in a home.

Switching over to a wall-mounted combi boiler will mean the upheaval of new pipework and removing water tanks and cylinders.

That, in turn, is going to result in a significant bill to get your heating and hot water from a wall-mounted rather than floor situated solution.

No space limitations

You might also have space in a utility room or basement to be able to design a layout to fit in a floor standing boiler. That then means that the space considerations are less of an issue.

Care is required though to ensure that frost protection is in place when the boiler isn’t located within the heated home.

Oil as the fuel

Floor standing oil boilers are probably the most popular type. These are perfect for off-grid homes with lots of space. There are even plenty of external floor-standing oil boilers that can be hidden away in an outhouse such as the Worcester Bosch Danesmoor or Heatslave.

Biomass as the fuel

If you’re not able to connect to the main gas supply or LPG and you’re looking for a renewable heating solution, then a biomass boiler could be the perfect fit.

Biomass boilers tend to be large beasts and so they’re designed to be floor mounted. With the need to use wood chips, pellets or logs and to load these into the boiler, it’s not difficult to see why they have to be floor standing!

Floor-standing boilers: Disadvantages

Floor-standing boilers can be expensive

Thinking about the biomass solution for a moment, you could be looking at a price of an oil boiler that is four times more expensive for these products when compared to a top-of-the-range gas system boilers.

Even though their efficiency level is very high and running costs can be lower, that initial purchase can be off-putting to the potential customer.

Limited choice

As demand has dropped for central heating powered by floor-standing boilers, then the range available from the boiler manufacturers has also reduced.

That said, if you’re looking for replacement floor-standing boilers, then companies such as Potterton Kingfisher do still provide options but don’t expect much choice.

The space needed

For many of us, the space they take up in the home is the key issue with floor-standing boilers.

These are boilers that tend to be cumbersome due to their huge heat exchangers and while many can fit under the kitchen worktop, it’s still going to mean one cupboard less.

Another challenge comes from the limitations on where the flue can be situated. This can then create even more logistical nightmares for the customer in where to site the new boiler.

Floor standing boiler range

So as you can see, floor-standing boilers do seem to come with some challenges but there are also situations where there can be some distinct benefits to them as well.

With this in mind, we’re searched the main suppliers to find out more about their range of models.

Don’t forget that you’ll also need to factor in installation costs with a gas safe registered engineer.

Floor Standing Combi boiler

While there is a very limited choice of combi boilers, there are still some to consider and decide which is the best combi boiler.

Worcester Bosch Greenstar CDi Highflow FS Combi

This is a company whose boilers are associated with high quality and reliability. Their years of experience mean that their units are highly respected within the heating industry. The Worcester Bosch Greenstar CDi Highflow is no exception to this reputation.

This floor-mounted boiler offers an industry-leading hot water output of up to 25 litres every minute. That means that this combi can happily meet the central heating and hot water needs of two-bathroom homes.

Floor Standing System boilers

Potterton Promax 30 high-efficiency system boilers

Potterton has aimed to make this a highly flexible boiler so there’s a range of options for the flue and it can be a fully pumped, open or sealed system.

Product features include:

• Full modulation down to 9.3kW and up to 30.2kW
• Comes with an integral condensate pump
• Installation time is reduced as there’s no requirement for compartment ventilation
• Built-in frost protection.

Floor Standing Regular boilers

Ideal Mexico HE30

Designed to be user-friendly, this Ideal boiler features a compact design to allow for flexibility of installation locations. And if you’re looking for a new boiler replacement with high levels of efficiency, this range of models are also endorsed by the Energy Saving Trust

It comes with built-in frost protection and five different power outputs, making this a model that can be sited in a wide range of properties.

Our roundup of floor-standing boilers

If you’re looking for a quote for a boiler and you currently have a floor-standing system, then the simplest option is to go for another of the same type. While there are fewer products to choose from, the cost will be lower and the installation quicker.

However, we’ve also seen that will be times when you have to take the plunge and go for a different type of boiler.

In that situation, a great place to start to see the products available is to get a new boiler quote.

With no obligation personalised suggestions, you could have your new heating system in place within days!