Manufacturers offer various product options from the more straightforward replacement of long-serving cast-iron boilers with more efficient ones, to replacement with modulating and cascade-able boilers, equipped with controllers and able to manage increasing numbers of heating zones, that can cover turn-down ratios of up to 40:1. Installations of units fully compatible with building management systems are also growing.
In broad terms the various geographical regions are quite distinct in their sales of boilers: non-condensing is ruling in the Asia Pacific region, condensing boilers dominate in Europe. North America is increasingly adopting condensing technologies as well.
In Europe, commercial boilers are mainly wall hung units built in cascades of 8 to 12 boilers, with the most popular output being 150kW per boiler.
In North America, however, floor standing boilers still prevail, installed in smaller cascades of 2 to 4 boilers of higher capacities, with the most popular boiler capacity being of 900kW.
Most commercial boilers installed in the Asia Pacific region are also floor-standing but still mainly non-condensing due to the lack of relevant legislation and financial support in the largest heating markets such as China, South Korea and Iran.
Oil-fuelled boilers sales are decreasing fast as several European countries are phasing them out to be replaced with renewable heating sources whenever possible.
From 2020, BSRIA will also research the market of electric commercial boilers as these started to gain global importance becoming a valid option in North America, Eastern Europe and China, in areas with no available gas supply and where electricity prices are competitive when compared to oil and LPG.