In many respects the electric boiler heating system is identical to the heating systems powered by coal, gas and oil boilers. Comprising a boiler, pumps, radiators and a controller and thermostats. The major difference is in the boiler itself.
The electric boiler must heat water very quickly to ensure a reasonable efficiency when heating a building. For this reason the design is based on that of the `electrode' or `instantaneous' boiler, similar to that found in the electric shower.
In this design, water is passed directly over electrodes in the boiler, shorting them out and thus causing a rapid rise in water temperature.
Because of the somewhat severe nature of heating the water, special measures need to be taken to ensure there is a constant flow of water to the boiler at all times. Once the water is heated it is pumped to the radiators via an electrically operated pump.
Although convenient in terms of installation and clean in terms of operation, electric boilers are expensive to run and are, therefore, less common than their gas and oil counterparts.
